On 13 October 2023, the Prime Minister of Ukraine registered Draft Law No. 10147 “On Safety and Health of Employees at Work”, the text of which provides for the repeal of the painfully familiar Law of Ukraine “On Labour Protection” and introduces some innovations to the system of measures and means aimed at preserving the health, life and working capacity of employees.
The main principle of the state policy in the field of safety and health at work remains unchanged – the highest priority is to protect the life and health of employees and the employer’s full responsibility for creating safe working conditions.
What will change? The main things, in our opinion:
✓ the scope of the draft law covers not only labour relations, but also civil law relations (there are exceptions, such as farms or domestic work, but not many);
✓ certification of workplaces becomes almost mandatory (almost, because it is not directly provided for in the draft law, but follows from its content);
✓ special conditions for performing high-risk work (life insurance for employees and/or a permit to perform high-risk work, which is granted on the basis of a positive expert opinion on the employer’s ability to ensure safe work performance, and/or a declaration of compliance of the material and technical base in the field of safety and health of employees at work, etc);
✓ protection of genetic heritage;
✓ establishment of structural units for employee safety at work if the number of employees exceeds 300, or if the number of employees performing high-risk work exceeds 50;
✓ mandatory audit of the safety and health management system for employers performing high-risk work (every 5 years);
✓ monitoring the health status of employees by a specialist doctor from among the employees who has a certificate in occupational pathology;
✓ ensuring medical examinations of employees who have experienced a deterioration in their health due to the impact of working conditions and have contacted the employer (the previous categories remain plus new ones have been added);
✓ providing instructions when hiring and changing working conditions (this is a non-exhaustive list);
✓ the frequency of instructions is set by the employer (but there will be a minimum for high-risk work);
✓ employers should hold consultations with employees and/or employee representatives on occupational safety and health issues (the procedure for consultations is determined by the collective agreement);
✓ the amount of employer’s expenses on the safety and health of employees should ensure and be sufficient to fulfil all obligations and cannot be limited in any way;
✓ certain restrictions on the employment of pregnant employees, employees who have recently given birth (to a child under 1 year of age) and employees who are breastfeeding (children under 1.5 years of age);
✓ inspection visits by state labour inspectors, which may result in advices, recommendations and fines;
✓ penalties (e.g., for failure to conduct mandatory certification or mandatory training of an employee – in the amount of the minimum wage for each workplace, or for failure to appoint a labour safety officer or failure to comply with the requirements of a state inspector – in the amount of five minimum wages, etc);
✓ reduced coefficients for fines and the possibility to pay half of it.
