In Belarus, 142 legal entities and individual entrepreneurs have been accredited to provide occupational safety and health services, as reported to BelTA by Ivan Karchevsky, Head of the Department of Occupational Safety and State Expertise of Working Conditions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
In Belarus, 142 legal entities and individual entrepreneurs have been accredited to provide occupational safety and health services, as reported to BelTA by Ivan Karchevsky, Head of the Department of Occupational Safety and State Expertise of Working Conditions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
The register of legal entities (individual entrepreneurs) accredited to provide occupational safety and health services is available on the ministry's website and is constantly updated. Its purpose is to inform employers about organisations and individual entrepreneurs that are authorised to provide these services. Currently, there are 107 certificates in effect for performing the functions of an occupational safety and health specialist and 35 for conducting workplace assessments of working conditions.
In January-September of the current year, 20 new certificates were issued: 13 individual entrepreneurs and 7 legal entities are now authorised to perform the functions of an occupational safety and health specialist. It should be noted that the accreditation procedure is carried out by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection free of charge.
This year, there were 3 refusals of accreditation, and a total of 36 since 2014. Ivan Karchevsky named the main reasons for refusal to obtain accreditation. These include insufficient work experience in occupational safety and health (at least 3 years) and the absence of a qualified specialist on staff who can provide these services.
In case of violations of legislative requirements, accreditation of a legal entity (individual entrepreneur) to provide occupational safety and health services may be revoked – such a procedure is provided for by law. This year, there were two cases of accreditation revocation: for an individual entrepreneur due to the termination of their activities, and for a legal entity due to the dismissal of a specialist providing services in the field of occupational safety and health, the source explained.
The procedure for providing occupational safety and health services, including the performance of the functions of an occupational safety and health specialist and the certification of workplaces for working conditions, is regulated by the new version of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Occupational Safety and Health", which entered into force on January 25, 2014. Such services may be provided by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs accredited to provide occupational safety and health services and included in the relevant register.