Occupational health service

What it means

The occupational health service, PZS for short, helps employers protect the health of their staff at work. It assesses the risks of the working environment, classifies jobs into categories by level of risk and proposes measures. Every employer, regardless of size, must provide it.

Jobs fall into four categories. The first covers ordinary work without increased risk, such as office work; the fourth covers high-risk work. The category determines who may provide the service: for the lower categories it may be a specialist with the required qualification, for the higher ones an external service team including a physician is needed.

The service also includes work-related preventive medical examinations. For risky work they are mandatory on starting, periodically and on leaving; for other work the law requires them in specific cases, such as night work.

How it works in practice

With new clients we ask whether they have the service in place, as small companies often forget this duty. Office-based firms usually need only a contract with a specialist who prepares the risk assessment and categorisation; for manufacturing or construction we recommend an external service.

The costs of the service and medical examinations are tax-deductible for the employer. For jobs in a hazardous work environment the service also sets the scope of personal protective equipment and the basis for supplements, which we then reflect in payroll.

The service is closely linked to occupational health and safety, but they are not the same. A safety officer deals mainly with accidents and technical risks, the occupational health service with health risks. For smaller companies one provider can cover both if it holds the necessary authorisations.

What to watch out for

A missing service or outdated assessments will surface at the latest during an inspection by the labour inspectorate or regional public health authority, or when a workplace accident is investigated. The fine and liability for damage then fall on the employer.

Assessments and categorisation must be updated whenever technology or the workplace changes or a new risk is identified. A document drawn up once when the company was founded and never revised does not meet the legal requirements, even if it was correct at the start.