Workplace health and safety duties (prevención de riesgos laborales)

Key rules

• Start date: Prevention duties apply from your first employee.
• Self-management limit: You can handle prevention yourself only with up to 10 workers (25 with a single workplace) and no dangerous activities.
• Health surveillance: Health surveillance always goes through a health service, even if you handle everything else yourself.
• Options: Small employers choose between doing it themselves, designating a worker, or hiring an external service.

What you must do from the first employee

Your duties start the day you hire your first worker. Even one employee means you must protect their health and safety and organise how you will do it. This is called prevención de riesgos laborales.

The core duties

• Protect your workers in general, and build prevention into how you run the business.
• Carry out an initial risk assessment of the workplace. Update it when conditions change.
• Plan preventive activity based on the risks you found.
• Supply the protective equipment each worker needs.
• Inform and consult your workers about risks and prevention measures.
• Train each worker in theory and practice when they are hired and when risks change.
• Prepare emergency measures and a procedure for serious and imminent risk.
• Arrange health surveillance through a health service.
• Keep documents on the risk assessment, planning, controls, accidents and illnesses.
• Coordinate with other businesses that work at the same site.
• Give extra protection to especially sensitive workers, pregnant or breastfeeding workers and minors.

The checklist below turns the main ones into steps.

How you can organise prevention

You do not need a full prevention department. The law gives you a limited set of options:

1. Do it yourself (assume it personally). This suits small firms only.
2. Designate one or more workers to look after prevention.
3. Hire an external prevention service (servicio de prevención ajeno). This is the usual choice for small employers.
4. Set up your own prevention service. This is mandatory only for large firms: 500 or more workers, or 250 or more if the activities are classed as dangerous.
5. Share a joint service with other firms.

With one employee you are not required to have a prevention service. You can choose any permitted option. The decision below helps you pick.

When you can handle it yourself

You can only do this if all of these are true:

• You have up to 10 workers, or up to 25 if the firm has a single workplace.
• Your activities are not on the list of dangerous activities, such as construction, mining or chemicals.
• You habitually work at the workplace.
• You have the basic-level prevention training, at least 50 hours, or 30 hours in some cases.

Handling prevention yourself does not cover health surveillance. That must go through a health service, which is usually external. An external service is also needed for any specialty you cannot cover. If you do not meet the conditions, designate a worker or hire an external service.

Next steps

Decide which option fits, then do the risk assessment and planning first. Check the training hours and headcount conditions with your regional labour authority before you choose to do it yourself.

Choosing between options

How will you organise prevention in your business?

• Handle it yourself: You have up to 10 workers (25 with a single workplace), no dangerous activity, you work at the workplace habitually and you hold basic prevention training.

• Designate a worker: You cannot or do not want to do it yourself and a worker can take on the role.

• Hire an external prevention service: The other options are not available or not enough, or you need specialties such as health surveillance.

Start with handling it yourself if you meet every condition; otherwise designate a worker or hire an external service. Health surveillance always goes to a health service.

Checklist

• Carry out an initial risk assessment of your workplace and update it when conditions change.

• Give each worker practical and theoretical safety training when they are hired and when risks change.

• If you want to handle prevention yourself, check that you have up to 10 workers (up to 25 with a single workplace), no dangerous activity such as construction, mining or chemicals, that you work at the workplace habitually, and that you hold basic-level prevention training.

What to watch out for

• Duties start with the first employee: Your health and safety duties apply from the first employee, even in a very small business. Do the risk assessment and choose how you will organise prevention before the worker starts.

• Handling prevention yourself does not cover health surveillance: Even if you handle prevention personally, health surveillance must be done by a health service. Contract an external health service for it.

• Dangerous activities cannot be self-managed: If your business involves dangerous activities such as construction, mining or chemicals, you cannot handle prevention yourself. Designate a worker or contract an external prevention service.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours of training do I need to handle prevention myself?

You need basic-level prevention training of at least 50 hours, and in some cases 30 hours is enough. The training shows you can carry out the functions yourself. Ask your regional labour authority which hours apply to your business.

Can I handle health surveillance myself as the employer?

No, health surveillance cannot be done by you personally, even if you handle other prevention tasks yourself. It must go through a health service, which is usually an external one. Contract it separately.

Do I need a prevention service if I have only one employee?

No, an employer with one employee is not required to have a prevention service. You can handle prevention yourself if you meet the conditions, name the worker to do it, or hire an external service. An external service becomes necessary for specialties you cannot cover.