What are the employer's obligations in the area of OSH?
Employers in the Czech Republic must fulfill numerous obligations in the area OSH. Every employer, even if they employ only one employee, is obliged to ensure safety and health protection at work. These obligations apply to both legal entities and natural persons. If a self-employed individual has employees, they are considered an employer and are subject to the relevant obligations.
Selected basic obligations of employers as specified in the Labor Code:
- Ensuring OSH
- ensure OSH for all employees, taking into account potential risks to their life and health that may arise during the performance of work;
- the obligation to provide OSH applies to all natural persons who, with the knowledge of the employer, are present at their workplaces.
Section 101 (1) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Employees of another employer
- If employees of two or more employers perform tasks at the same workplace, these employers must mutually exchange written information about risks and measures taken;
- coordinate the activities of their employees to ensure the safety of employees of the other employer.
Section 101 (3) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- The costs of OSH
- Cover the costs of OSH, employers must not pass it on directly or indirectly to the employees.
Section 101 (6) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Risk prevention
- Create a safe and health-friendly work environment and working conditions;
- risk prevention includes measures arising from legal and other regulations to ensure OSH, as well as measures adopted by the employer to prevent, eliminate, or minimize risks if they cannot be eliminated entirely;
- continuously identify hazards in work processes and conditions, determine their causes and sources, evaluate risks, and take measures to minimize these risks.
Section 102 of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Emergencies, first aid
- Take measures to address emergencies (e.g., accidents, fires, floods) and ensure employee evacuation;
- ensure that staff receive first aid;
- appoint and ensure a sufficient number of employees to organize the provision of first aid, summon emergency services (medical rescue, firefighters, police);
- adequately train and equip such staff and cooperate with the occupational health service provider.
Section 102 (6) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
Section 103 (1) (j) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Prohibited work, medical fitness, vaccination in specified cases
- Ensure that employees do not perform prohibited work or work that exceeds their abilities or medical fitness;
- ensure, in cases provided for by specific legislation, that the work is carried out only by employees who have undergone vaccination or have proof of immunity to the disease.
Section 103 (1) (a) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
Section 103 (1) (c) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Category of work
- Inform employees about the category their work has been classified into.
Section 103 (1) (b) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Occupational health services
- Inform employees of the provider of occupational health services and the types of vaccinations, preventive examinations, and tests related to their work that they are required to undergo;
- Allow employees to undergo these vaccinations, examinations and tests as prescribed by special legislation or decisions of the competent public health authority
More information in the tab Occupational medical examinations.
Section 101 (1) (d) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Fixed-term employees, agency employees, young employees
- Provide employees, especially employees in fixed-term employment relationships, employees of employment agencies temporarily assigned to perform work for another employer, and young employees, with sufficient and appropriate information and instructions on OSH, according to the needs of the work performed.
Section 103 (1) (f) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Pregnant employees, breastfeeding employees, postpartum employees
- Inform employees of any potential exposure to risk factors in their work that could harm the fetus in the mother’s body;
- familiarize pregnant employees, breastfeeding employees, and employees who have given birth (up to the end of the ninth month after childbirth) with the risks and their potential effects on pregnancy, breastfeeding, or their health, and take necessary measures to reduce the risk of physical and mental fatigue and other types of physical and mental strain associated with the work performed, for as long as needed to protect their safety or the health of the child;
- adapt rest areas in the workplace for pregnant employees, breastfeeding employees and employees-mothers until the end of the ninth month after childbirth.
More information in the tab Young employees, pregnant and breastfeeding employees and postpartum employees
Section 103 (1) (h) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
Section 103 (4) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Method of remuneration
- Employees must not be financially incentivised to carry out work in which they are exposed to an increased risk of harm to health and which could endanger the safety and health of workers to improve results of work.
Section 103 (1) (k) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Smoking ban
- Ensure compliance with smoking ban in workplaces set out by specific legislation.
More information in the tab Prohibition of alcohol and smoking in the workplace.
