In 2024, the State Labor Department published an annual schedule of inspections for compliance with labor protection requirements which lists 19 359 business entities to be inspected.
Should we expect the State Labor Department to resume scheduled officer this year? Let’s find out.
Currently, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued Resolution No. 303 of March 13, 2022 “On Termination of State Supervision (Control) and State Market Supervision under Martial Law”. According to paragraph 1, there will be no inspections.
So you don’t have to read the rest of the article? Yes, you can. But as always, we look at the details. So let’s get to the details.
According to the requirements of clause 2 of this resolution, unscheduled inspections may still take place. This trouble may befall you in the following cases:
- in the presence of a threat that has a negative impact on the rights, legitimate interests, human life and health, environmental protection and state security;
- on the instructions of the Prime Minister in connection with identified systemic violations and/or the occurrence of an event that has a significant negative impact on the rights, legitimate interests, human life and health, environmental protection and state security;
- in the event of an accident, fire, death of a victim as a result of an accident or occupational disease related to the business entity’s activities.
Why then was the inspection schedule for 2024 approved?
The answer is simple, the Law of Ukraine “On the Basic Principles of State Supervision (Control) in the Field of Economic Activity” No. 877 of 28.12.2007, namely Article 5, provides that the state supervision (control) body shall approve annual plans of planned activities no later than December 1 of the year preceding the planned year.
To conclude, we can say that the state authorities have simply fulfilled the legal requirement.
Since during the war, the State Labor Service inspectors are not yet conducting routine inspections of companies on occupational safety and health, you have enough time to prepare for their visit.
Let’s build an approximate algorithm on how to prepare for an inspector’s visit so that the inspection does not take you by surprise.
We would like to note right away that each enterprise is unique with its own equipment, premises, aura, and there is no single and universal list that would be suitable for everyone.
So where to start?
Let’s consider a company that has office workers, a warehouse where loading and unloading operations are performed using an electric forklift and a rocla, and which has no occupational safety and health regulations.
STEP 1. We conduct an audit of the company.
We conduct it with all responsible persons in order to understand the current state of affairs at the enterprise, what we have and what we lack. You can read more about why you need to conduct an audit at your company in our article: Occupational health and safety audit: why is it needed?
And for those who don’t like to read, but rather enjoy watching videos, we suggest watching the video.
STEP 2. We are building a work strategy.
Create a step-by-step work plan from today to day “X”. When preparing an audit preparation plan, you should build it from the simplest to the most complex activities, from those that do not require a large amount of resources to resource-intensive activities. The plan can be divided into weekly or monthly segments. At the final stage of approving the plan, we would recommend involving everyone who will be involved in its implementation in the discussion:
- Director, as the person who will allocate resources for this.
- Heads of departments who will deploy certain elements of the plan in their areas.
- Lawyers who will tell you that everything should be done in a completely different way.
- And the direct labor protection service, which will be the driver of all these unexpected changes.
STEP 3. Teamwork and collaboration.
With the help of managers and responsible persons, we eliminate the violations identified during the audit.
STEP 4. We analyze and develop labor protection documentation.
In this step, it is worth starting with determining what documentation we have and what is needed at all (Orders, instructions, regulations, accident investigation materials, logbook, etc.). You can learn more about what documentation should be available at the enterprise and download examples in our article: Labor protection: what should be in place at the enterprise? Checklist.
If you’re not a fan of reading long and complicated stories, you can watch a short video about what health and safety manuals your company should have.
STEP 5. We conduct occupational safety training for managers and employees.
Accordingly, persons responsible for the safe performance of work and employees performing high-risk work must undergo special occupational safety training.
In particular, they receive such training:
- The head of the enterprise;
- Specialists of the labor protection service;
- Heads of structural units (work supervisors);
- Other officials responsible for labor protection;
- Members of the commission for testing knowledge on labor protection.
STEP 6. We conduct labor safety briefings.
The types and procedure for conducting occupational health and safety briefings are set out in the Regulations on the Procedure for Conducting Training and Testing of Knowledge on Occupational Health and Safety.
It is developed on the basis of NPAPP 0.00-4.12-05:
- Introductory training on labor protection.
- Training at the workplace (initial and repeated).
- Unscheduled training.
- Targeted training.
Whatever kind of training you conduct, it is necessary that this event is recorded in a register book that is signed by all participants, stamped and sewn with a thread.
STEP 7. We define working conditions.
To be more precise, we conduct workplace attestation (WPC). You can find out when and how to properly conduct a workplace attestation so that everything is as it should be in our article: Attestation of workplaces: how, when, and why?
Also, do not forget that certification creates the prerequisites for medical examinations.
STEP 8. We conduct health checks of our employees.
This stage will take you a lot of time and effort.
