Everyone who works has the right to do so in conditions that do not ruin their health or put their life at risk. This lesson explains where that right comes from, which words the law uses and who checks that it is respected.
Where the right comes from
- The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (article 59) guarantees the right to working conditions that respect hygiene, safety and health.
- The Código do Trabalho (Labour Code, articles 281 to 284) deals with safety and health at work. Article 281 says that workers have the right to work in conditions of safety and health and that the employer must ensure them.
- Lei n.º 102/2009, of 10 September (Law 102/2009), is the legal framework for the promotion of occupational safety and health. It has been amended several times, for example by Lei n.º 3/2014. It is the most important law in this course.
- Lei n.º 98/2009, of 4 September (Law 98/2009), governs compensation for accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- There are also decree-laws for specific risks: personal protective equipment, signs, handling of loads, noise and others. They appear in the following lessons.
Much of this legislation comes from European directives, in particular Framework Directive 89/391/EEC.
Words the law defines
Article 4 of Lei n.º 102/2009 explains the main concepts.
- A worker is someone who works for an employer in return for pay. This also includes the trainee, the apprentice and the intern.
- An employer is a natural or legal person with one or more workers in their service.
- The workplace is the place where the worker is, or must go because of the work, and which the employer controls directly or indirectly.
- A hazard is the property of a machine, a substance or an activity that can cause harm.
- Risk is the probability of that harm happening, depending on how what is hazardous is used, how one is exposed to it or interacts with it.
- Prevention is the set of measures that eliminate or reduce occupational risks.
An example: a wet floor is a hazard. The risk is the probability that someone will slip and fall. Putting up a warning and drying the floor reduces the risk.
General principles of prevention
Article 15(2) lists the principles that the employer must follow. The main ones are:
- avoid risks and combat them at source;
- replace what is dangerous with what is not dangerous or is less dangerous;
- give priority to collective protection over individual protection;
- adapt the work to the person: workstations, equipment and methods;
- plan prevention and build risk assessment into all activities;
- draw up and circulate understandable instructions suited to the work.
Prevention must rest on a correct and continuous risk assessment (article 5(3)).
Who enforces the law
The ACT, the Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (Authority for Working Conditions), supervises compliance with the law on working conditions and on occupational safety and health and promotes the prevention of occupational risks. It can visit companies, check what has been done and impose penalties.
The law classifies infringements as minor, serious and very serious contraordenações (administrative offences). Failing to meet the employer's general obligations under article 15, for example, is a very serious offence. If the employer helps create a dangerous situation, they may also be liable under civil law.
What this course is
This course gives the concepts and basic rules for people who work in Portugal. It does not replace the risk assessment of the workplace, the information and training that every employer has to provide, or the training required for specific activities. The end of the last lesson explains what still falls to the employer.