Autonomos and Prevention/Assessment Occupational Risks 'Prevención Riesgos Laborales'

The only exception contained in the regulations for the Prevention of Occupational Risks is that of self-employed workers without dependent employees, who do not share a workplace with any other company or perform work for another business.

All others are responsible for the management of those risks, but in different ways, depending on the number of employees.

The self-employed can assume part of the preventive activity themselves as long as a series of requirements are met.
* That the business has less than six workers
* That the self-employed person carries out their activity regularly in the workplace
* That the business activities are not considered dangerous
* That they are trained for the prevention functions that they will carry out
* That they delegate those activities that they cannot carry out by itself, in particular, health surveillance.

Guarantee adequate training and information
The self-employed person with dependent workers has, in any case, the obligation to train and inform their employees on the prevention of occupational risks. It is, therefore, not only the duty to train its employees in PRL but to inform them about the risks derived from their job and the preventive measures that have been adopted to reduce them.

Provide workers with protective equipment
The self-employed must provide their workers with the individual protection equipment appropriate to the risks arising from their job for the performance of the activity. This is especially important in cases of risky activities such as those related to construction.

Guarantee the Health Surveillance of workers
The self-employed are obliged to ensure the surveillance of the Health of the workers who depend on them. In this case, the PRL modality that applies to your business matters little. The Health Surveillance of workers must in any case be carried out by health personnel with accredited technical skills and training.

And what about the self-employed without workers in their charge?
According to the provisions of the PRL regulations, the self-employed worker without dependent employees is not obliged to hire a company that is in charge of prevention, nor does he or she assess or prevent the risks arising from the place where they work. In this case, the PRL depends on the will of the self-employed person.
For certain activities, it is recommended that, despite not being obliged, the self-employed person is trained and informed about the possible risks that their work implies.

The Government has created a website called Prevencion10.es that offers free assessment for Autonomos and micro-businesses with up to 25 employees, in the case that they do not wish to contract a specialist to manage the Prevención de Riesgos Laborales for them. It offers three modules to help them meet the requisites established by law and will also indicate where it is necessary to engage the services of a specialist company.
Evalua-t helps them to make a Plan de Prevención / Prevention Plan.
Instruye-t provides a 30 hr course to educate employees.
Autopreven-t for Autonomos that do not have employees, but do work with others at their workplace.

COVID Prevention Protocol work situations.

De-escalation guides tourism industry.

Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.