In Spain, occupational risk prevention has a clear legal basis. Knowing it lets you know what you can demand and what you must do.
The main rules
- Spanish Constitution, article 40.2: the public authorities shall watch over safety and hygiene at work.
- Directive 89/391/EEC: the European framework directive on safety and health at work.
- Ley 31/1995, on Occupational Risk Prevention: the basic law. It applies to employment relationships and, with its particularities, to staff of the public administrations.
- Real Decreto 39/1997: the Regulation on Prevention Services. It governs risk assessment, the organisation of prevention and the levels of training.
- Technical regulations: rules on specific topics, such as workplaces (RD 486/1997), signage (RD 485/1997), personal protective equipment (RD 773/1997), manual handling of loads (RD 487/1997), display screens (RD 488/1997) or noise (RD 286/2006).
- Collective agreements: they can improve on what the law sets, never make it worse.
Rights of workers
Article 14 of Ley 31/1995 recognises the right to effective protection in matters of safety and health. These rights follow from it:
- Information about the risks of your job and the prevention measures.
- Consultation and participation in prevention matters.
- Theoretical and practical training (article 19).
- Periodic health surveillance, according to the risks of the job (article 22).
- Stopping work in the event of serious and imminent risk (article 21).
The cost of safety measures never falls on the worker.
Duties of the employer
The employer must protect its workforce. Specifically it must:
- Assess risks and plan prevention.
- Provide suitable work equipment and protective equipment at no cost.
- Inform and train each person in their job.
- Provide for emergency measures.
- Offer health surveillance.
- Give special protection to those who need it.
Duties of the worker
Article 29 of Ley 31/1995 says that each person must look after their own safety and that of others. In practice:
- Use machines, tools and protective equipment properly.
- Never disable safety devices.
- Report immediately to your superior, or to whoever deals with prevention, any situation that poses a risk.
- Follow the prevention measures and cooperate with the employer.
Failing to meet these duties may be a disciplinary offence.
Special protection
- Particularly sensitive workers (article 25): those who, because of their characteristics, their biological state or a recognised disability, are at greater risk.
- Maternity (article 26): if the job is a risk to pregnancy or breastfeeding, the employer must adapt it or move the person to another job.
- Under-18s (article 27): prior assessment and limits on dangerous work.
- Temporary contracts and temporary work agencies (article 28): they have the same protection rights as everyone else. Before starting they must receive information and training.
Stopping work
If there is a serious and imminent risk, the worker may stop their activity and leave the workplace (article 21). They must not suffer any detriment for doing so, unless they acted in bad faith or with serious negligence. While the danger lasts, the employer cannot require them to go back to their activity, except in cases justified for safety reasons. If the employer does not act, the workers' representatives may agree by majority to stop the activity.
Liabilities
If the employer fails to comply, several consequences can follow at once:
- Administrative: penalties from the Labour Inspectorate (Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2000).
- Criminal: articles 316 and 317 of the Criminal Code punish seriously endangering life or health by failing to provide safety measures.
- Civil: compensation for the harm.
- Surcharge on benefits: if safety measures were lacking, Social Security benefits can be increased by 30 % to 50 %, and the employer pays this, without being able to insure it.