You’ve decided to introduce surveillance cameras, but the workers’ council is against it? Here’s what you can do
One of the issues plaguing many employers is what to do when you decide to introduce surveillance devices, i.e. cameras…
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We are witnessing life in currently challenging times, at the moment primarily caused by the global pandemic of the new corona virus that has also put a challenge on organizing and implementing occupational safety.
But just as every problem is essentially an opportunity for improvement, let’s look at this situation that way as well. Most employers are forced to reduce the number of workers present in workspaces in two basic ways due to the recommendations of the HZJZ and the Decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia.
The first way is for workers whose work is exclusively related to coming to the workplace in the company because such work cannot be done from home: e.g. industry, agriculture, construction, etc. The aforementioned employers introduced rotations of workers in the form of work in two or more shifts or work week for week, etc.
Another way, which we will write about in more detail here, is that workers who, according to the nature of their work, and which is predominantly office type (IT, administration, finance, commercial, marketing, consulting and services, etc.) can perform this work from home. These are administrative, low-risk tasks that are almost entirely related to working with computers and computer equipment, and accordingly, safety requirements in the field of safety at work will be reduced to meeting the provisions of the Ordinance on Safety and Health Protection at Work with a Computer (OG 69/05).
Working from home according to the glossary of the Occupational Safety Act (OG 71/14, 118/14, 94/18 and 96/18) would be one of the separate places of work, i.e. in premises that are not the premises of the employer, and therefore not under his supervision. A house, i.e. a home that by its initial purpose does not belong to the category of business premises, so that not all the provisions of the regulations in the field of safety at work can be fully applied to such a space. I am primarily referring to the provisions of the Occupational Safety Act (OG 71/14, 118/14, 94/18 and 96/18) and the Ordinance on Safety at Work for Places of Work (OG 105/20).
In this situation, it is necessary that the employer adequately, in cooperation with the worker and his professional services, consider the possibilities of meeting the safety and health requirements relating to these jobs. This may include an overview of the space in which the worker will perform the work or other ways to confirm the appropriate adequacy in relation to the type of work to be performed at a separate place of work (working from home).
– it is necessary to consider and evaluate to the extent that corresponds to the nature of the work performed by the worker for the employer, and the worker working from home should be provided with working conditions as similar as possible to those of the employer’s facility. In any case, in this specific situation, there must also be an increased will and responsibility on the part of workers for responsible and conscientious work in an appropriate working environment according to the principles of safety at work. Especially because it works in a space where it cannot be supervised by the employer, which is one of the basic requirements and instruments of occupational safety that the employer is obliged to do for the purpose of its basic task of organization, implementation and supervision of occupational safety.
It could be said, following the above, that working from home narrows the application of the principle of objective responsibility of the employer for the resulting injury, i.e. damage to the worker caused by his work he works for the employer.
Work from home should certainly be regulated through an employment contract or an annex to the existing employment contract in which the employer, in cooperation with the worker, considers the fulfillment of the conditions of safety at work, which in accordance with the above may include an examination in the space where the worker will perform the work. It is important to emphasize the phrase “can include” which of course means that the worker does not have to agree to it, but it is certainly important to find a common language and compromise in order to create a better, healthier and safer working environment in the home.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 17. (OG 93/14, 127/17 and 98/19), an employment contract for the performance of work at the worker’s home or in another space other than the employer’s premises, except for the mandatory content prescribed by Article 15 of the Labour Act. In accordance with Article 10 of the Labour Act, it must, among other things, contain additional information on machines, tools and equipment for performing tasks that the employer is obliged to acquire, install and maintain, i.e. the use of the workers’ own machinery, tools and other equipment and the reimbursement of costs related to the above. In doing so, the worker and the employer are completely free to contract compensation or the method of calculating costs, e.g. own equipment, electricity, internet and other costs.
that in the said private space there is no obligation to test work equipment and working environment within the meaning of the provisions of the Ordinance on inspection and testing of work equipment (OG 16/16) and the Ordinance on testing the working environment (OG 16/16) and that in the case when the worker himself performs the aforementioned tasks in an apartment or house, the provisions of the regulations of occupational safety related to evacuation and rescue and first aid provision do not apply.
Another piece of information purely as an interesting thing. Field data show that many employers have seen significant savings in the overhead costs of their business facilities due to increased work from home workers.
