Training of employers and employer delegates for safety at work

Training of Employers and Authorized Employers for Occupational Safety and Health

Training of employers and authorized employers for occupational safety and health is carried out because employers have a higher level of responsibility for occupational safety and health than employees and, as such, need to undergo special training. In certain cases (e.g., when the number of employees in a company is large), the employer may delegate their responsibility for occupational safety and health to an authorized employer.

Who Is an Authorized Employer for Occupational Safety and Health?

An authorized employer is a person who, on a daily basis, ensures that work is performed in accordance with the prescribed occupational safety and health rules, that all employees have appropriate protective equipment, participates in training, and so on.

Zatraži ponudu

Osposobljavanje poslodavaca i ovlaštenika poslodavaca za zaštitu na radu

FOR EMPLOYERS WHO WANT TO KNOW MORE: Training of Employers and Authorized Employers for Occupational Safety and Health

An employer can transfer the responsibility for occupational safety and health in writing to their authorized employer, who is then responsible for ensuring that employees within their scope of work adhere to occupational safety and health rules.

What Is an Authorized Employer?

An authorized employer is an employee to whom the employer has granted the authority to implement occupational safety and health measures, regardless of any other contractual obligations. The transfer of authority does not exempt the employer from responsibility.

This obligation arises from the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as employers/authorized employers are expected to actively and promptly implement prescribed occupational safety and health rules in their company. Simply conducting training for employers and authorized employers for occupational safety and health, as well as the resulting documents, does not constitute an independent act. To carry out this training, the employer must have a risk assessment in place.

At Anparo, we can provide training for employers and authorized employers through two methods. One is the traditional in-person training, where a lecture is organized at the employer's premises, followed by an exam. The other method is online training through our application for online training of employers and authorized employers. In this case, all employees will receive study materials and links to the exams in their email. The advantage of this method is that employees can access the training at a time that suits them best.

If you are interested in how risk assessment is viewed at the European Union level, you can visit the website of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

1Legal obligations

Employers and their authorized personnel must be trained in accordance with the risk assessment. The training of authorized personnel is conducted by occupational safety experts of Grade I or II (employed by the employer or the employer themselves) or occupational safety experts of Grade II employed by an authorized body for occupational safety. The training is carried out according to the program prescribed by the Regulation on Training in Occupational Safety and Health and Passing a Professional Exam. The program consists of theoretical training, and records of the conducted training are kept on the so-called ZOOP form. Authorized personnel must be trained immediately upon appointment, and thereafter, the training must be renewed every five years. The training program covers the following topics:

Basic concepts in occupational safety and health (covering provisions stipulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act with amendments and supplements, relevant regulations, and other legal acts in the field of occupational safety and health).
Risk assessment.
Training for safe work.
Obligations and rights of employers, workers, and authorized personnel for occupational safety and health.
Occupational safety and health tasks.
Consequences of not implementing occupational safety and health for employers.
Other applicable regulations depending on the employer's industry.

In addition to being trained, employers and their authorized personnel must continuously improve their expertise in the field of occupational safety and health in line with the risk assessment.

2Frequently asked questions

How long is the training for employers and their authorized personnel valid?

The training for employers and their authorized personnel must be renewed every 5 years.

Can a company have more than one authorized person?

Yes, certainly. In the case of larger companies, it is even desirable. If you operate at multiple locations, it makes sense for the authorized person to be someone who works at a specific location daily. If you have multiple departments and a larger number of employees, it is a much more effective solution to designate authorized personnel for each department.