The Consolidated Act is not addressed only to those who organise the work. The worker also has an active role. This lesson explains who is a worker for safety purposes, what they must do and what they can demand.
Who is a worker
Under Article 2, a worker is anyone who carries out work within the organisation of a public or private employer, whatever the contract, even without pay and even just to learn a trade. Domestic and family service workers are excluded. Treated as workers are, among others, member-workers of cooperatives, trainees, volunteers of certain organisations and students when they use laboratories and equipment.
The worker's duties
Article 20 requires every worker to take care of their own health and safety and that of the other people present at the workplace, in line with the training, instructions and means they have received. In particular they must:
- contribute, together with the employer, managers and prepositi, to meeting the safety obligations;
- follow the instructions and provisions they receive;
- use correctly equipment, substances, means of transport and safety devices;
- use properly the PPE provided;
- report immediately defects in means and devices and any dangerous condition; in urgent cases they may act within their competence and capabilities and inform the RLS;
- not remove or modify safety, warning or control devices without permission;
- not carry out on their own initiative operations that are not within their competence or that may endanger themselves or others;
- take part in training and practical instruction programmes;
- undergo the medical examinations required.
In companies working under contract or subcontract, workers must display the ID card with a photograph (Art. 20, paragraph 3).
The worker's rights
A worker is entitled to:
- receive adequate information, training and practical instruction, during working hours and at no cost to them (Art. 37);
- have the necessary PPE, free of charge;
- undergo health surveillance when it is required, at no cost to the worker (Art. 15, paragraph 2);
- be represented by the RLS and consulted through them;
- move away from the workplace or from a dangerous area in case of serious, imminent and unavoidable danger, without suffering any detriment (Art. 44);
- if they cannot reach their superior, take measures to avoid the consequences of the danger, without detriment, except in case of serious negligence.
Penalties for the worker
Article 59 provides for:
- a custodial sentence of up to one month or a fine (in the text from €200 to €600) for anyone who breaches the duties of Article 20, paragraph 2, letters b) to i), for example by not using PPE or removing a safety device;
- an administrative financial penalty (in the text from €50 to €300) for anyone who does not display the ID card where it is compulsory.
These amounts, too, are revalued periodically by law.
In addition to the penalties set by law there may be disciplinary consequences and, in case of an accident, civil and criminal liability.