Why it is important to comply with Occupational Health and Safety Regulations?

Occupational Health and Safety Regulations in Georgia: Summary:

According to numerous pieces of legislation set up by the European Union, the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulation is a set of legal requirements that aim to protect the health and safety of workers across all industries in the European Union. This regulation set out specific requirements and guidelines for employers to ensure that they provide a safe working environment for their employees. Established rules ensure that workers are protected from hazards and risks that may arise from their work. The documentation that regulates occupational health and safety in the EU includes the Occupational Health and Safety Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC), which sets out the general principles and requirements for workplace health and safety, as well as a number of specific directives that focus on particular hazards or industries. These include the Chemical Agents Directive (98/24/EC), the Manual Handling of Loads Directive (90/269/EEC), and the Personal Protective Equipment Directive (89/686/EEC), among others. Within the framework of an Association Agreement that Georgia officially signed with the EU in 2014, Occupational Health and Safety regulations become mandatory for all types of enterprise. Following OHS regulations in Georgia can help companies avoid legal and financial consequences. Non-compliance can result in penalties, lawsuits, or even the closure of a business, which can then damage a company’s reputation and financial stability.

Occupational Health and Safety in Georgia: Achieving the Objective

The Organic Law of Georgia on Occupational Safety – emphasizes that hazards emerge due to the interplay of various factors such as technology, work organization, working conditions, social relationships, and environmental influences on the workplace. The interaction of these individual factors may make it challenging to identify safety hazards, thus necessitating the implementation of risk assessment protocols. The risk assessment, mentioned in the Organic Law of Georgia, points to potential hazards and risks that must be identified, and appropriate protective measures must be taken to avoid them. Consequently, risk assessment is a process aimed at continuously improving working conditions and health protection. The aim of occupational safety is to enable a hazard-free working environment for employees and to reduce and control potential hazards in order to achieve this.

The Implementation Measures for Occupational Health and Safety in Georgia

To ensure the effectiveness of safety and health measures in the workplace, coordinated standards and control means are used, to help identify areas and moments that require improvement.

Below we will be listing the standard measures all types of enterprise has to comply with, within the framework of OSH Regulations in Georgia.

The initial stage is to understand the requirements of the Organic Law of Georgia on Occupational Safety. The requirements could either be briefed to the employers verbally, or in writing by the certified specialist, who has to be either employed officially in the company or could be servicing the needs by the service agreement.

According to paragraph 2, article 7 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Occupational Safety in a company with:

- up to 20 employees, the employer may personally perform the duties of a specialist in labour protection after completing an accredited program specified in paragraph 6 of this article;
- between 20 and 100 employees, the employer must hire at least one specialist in labour protection;
- more than 100 employees, the employer is obliged to create a labour protection service consisting of two or more specialists in labour protection.

Also should be considered that the employer must ensure:

- workplace safety by complying with legal standards, preventing harm to workers and others, ensuring that protective equipment is documented and replaced, and measuring and evaluating factors in the work environment.
- that its employees receive training in accordance with legal standards and to prevent possible harmful effects on the health and safety of workers.

Training must be provided when hiring new workers, when transferring to another workplace or changing jobs, before introducing new technological processes, work methods, machines and installations, and when changing the production process. In addition, the employer must ensure that training sessions are repeated as planned or as needed.

Training and coaching are provided during working hours, and absences from training days are considered excused and paid for by the employer in proportion to the working hours. Training and briefing of employees are free of charge.

The employer is also required to provide information on occupational hazards and harmful factors related to the workplace, protection mechanisms against them, risks to which employees may be exposed, emergency situations, evacuation plans and measures taken in the presence of increased danger, prohibitions related to entering the company and performing work that endangers the life or health of a worker, and prohibitions established by Georgian law in connection with the performance of certain work. The employer must take into account the size and specifics of the enterprise when providing information.

According to the same law, workplace accidents are classified based on their consequences and the number of people affected. This includes minor accidents, moderate accidents, serious accidents, fatal accidents, and mass accidents. Employers are required to register all accidents and occupational diseases in the workplace for analysis and to take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Another important aspect of OHS rules in Georgia is the requirement for employers to provide appropriate medical treatment for any injuries or illnesses related to work. In addition to these requirements, OHS rules in Georgia include provisions for protecting vulnerable workers, such as pregnant women and young workers. Employers are required to provide special conditions for such workers, such as shortened working hours or modified duties, to ensure they are not exposed to unnecessary risks.

Violating legislative requirements may result in financial sanctions, including fines for failure to register hazardous activities and failure to implement safety measures in the workplace. Employers are also required to register and report accidents and occupational diseases in the workplace, as well as provide insurance coverage for employees working in hazardous, heavy, injury-prone, and dangerous work environments at their own expense.

Safety and Health Strategies for the Workplace

Georgia has established legislative requirements for employers to ensure safety and health in the workplace. Employers are obliged to develop clear policies and ensure their implementation, as well as conduct medical examinations of their employees and provide them with appropriate medical treatment. Employees, in turn, have the right to refuse to perform work that poses a threat to their safety and health, as well as to receive compensation for damage caused in the workplace.

The main components of an effective occupational health and safety management system include:

- Policy and commitments: developing a clear policy that serves as the foundation for the organisation. The policy should aim to improve business efficiency and comply with legal requirements. The organization is responsible for its employees and the working environment, following the spirit and the letter of the law.
- Planning: Develop a plan to implement the safety and health policy outlined in the Safety Policy. To achieve this policy, an effective management structure and organizational measures must be established. Goals and objectives for safety and health must be defined for all managers and employees.
- Implementation and operation: involving and engaging staff through appropriate consultations, using a safety committee, and increasing competence and effective communication for successful implementation of the safety and health policy.
- Performance evaluation: the need for measurement, control, and evaluation of effectiveness related to safety and health.

Our Role in Creating a Safer Workplace

Our team specializes in developing and implementing effective occupational health and safety management systems in accordance with Georgian legislation for offices. We provide consultation, training, and regular monitoring to help businesses ensure safety and hygiene in the workplace, create a positive working environment, and prevent legal and financial consequences associated with non-compliance with regulatory requirements.