New Law on occupational safety and health in the workplace

The latest Law on Occupational Safety and Health entered into force on 7 May of this year ("Official Gazette of RS" No. 35/2023). The main goal of passing this law is to improve working conditions and reduce the number of injuries at work.

The need to pass a new law after 18 years arose due to changed working conditions. Although the previous law partially implied working in a different environment, the situation with COVID-19 led to the new law introducing work from home and remote work. The law foresees the obligation of employers to carry out a risk assessment and prescribe measures for safe and healthy work from home and remote work.

Numerous injuries at work have been recorded in recent years, and the new law covers this segment as well. Conditions for performing high-risk jobs are being tightened, but responsibility and fines are also being introduced for employees who do not follow safety rules. Training of employees in the field of safety, as well as determining the procedure and method for issuing a work permit, are mandatory for the employer.

The novelty defined by this law is related to the work of advisors, that is, associates for safety and health at work, and includes monitoring standards and technical progress in this area. The most well-known is the SRPS ISO 45001, which provides requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, and there are other standards from the same series that support it. ISS regularly organizes professional training on this topic, and there is a possibility of holding in-house training as well.