The regulations that companies must mandatorily comply with include the implementation, updating, and continuous improvement of the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS), whose main objective is to develop a joint and sustainable, as well as an individual and collective, culture of prevention at the organisation.
This obligation is applicable from the moment the company has an employee, even if they are teleworking. Here we share the most significant obligations related to Occupational Safety and Health.
Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS)
In accordance with Occupational Safety and Health regulations, companies must meet the following requirements:
- Have an OSHMS in place, which must be updated annually and must be continuously improved.
- Set up an OSH Committee if the company has 20 or more employees. Such Committee must be elected every two years. If the company has less than 20 employees, an OSH Supervisor must be elected.
- Identify all existing hazards at the workplace, assess risks, and determine the mechanisms to control them. This process must be carried out through the Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Control Matrix (HIRARC Matrix). This matrix must be displayed at the company’s premises.
- Create a Risk Map that shows the location of each identified risk at the workplace. This map must be displayed at the company’s premises.
- Train employes in OSH-related matters, providing them with at least four training sessions per year. In addition, the company must provide guidance on this matter when an employee starts working at the company, or when substantial changes are made to the employee’s duties.
- Develop an Annual OSH Plan, in which the company must plan the OSH-related activities to be carried out during the year.
- Update the mandatory OSHMS records based on the activities carried out; such as training sessions, occupational monitoring, inspections, among others.
- Conduct the Monitoring of Occupational Agents on an annual basis.
- Perform internal OSH inspections on a regular basis, to strengthen the management of preventive measures.
- Perform annual internal evaluations of the OSHMS, to verify its compliance with the Annual OSH Plan and the corresponding level of regulatory compliance.
- Conduct external audits of the OSHMS every 2 or 3 years depending on the activities performed. Such audit must be carried out by an external auditor registered with the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion.
Plan for the Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of COVID-19 at the workplace
With respect to the health emergency that our country is currently facing, in case it is necessary to carry out in-person work at the company’s premises, it will be necessary to develop a Plan for the Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of COVID-19 at the Workplace, to prevent contagion and to safeguard the health and lives of employees.
Said Plan must be communicated by the company to its employees and must be made available to them. It is also recommended that employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
On the other hand, the company must ensure adequate ventilation at the workplace, evaluating the physical characteristics of its premises by measuring CO2 levels, in accordance with current regulations.
Occupational Safety and Health contingencies
The failure to comply with Occupational Safety and Health obligations represents an administrative infraction, which may give rise to a penalty ranging from 0.26 tax units (S/ 1,287.00) to 52.53 tax units (S/ 260,023.50), depending on the nature of the infraction and the number of affected employees.
Likewise, the failure to comply with this type of obligations entails a civil liability (compensation for damages) and even a criminal liability (penalty of deprivation of liberty).
Occupational Safety and Health
At BDO, we have a specialized and multidisciplinary team that can provide the necessary assistance for the optimal fulfillment of Occupational Safety and Health obligations, with respect to the implementation of the Management System and the Plan for the Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of COVID-19, among others.
Contact us
Carina Dávila, Legal Manager, Business Services & Outsourcing, cdavila@bdo.com.pe