How to avoid a fine for occupational safety, fire protection and occupational health

How to avoid a fine for occupational safety, fire protection and occupational health

An employer can be inspected by three different authorities: the labour inspectorate, the fire brigade (the regional or district directorate of the Fire and Rescue Corps) and the regional public health authority. Each of them checks a different part of your duties and each one can impose its own fine.

How much a fine can cost

Occupational safety, labour inspectorate. Up to €100,000 for the employer. If the breach led to an occupational accident with serious damage to health, at least €20,000, and in the case of a fatal accident at least €33,000 (Section 19(1)(a) of Act No. 125/2006 Coll.). A manager or a company officer who caused the breach can be fined up to four times their average monthly earnings (Section 19(1)(c)).

Fire protection, fire brigade. Up to €8,298, for example for not carrying out preventive fire inspections, for missing fire protection training of employees or for documentation that is not kept (Section 59(1)(a), (h) and (l) of Act No. 314/2001 Coll.). Up to €16,596 for fire protection equipment that has not been inspected or for escape routes that are unmarked or blocked (Section 59(2)(a) and (d)). If the same breach is repeated within three years, the fine can be doubled (Section 59(5)).

Occupational health service, public health authority. From €150 to €20,000, for example for a missing risk assessment report with the categorisation of work or for not assessing the medical fitness of employees for work (Section 57(22)(b) and (d) and Section 57(43)(a) of Act No. 355/2007 Coll.). In the case of a repeated breach, up to double (Section 57(44)).

What an inspector wants to see

Occupational safety

• a written risk assessment document covering all activities your employees carry out (Section 6(1)(c) of Act No. 124/2006 Coll.),
• a safety technical service in place (Section 21(3) of Act No. 124/2006 Coll.),
• records showing that every employee was demonstrably informed about the regulations and about the risks of their work (Section 7(1)),
• an internal regulation on informing employees, under which the instruction is repeated at least once every three years unless a special regulation sets a shorter period (Section 7(5)).

Fire protection

• fire protection documentation that matches the actual situation (Section 59(1)(l) of Act No. 314/2001 Coll.),
• training of employees once every 24 months and of the people who provide fire protection outside working hours once every 12 months (Section 21(1) of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll.),
• preventive fire inspections every six months in premises used only for administrative work and every three months in all other premises (Section 14(1)(b) and (c) of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll.),
• inspected fire extinguishers and hydrants and clear, marked escape routes (Section 59(2)(a) and (d) of Act No. 314/2001 Coll.).

Occupational health service

• a risk assessment report with the categorisation of work, drawn up together with the occupational health service through the electronic system of the public health authorities (Section 30(1)(b) of Act No. 355/2007 Coll.),
• assessment of the medical fitness of employees for work (Section 30(1)(f)),
• medical fitness certificates kept on file (Section 30(1)(h)).

Where companies trip up most often

The risk assessment document was created when the company was founded and nobody has opened it since. In the meantime a new activity, machine or site has been added, so the document no longer covers all activities, as Section 6(1)(c) requires.

The training took place, but the employee's signature is missing. The law requires the instruction to be demonstrable, so without a record it is hard to prove anything during an inspection.

Inspections and checks are carried out "when there is time". The periods in Section 14 of Decree No. 121/2002 Coll. are fixed and a missed inspection is a reason for a fine on its own.

How to prepare for an inspection

Once a year, go through all three areas using the lists above and note down, for every duty, the date when it was last met and the date when it is next due. Whenever something changes on site (a new employee, a new activity, new premises), check whether it is covered by the risk assessment, by the fire protection documentation and by the occupational health risk report.

What we do for you

At BEXPO we provide the safety technical service under authorisation No. BTS-0032/19 issued by the National Labour Inspectorate. We prepare and update occupational safety and fire protection documentation, carry out fire inspections and training, arrange the occupational health service and keep track of the deadlines for you. Employees can also complete their training through e-learning. The occupational safety and fire protection package starts at €24.95 per month excluding VAT.

More about the individual services: occupational safety, fire protection, occupational health service, inspection of fire protection equipment. You can put together a price for your own company in the online price offer.