Serbia: New rulebook to prevent spread of infectious disease and assure safe working conditions

published on 21 July 2020 | reading time approx. 1 minute

The rulebook is introducing a set of new necessities for all employers and employees. Employers are required to follow a plan (Preventive Action Plan) and adopt measures to prevent the outbreak and spread of the epidemic by no later than 10 August 2020. 

The regulations on preventive measures for safe and healthy work and for the prevention of the outbreak and spread of the infectious disease came into force on 11 July 2020 (RS Official Gazette No. 94/20 Rules) and will be applied in all workplaces, except for field work and work from home.
   

What are employers’ obligations?

All employers are required to follow the Preventive Action Plan, which is a part of the risk assessment document in terms of health and safety at work regulations. The Preventive Action Plan must include

• preventive measures to avert the outbreak of the epidemic;
• activities to implement and monitor the implementation of preventive measures;
• measures and actions taken in the event of an outbreak of the epidemic.
  

The protection measures include a number of actions to be undertaken by the employer: written guidelines for the compliance with the measures and the assurance of additional hygiene measures in the business premises, as well as questions of work organisation by redistributing office hours and introducing shift work with a smaller number of employees.

According to the regulations, all employees are required to follow the recommended preventive measures at work and report any suspicious symptoms among themselves, their colleagues or family members to the employer immediately.

An employer who fails to adopt the mandatory Preventive Action Plan within the prescribed deadline may be fined between RSD 800,000 and RSD 1,000,000 under the penal provisions of the Law on Safety and Health at Work (RS Official Gazette Nos 101/2005, 91/2015 and 113/2017).