- Rulebook on Preliminary and Periodic Medical Examinations for Employees at High-risk Workplaces (“Official Gazette of the RS” no. 120/2007, 93/2008 and 53/2017)
In accordance with Article 43, paragraph 2 of the Law on Safety and Health at Work (“Official Gazette of the RS” no. 101/05 and 91/15), the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs and the Minister of Health have jointly adopted Rulebook on Preliminary and Periodic Medical Examinations for Employees at High-risk Workplaces (“Official Gazette of the RS” no. 120/2007, 93/2008 and 53/2017, hereinafter: “the Rulebook“) which entered into force on June 7, 2017.
At high-risk workplaces, the occupational medicine service, using data from an employer’s risk assessment act, performs a preliminary medical examination of the persons who commence employment, to determine their medical ability to work at a high-risk workplace. This type of inspection is carried out prior to the establishment of an employment relation at a high-risk workplace, before moving to another high-risk workplace, then in every new risk assessment at a high-risk workplace where the employee is working and each time an employee has a break of more than 12 months in performing work at high-risk workplace.
On the other hand, a periodical medical examination determines and monitors employees’ health status in the high-risk workplace in relation to the risk factors related to the workplace. The employee is examined no later than 30 days before the expiration of the deadline established by this Rulebook, after the conclusion of the sick leave based on serious work injury or after illness or injuries that are not work-related – if there is a suspicion of reduced working ability. The novelty introduced by this Rulebook is the authorization given to the occupational medicine service to perform an examination, by which the patient is monitored for diagnosed pathological conditions and disorders, as well as to assess the further fulfilment of special health conditions for work at a high-risk workplace.
The Rulebook prescribes what is general, and what is the specific examination and method of performing medical examinations. The instruction for the previous or periodical examination which shall be completed by the employer when sending the employee to a medical examination is an integral part of the Rulebook. The occupational medicine service may request the previous medical documentation from the selected doctor of the employee or use the existing laboratory documentation, not older than a month, and at the end of the examination is obliged to fill in a report on the previous or periodic examination which is also an integral part of the Rulebook. In case that the occupational health service determines the disorder of the employee health condition, it is obliged to notify the employee and his/hers chosen doctor without delay.
Rulebook on Measures for Safety and Health Work for an Employed Woman during Pregnancy, Maternity and Breastfeeding (“Official Gazette of the RS” no. 102/2016)
According to Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Law on Safety and Health at Work (“Official Gazette of the RS” no. 101/05 and 91/15), the Minister for Labour, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs and the Minister of Health jointly adopted the Rulebook on Measures for Safety and Health at Work of an Employed Woman during Pregnancy, Maternity and Breastfeeding (“Official Gazette of the RS” no. 102/2016, hereinafter: the “Rulebook“). The Rulebook entered into force on December 28, 2016.
The Rulebook prescribes the requirements that the employer is obliged to fulfil to prevent, eliminate and minimize safety and health risk of employed woman during pregnancy, maternity and breastfeeding, which is also the main goal of its adoption. The employer is obliged to evaluate all safety or health risks and all effects on pregnancy and breastfeeding that employees may have, then to assess the nature, level and duration of exposure and issue a risk assessment act to determine the methods and measures for removing or reducing them. The employer shall notify employees and their representatives on safety and health at work, as well as on measures taken to eliminate risks and on all adopted acts.
The Rulebook also lists workplaces for which a risk assessment has identified the safety or health risks from exposure to hazards and where an employed woman during pregnancy and who breastfeeds a child must not work. Potential harmfulness is divided into physical and biological harmfulness and hazardous chemical substances, which division is made according to whether it causes damage to employed women during pregnancy or employed women when breastfeeding.
The harmful processes listed in the Rulebook are: production of auramine, a work involving exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons contained in soot, tar or resin of coal, exposure to dust, smoke and aerosols produced by annealing and electro processing of copper-nickel scales, the production of isopropyl alcohol in the presence of strong acids, a work involving exposure to hardwood dust. Underground work in the mine is marked as a workplace where pregnant women and lactating women must not work.
- Rulebook on Preventive Measures for Safety and Health at Work of Young Employees (“Official Gazette of the RS“ no. 102/2016)
According to Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Law on Safety and Health at Work (Official Gazette of the RS” no. 101/05 and 91/15), the Minister for Labour, Employment, Veterans’ Affairs and Social Affairs and the Minister of Health jointly adopted the Rulebook on Preventive Measures for Safety and Health at Work for Young Employees (“Official Gazette of the RS”, no.102/2016, hereinafter: the “Rulebook”). The goal of its adoption is the implementation of preventive measures that would prevent injuries and damage to the health of young employees aged 15 to 18 years.
The employer is obliged to assess the risk of injury and damage to health, and in particular to take care of the organization of work, exposure to physical, chemical and other hazards, the manner of using equipment for work, training for safe and healthy work and instructions for young people. If it is determined that there is some safety or health risk for young people, monitoring of their health condition is done according to the procedure for preliminary and periodical examinations, at the expense of the employer.
The employer is obliged to inform young employees and their legal representatives about the results of the risk assessment and the measures taken to eliminate the risks. Considering that young people do not have sufficient knowledge and experience on existing and potential risks, a review of hazards, processes and works is an integral part of this Rulebook.
It is especially prohibited for young people to perform work that is above their physical and psychological abilities, to be exposed to toxic, carcinogenic substances and substances that cause heritable genetic damage or affect human development, to be exposed to harmful radiation or extreme cold, heat, noise and vibrations.
