Occupational safety and health in SMEs

Level of OSH care in SMEs

In the area of the occupational safety and health (OSH) of employees, SMEs have specific issues because of their size, business diversity and flexibility, new non-traditional forms of work and employment, seasonal business and often also their shorter period of existence. SMEs therefore require different ways of managing OSH and working conditions, as well as special treatment by officials from the National Labour Inspectorate (NIP) when OSH issues are being examined.

In the second half of 2011, the Institute for Labour and Family Research (IVPR) carried out an analysis of OSH and working conditions in SMEs. The Institute subsequently made recommendations about how the NIP’s inspections can be more precisely targeted to take into account the particular problems of SMEs, and so help them comply with OSH legislation.

The level of OSH care depends on the size of enterprise and can be characterised as described below.

Micro enterprises

In micro enterprises_,_ the majority of employers have insufficient knowledge of OSH requirements. Typically the OSH agenda is set by the entrepreneur in their position as the top manager and their personal approach to the issues is mostly intuitive and is not informed by any detailed knowledge of the relevant legislation. It may also be influenced by the economic situation of the company.

Small enterprises

In small enterprises of up to 15 employees, OSH is again generally dealt with by the entrepreneur. In enterprises with more employees, it is more likely to be dealt with by external services provided by authorised organisations. Employers in this category are increasingly trying to fulfil their OSH responsibilities and are more informed about the issues. Awareness of safety responsibilities is higher than in micro enterprises.

Medium-sized enterprises

In medium-sized enterprises, OSH management is included in the organisational structure of the corporate governance. The OSH agenda is implemented either by an employed safety technician or through external services. In general, employers in this category are more knowledgeable and have a more positive attitude towards OSH obligations. The higher level of OSH care is supported by the fact that the economic situation in enterprises of this size generally allows for a greater budget for OSH activities.

Flexible forms of organisation of work in SMEs

Flexible forms of work and employment are ‘unconventional’ forms which allow SMEs to be flexible in their production and labour capacities according to the enterprise’s local and time needs. These ‘unconventional’ forms’ of work include:

• temporary employment (seasonal and casual work);

• overtime (in construction and manufacturing);

• flexible working hours (business services);

• shortened/part-time work (used mainly for disabled persons);

• work at home (for example, programmers, accountants, marketing staff);

• on-call work.

These flexible forms of work organisation are used by SMEs for 2–6% of the work output. Although some of them increase employee satisfaction, they can also lead to negative consequences for OSH, for example:

• higher intensity of work;

• high workload and stress;

• loss of established rhythm of work;

• neglect of compulsory OSH training;

• less control by the employer.

OSH inspection in SMEs

Inspection in SMEs is a separate issue for the NIP which requires a different approach due to:

• the huge number of enterprises and their business diversity;

• a lower level of care for the overall protection of employees at work conditioned by, for instance, a lack of knowledge or finances,or inadequate legal awareness;

During checks of SMEs, labour inspectors are required to:

• make a comprehensive assessment of OSH and identify current problems in this area;

• increasingly focus on provision of free consultancy;

• promote practical and progressive solutions in OS;,

• increasingly use mass media to popularise appropriate measures for SMEs.

When carrying out inspection tasks, the officials also need to cooperate with:

• local authorities and their supervisory staff (especially those providing services to SMEs);

• the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) in its educational activities and consultancy services.

The recent IVPR analysis suggests the following measures to increase the effectiveness of the NIP’s inspections in SMEs:

• promoting the integration of OSH management into overall corporate governance;

• carrying out an inspection of at least a third of newly established enterprises within a year of their establishment (to enhance the threat of imminent inspection to inspire enterprises to adopt good practice in OSH);

• prioritising the NIP schedule so that at least 50% of inspections in any given planning period are at enterprises that were not inspected in the previous period.

Teodor Hatina, Institute for Labour and Family Research