It is not reasonable to increase the mandatory volume of occupational health services
The Social Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia is discussing the draft on Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which, among other things, obliges employers to order a comprehensive analysis of the company's occupational health and give advice on improving the working environment and promoting employee health. The Chamber informed the Parliament of Estonia that contributing to the health of employees is very important, but the proposed solution may not bring practical benefits.
The volume of mandatory occupational health services is increasing
According to the draft, in future the employer must order occupational health service consisting of at least six services from an occupational health doctor. In addition to performing health examinations of employees, the occupational health doctor must examine the risk analysis of the work environment and, if necessary, visit the work environment. The occupational health doctor must suggest the employer how to improve the working conditions and how to promote the health of employees, advise the employer on the adaptation of the working environment and working conditions and the promotion of the health of employees. The occupational health doctor must also advise the employee on health promotion issues. As a new service, the occupational health doctor must also analyze the occupational health situation of the company as a whole. The Chamber informed the Social Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia that it does not support the increase of the mandatory occupational health volume for several reasons.
The change may not bring practical benefits
Entrepreneurs have informed us that they have no certainty that the situation will substantially improve when the planned changes take effect. It was pointed out that the occupational health doctor may not be able to assess or understand the problems related to the specifics of the work in order to make proposals for the protection of the worker's health and the creation of a safe working environment. In addition, entrepreneurs have doubts as to whether an occupational health doctor entering an establishment for the first time and likely to be in the establishment for a relatively short period of time will be able to adequately assess the health of workers and their relationship to specific risk factors.
The problem of service availability is getting worse
Several companies pointed out that already today there are problems with access to occupational health care in certain areas. If the draft imposes additional obligations on occupational health doctors, the availability of the service may be further reduced.
Occupational health services are becoming more burdensome for businesses
As a result of the changes, employers' costs and administrative burden for the organization of occupational health services will increase significantly, as in addition to health checks, analysis and counseling of the company as a whole will be mandatory in the future. As the price of the service is determined by market conditions and the volume and price of the service depend on the specifics of the company, it is difficult to assess how high this price may be for the company. The imposition of additional obligations and costs on employers is unlikely to improve the occupational health situation, but may instead make it increasingly difficult for employers to meet the requirements, both in terms of time and money.
The mandatory volume of occupational health services could remain at current level
The Chamber sent a proposal to the Social Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia to keep the volume of health examinations at the current level and not to add new mandatory components of occupational health services to the draft. If the Parliament of Estonia deems it necessary to increase the volume of occupational health services, then at least the amendment according to which the occupational health doctor analyzes the occupational health situation of the company as a whole when providing the service should be excluded from the draft. Entrepreneurs are skeptical about the ability of an occupational health doctor to provide the employer with substantive feedback based on the specifics of the company for the organization of occupational health, the protection of workers' health and the creation of a safe working environment. If the occupational health doctor is able to provide such a high-quality service, the question arises as to how long would it take and what would be the cost for the employer. Ordering such an analysis could be an option for companies, not an obligation. In addition, such an analysis is not very useful in a situation where the majority of employees work remotely.
General Practitioners could also be given the right to undergo a medical examination
Based on the feedback received from entrepreneurs, we also proposed to the Parliament of Estonia to amend the law so that in certain cases the employer would be able to send his employees to health examination at the employee's general practitioner, and the employer would not have to use an occupational health doctor every time. This could be the case, in particular, for office workers with lower and predictable workplace risk factors. Whether a GP check-up is sufficient or requires more in-depth service should be made clear from the risk analysis. The change would alleviate the problem of access to occupational health services.
The changes may take effect in 2023
According to the draft, the changes related to occupational health services will enter into force on January 1, 2023. At the moment, the draft procedure is pending in the Parliament of Estonia and it is not known whether and to what extent the Parliament of Estonia will take into account the proposals of the Chamber. You can find out more about the planned changes here.