Is there a provision in labor legislation regarding how occupational safety training should be conducted? Should they be conducted with a certain frequency (and if so, what frequency), or at the discretion of the administration?
For example, if a company purchases equipment that no one has worked with before and it may pose a danger to employees in case of improper use, is the administration obliged to provide appropriate training, or can it simply instruct employees to familiarize themselves with the manual and start working? Reader of the portal bb.lv
Alevtina Grigorenko, lawyer:
– According to the Labor Law (Article 1), labor legal relations are regulated by the Constitution (Satversme) of the Republic of Latvia, mandatory norms of international law applicable to Latvia, the mentioned law, and other regulatory acts, as well as collective labor agreements and the Rules of Labor Procedure. In turn, all issues related to occupational safety are regulated by legislation that requires employers to create a safe environment, assess risks, and train personnel.
The Labor Law (Article 28, Part 2) defines that, according to the employment contract, the employee undertakes a number of obligations: to perform certain work, to comply with specific labor regulations and the employer's instructions, while the employer is to pay the agreed remuneration and ensure fair, safe, and non-harmful working conditions.
The Occupational Safety Law of Latvia (Articles 5, 7, and 8) guarantees the safety and health of employees, placing the responsibility on employers to create safe conditions, assess risks, and provide training. The law requires employers to conduct mandatory medical examinations, training sessions—in short, to ensure all necessary measures and compliance with norms related to occupational safety. If there is more than one person working in the company, a trained occupational safety specialist must be present.
The State Labor Inspectorate (SLI) supervises compliance with occupational safety norms. For violations of the Labor Law and the Occupational Safety Law, the SLI can penalize the employer (warning or monetary fine) both within the framework of supervision and during the consideration of employee complaints regarding specific cases, or in the case of systematic non-compliance with labor legislation.
As for training sessions, they are conducted at different times and for various reasons: upon hiring (introductory), directly at the workplace before starting work (initial), at least once every 6 months, and more frequently for hazardous work (recurrent), when equipment or technologies change, or after accidents (unscheduled), and for one-time, specific tasks (targeted). There may also be other situations—special performance of labor tasks, emergency work, etc.—when specific training is required.
Thus, labor legislation obliges the employer to ensure all necessary measures (including training sessions) at the enterprise, and in case of violation of the legislation, the employee has the right to submit a complaint to the SLI.