The company must have the following documents confirming the medical examinations:
- Act on determining the categories of employees subject to preliminary (periodic) medical examination approved by the State Labor Service of Ukraine;
- Name lists of employees subject to medical examination, agreed with the State Labor Service (Annex 2 of Order No. 246);
- Medical certificates confirming the preliminary (periodic) medical examination for each employee;
- The final act on the results of the periodic medical examination of employees, issued by the health care institution that conducted the medical examination (Annex 9 of Order No. 246) and agreed with the State Labor Service of Ukraine;
- In case of initial medical examinations, a referral for a mandatory preliminary medical examination with a note on the employee’s fitness for work.
We remember about them and carry them out competently and in a timely manner!
STEP 9. Others
Yes, it is, because you need to review whether you have technical documentation for the equipment, whether you have carried out maintenance, maintenance, etc. for the equipment you operate. Whether your employees are provided with overalls and appropriate PPE and whether these measures are recorded in the PPE issue record card. You can read more about PPE in our article: What PPE should be provided to employees?. And do you have training programs, etc.
STEP 10. We obtain permits if they are not available.
This is an important element in the verification process and will be asked in the first place. However, obtaining permits should be planned and executed as the last step, because if you do not have one of the previous components, you will not receive a positive expert conclusion.
As a reminder, permits are divided into two types: permits and declarations. They are issued either for equipment or for high-risk work.
To understand whether your company performs work that requires a permit and/or submission of a Declaration, see the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Approval of the Procedure for Issuing Permits for the Performance of High Risk Work and for the Operation (Use) of High Risk Machines, Mechanisms, Equipment” No. 1107 dated October 26, 2011.
To understand whether your company operates equipment for which you need to obtain a permit and/or submit a Declaration, see the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Approval of the List of Machinery, Mechanisms, High Risk Equipment and Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” No. 77 dated February 3, 2021.
And when you have completed all the steps and there are 2 weeks left before the inspection, conduct a second audit and general cleaning of your company. Hide or dispose of what is not good and what does not belong to you.
Important: All of these steps will not only help you prepare for the inspection, but also minimize the risk of accidents.
Moment of inspection…..
We receive a notice (referral) for a scheduled inspection 10 days before the inspection.
Read the notification (referral) for the state supervision (control) event. After that, wait for a call, and you will be contacted to arrange the time of arrival.
Day “X”
The inspector is obliged to:
1. Present the official ID of the inspector in the prescribed form;
2. Present the referral for inspection;
The reason for the unscheduled inspection of the application of individuals, provide a copy of the approval of the central executive body that implements state policy in the relevant field (part 6, article 6 of the Law of Ukraine No. 877)
3.Provide the business entity with a copy of the certificate (referral).
Without a certificate, referral (copy of the approval), we have the right not to allow the inspection.
After that, we record the arrival of the inspector in the log of registration of State supervision (control) activities. Next, choose who will accompany the inspector.
Who it could be:
If it is a scheduled or unscheduled event in relation to a legal entity, it must be carried out in the presence of the director or a person authorized by the director.
Third parties may be involved in the implementation of such measures.
third parties – legal entities and individuals (lawyers, auditors, public associations represented by their authorized representatives, etc.) engaged by business entities or state supervision (control) authorities in the course of state supervision (control) activities.
WHAT THE STATE LABOR OFFICER WILL PAY ATTENTION TO….
After checking the documents that we prepared in the previous 10 steps, the State Labor Service inspector goes on a familiarization tour of your company’s premises.
What the State Labor Office inspector will pay attention to when visiting your company:
- Technical condition of the equipment (in particular, availability of passports, technical documentation for the equipment, marks on technical inspections, maintenance procedures, etc.) The specific list of questions is determined by the relevant regulations.
- Availability and condition of collective and individual protective equipment. PPE is used by employees to prevent or reduce exposure to harmful and dangerous production factors.
- Availability of safety signs, markings, information posters and signs. Safety signs are designed to inform employees about the presence of harmful and dangerous production factors in the work area. They prohibit actions that may be harmful or provide instructions on how to ensure safety when performing work.
Watch the video to know how to communicate with a State Labor Inspector.
After the inspection, you will receive an “ACT” drawn up based on the results of a planned (unscheduled) state supervision (control) measure on compliance with the requirements of the legislation in the areas of labor protection, industrial safety, occupational health, handling of industrial explosives, labor, employment, employment and employment of persons with disabilities, and state mining supervision It is important to note that these actions will allow you not only to prepare for the inspection, but also to reduce the risks of accidents.
And here you have 5 days to write an objection to the violations found or provide the documents that were missing during the inspection.
The final result of the inspection is the Prescription.
The prescription is a written requirement of an official of a state supervisory (control) authority to a business entity to eliminate violations of the law within a specified timeframe.
The prescription does not impose sanctions on the business entity. The prescription will specify the deadlines for eliminating all violations.
After the specified period, an unscheduled inspection will come to you to check whether you have fulfilled all the violations listed in the prescription.
We wish you not to find yourself in the inspection schedule, and if you do, you know who to call.
Kateryna Grimovych
Occupational health and safety engineer
