An overview of recently enacted amendments to the law regarding occupational accidents and occupational diseases

On November 19, amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act entered into force, which, among other things, specify the duties of the occupational health doctor in the diagnosis of occupational diseases and change the procedure for preparing and submitting reports for the investigation of occupational accidents and occupational diseases.

When diagnosing an occupational disease, it is necessary also to talk to the employer
According to the previous law, an occupational disease was diagnosed by an occupational health doctor, who determined the employee's state of health and collected data on the employee's current and previous working conditions and the nature of work. For this purpose, the occupational health doctor had the right to demand from the employer the resolutions of the worker's previous health checks and the results of the risk analysis, as well as extracts from the employee's medical history. Thus, the wording of the previous law allowed an occupational health doctor to establish a causal connection between an occupational disease and the work environment based solely on documents and the employee's words. 

The Chamber proposed to the Ministry of Social Affairs to change the wording of the law in such way that the occupational health doctor must also communicate with the employer when diagnosing an occupational disease. Our proposal has been taken into account, and on November 19, the changes that specify the occupational health doctor's obligations when diagnosing an occupational disease entered into force. From now on, the law clearly states that when diagnosing an occupational disease, the doctor must talk to the employer and, if necessary, visit the work environment (see § 23 (5) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act). The occupational health doctor also has the obligation to talk to the employee and, if necessary, ask the employee for additional health information. 

The report of the investigation of occupational accidents and occupational diseases can be submitted through the working environment database
In the future, the Occupational Health and Safety Act will allow the employer to prepare a report on the results of the investigation of an occupational accident in the working environment database of the labour inspectorate or to upload it there. For this purpose, an occupational accident investigation module is created for the employer in the working environment database. As an alternative, the employer has the option of submitting the report in writing form to the labour inspectorate, for example by sending the report by e-mail (see § 24 (41) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act). The principle still applies that the employer must prepare a report on the results of the occupational accident investigation and submit it to the occupational safety and health authority only if the result of the occupational accident is temporary work disability or death. 

In addition, an amendment came into effect on November 19, which allows the employer to transmit occupational disease investigation reports to the labour inspectorate through the working environment database (see § 24 (4) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act). It is still possible to submit this report to the labour inspectorate in writing form.

As a consequence of the changes described above, the employer no longer has to keep investigation reports of occupational accidents and occupational diseases resulting in temporary disability and death in their company in paper or electronic format, but they are kept in the working environment database (see § 24 (11) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act). The employer must keep the investigation reports of occupational accidents and occupational diseases prepared before November 19, 2022 for 55 years, if this data has not been transferred to the working environment database (see § 318 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act).

You can find out about the amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act that entered into force on November 19 HERE. If you have questions about changes related to occupational accidents and occupational diseases, please contact the Chamber's lawyers at juristid@koda.ee.