Occupational safety and students

Do students need protection at work?

I would hire a student – whether I need anything from occupational safety / fire protection is often a question that we encounter since the employment of students is frequent.

The employer is responsible for all the persons he employs. Should a student undergo training to work in a safe manner like any other employee of the company?

In order to answer it, I have to bother you with the legal interpretation that, when translated into understandable Croatian, says the following: the employer is responsible for all the persons he employs. So it doesn’t matter if you hire a person on a classic application or through a student service, the responsibility is the same.

This would mean that the student must undergo training to work in a safe manner and for fire protection like any other employee of the company. However, there are exceptions.

Excerpt from Law No. 2 (still in simple understandable Croatian) says: the employer has 2 (in words: two) months to train a new employee provided that the employee does not work independently but under the supervision of trained colleagues.

I assume that at least once you have experienced the situation that in Cinestar you are standing in a kilometer-long popcorn queue because an experienced colleague at the cash register helps a new colleague to get by, so everything goes very very slowly. Well, that’s your supervised work and that’s allowed – for the next two months from the date of employment.

A student who is completely alone in the office and works diligently at the computer (programs, designs and other *ira activities) without being trained to work in a safe way and fire protection

He can’t work alone.

No, I’m not kidding. Seriously, the inspection might be teasing you. Because it’s dangerous. Because that’s what the law says. Because… reasons.

My advice to you is to access the training if you have a student Pero Perić who works frequently with you, regardless of whether he works for 2 months in a row so you legally have to work or two weeks work, two does not work and so for the next few months. If he comes back to you repeatedly is obviously the person you’re counting on so training shouldn’t be a problem.

If you have a student who is short and one-time with you, and you can ensure supervised work, do not train him or her because you will not keep him. Especially if he creates long lines at Cinestar all the time.