Section 103 (1) (l) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Providing information and instructions
- Provide information and instructions whenever an employee is hired, transferred, relocated, or when working conditions, the work environment, work tools, technology, or work procedures change;
- the employer is obliged to maintain documentation on the information and instructions provided.
Section 103 (1) (l) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- OSH training
- Provide employees with training on legislation and other regulations to ensure occupational safety and health.
More information in the OSH Training tab.
Section 103 (2) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Employees with disabilities
- At the employer’s expense, ensure technical and organizational measures for employees with disabilities, particularly necessary adjustments to working conditions, workplaces, reserving positions, training, or requalification, and enhancing their qualifications during the performance of their regular employment.
Section 103 (5) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Personal protective equipment
- Provide employees with personal protective equipment when risks cannot be eliminated or sufficiently reduced by collective protection measures or organizational measures.
More information in the Personal protective equipment tab.
- Occupational injuries
- Clarify the causes and circumstances of a occupational injury;
- do not change the condition at the place of the accident without serious reasons until the causes and circumstances of the occupational injury have been clarified;
- In the case of an occupational injury involving an employee of another employer, the employer is obliged to notify the employer of the injured employee without undue delay, enable their participation in the investigation of the causes and circumstances of the occupational injury, and familiarize them with the results of the investigation;
- keep a record of all injuries in the injury log;
- Prepare records and maintain documentation of all occupational injuries that result in an employee's incapacity to work for more than 3 calendar days or their death.
More information in the tab How to deal with occupational injuries, occupational diseases and compensation
Section 105 of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Occupational diseases
- Maintain records of employees who have been diagnosed with an occupational disease that originated in the employer’s workplaces;
- apply such measures so as to eliminate or minimize risk factors that cause the threat of an occupational disease or the occupational disease itself.
More information in the tab How to deal with occupational injuries, occupational diseases and compensation
Section 105 (6) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- Employee participation in addressing OSH issues
- Employees must not be deprived of the right to participate in addressing OSH issues through a trade union or a representative for OSH.
Section 108 of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labor Code
- OSH inspections
- Organize occupational safety and health inspections at all employer’s workplaces and facilities at least once a year.
What are the employer's additional obligations?
The previous FAQ only listed the basic responsibilities an employer has in the field of OSH. However, there are many more obligations depending on the type of work performed, the risks associated with the work, risk factors of working conditions, work tools used, etc. Obligations arise from legislation and other regulations ensuring OSH:
- regulations for the protection of life and health,
- hygiene and anti-epidemic regulations,
- technical regulations,
- technical documents and technical standards,
- construction regulations,
- traffic regulations,
- fire protection regulations,
- special regulations concerning the handling of chemicals and preparations, explosives, combustibles, radioactive substances, etc.
What are the consequences for employers breaching their OSH obligations?
In the Czech Republic, the State Labor Inspection Office or regional labor inspectorates are authorized to carry out inspections of compliance with obligations to ensure occupational safety and health. Possible fines vary according to the specific violation, but in the case of the most serious violations in the OSH section, a fine of up to 2 million CZK may be imposed. Both legal entities and self-employed natural persons can be fined.
Section 17 of Act No. 251/2005 Coll., on Labor Inspection
The control body of occupational hygiene are the Regional Hygiene Stations. They serve as the state health supervisor. Regional Hygiene Station can conduct inspections in key areas such as health protection at work; hygiene of food and items of daily use; epidemiology; general and communal hygiene; and hygiene for children and adolescents. Occupational hygiene within the framework of state health supervision is to check whether a business entity meets legal obligations and requirements in the field of occupational health protection.
Section 78 of Act No. 258/2000 Coll., on Public Health Protection and Amendments to Related Acts
The employer (or manager) also bears criminal liability. If a gross violation of occupational safety laws causes the death of a person, it can be classified as a crime of negligent homicide, punishable by up to 8 years in prison (or 10 years if at least two people are killed).