The employer holds primary responsibility for guaranteeing health and safety in the workplace and is bound to avoid potential dangers in the pursuit of its activities.
EMPLOYER’S OBLIGATIONS
Obligations can be DELEGABLE and NON-DELEGABLE: the employer cannot delegate the following activities:
- 1. risk assessment, with consequent drawing up of a Risk Assessment Document (RAD);
- 2. appointment of the Head of the Risk Prevention and Protection Service.
For other functions that can be delegated, the employer is obliged to supervise the proper performance of activities carried out by the delegate.
The employer’s main obligations are:
- 1. to appoint a competent doctor;
- 2. the prior appointment of workers responsible for implementing measures for fire prevention and fire-fighting, evacuation from the workplace in the event of serious and imminent danger, first aid, rescue work and emergency management in general;
- 3. in assigning tasks to workers, to take into account their abilities and conditions in relation to their health and safety;
- 4. to provide workers with the necessary and appropriate personal protective equipment;
- 5. to take appropriate measures to ensure that only workers who have received adequate instructions and specific training have access to areas that expose them to a serious and specific risk;
- 6. to require compliance by all workers with regulations in force and all company regulations on safety, hygiene at work and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Collective Protective Equipment (CPE) made available to them;
- 7. to send workers for medical check-ups within the time limits set out in the compulsory health surveillance plan (SSO);
- 8. to comply with information, training and education obligations;
- 9. to adopt measures to control risk situations in the event of an emergency;
- 10. to require the competent doctor to comply with obligations;
- 11. to inform workers exposed to the risk of serious and imminent danger as soon as possible;
- 12. to refrain from requiring workers to resume their activities in a work situation where serious and imminent danger persists apart from in the case of exceptions duly justified by health and safety requirements;
- 13. to hand over a copy of the RAD to the workers’ safety representative in good time;
- 14. to draw up a single assessment document for contracts;
- 15. to report data relating to accidents at work to the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL);
- 16. to consult the workers’ safety representative in cases provided for;
- 17. to provide workers with a special identification card for contracting/subcontracting;
- 18. to hold public meetings in units with more than 15 employees;
- 19. to update prevention measures;
- 20. to notify INAIL annually of the names of workers’ safety representatives;
- 21. to ensure that workers who are subject to health surveillance are not assigned to a specific working task without the required fitness certification;
- 22. to provide the prevention and protection service and the competent doctor with information on the nature of risks, work organisation, planning and implementation of preventive and protective measures, description of production plants and processes, data on occupational diseases and measures adopted by supervisory bodies.
Relevant legislation