Safety at work is a shared responsibility, but not in equal parts. The law gives the employer the main duty and the worker duties of their own. This lesson sets out both.
What the employer must do
Article 15 of Lei n.º 102/2009 sets out the general obligations. The employer must:
- ensure conditions of safety and health in every aspect of the work;
- carry out the risk assessment and adopt preventive measures based on it;
- take into account each worker's knowledge and abilities when assigning tasks;
- provide the information and training the activity requires;
- allow access to high-risk areas only to those with suitable ability and training;
- organise the occupational safety and health services;
- define first aid, fire-fighting and evacuation measures and name the workers responsible for them;
- ensure health surveillance.
The employer bears all the costs of safety and health at work, including medical examinations and protective equipment. They cannot pass them on to the worker (article 15(12)).
When several companies work in the same place, they must cooperate on protection (article 16). This applies to temporary work, subcontracting and service providers. The company where the work is done also has responsibility for the safety of these people.
What the worker must do
Article 17 lists the worker's obligations. In summary:
- comply with the safety and health rules of the law and the employer's instructions;
- look after their own safety and that of others, especially those with management or coordination roles;
- use correctly machines, tools, substances and protective equipment, following the instructions;
- cooperate with the company, read the information received and attend the occupational doctor's consultations and examinations;
- report immediately to a superior any faults and deficiencies that could cause serious and imminent danger, and any defects in protection systems;
- in serious and imminent danger, follow the instructions laid down for that case.
Anyone who culpably breaches these duties risks disciplinary and civil liability. The worker's obligations do not remove the employer's obligations.
Serious and imminent danger
If there is serious and imminent danger that cannot be avoided, the worker may stop work and leave the place. The employer must have given instructions for this, and the worker cannot be penalised for having left or for having taken measures for their own safety or that of others (article 15(6) and article 17(2)). Afterwards, they contact their superior or the person in charge of safety as soon as possible.
Information, consultation and training
- Information (article 19): the worker must have up-to-date information about the risks of their job, the protective measures and what to do in an emergency. They must always receive it on recruitment, on a change of job or duties, when there is new equipment or new technology, and when people from several companies work together.
- Consultation (article 18): at least once a year, the employer consults in writing the workers' representatives for safety and health or, if there are none, the workers themselves. It covers subjects such as risk assessment, preventive measures and training programmes.
- Training (article 20): it must be suited to the job and to high-risk activities. Workers in charge of first aid, fire-fighting and evacuation receive training of their own, in sufficient numbers. Training must not cause the worker any disadvantage.
Continuing training is not the same thing
The Código do Trabalho (article 131) gives every worker the right to at least 40 hours of continuing training a year, and the employer organises it. This free safety course was not designed to meet that obligation and does not replace the safety training for the job. It is for the employer to decide whether it suits their needs.