Workplace Accidents Uncovered: The Employer’s Duty to Report Injuries
The employer’s obligation to report a work-related injury
The first step that the employer is required to take upon learning about a work-related injury is to report it to the competent authorities. According to the Law on Occupational Safety and Health (LOOSH), Article 64 mandates that the employer must:
- Immediately, and at the latest within 24 hours from the occurrence, orally, in writing, or electronically report to the competent labor inspection and the competent internal affairs authority any fatal, collective, or severe work-related injury, as well as any hazardous incident that could jeopardize the safety and health of employees.
- Immediately, and at the latest within five working days from the day of occurrence, orally, in writing, or electronically report to the competent labor inspection any minor work-related injury that results in the employee’s incapacity to work for more than three days.
- Within five days from the date of receiving the opinion from the healthcare institution that diagnosed an occupational disease, report the occupational disease to the competent labor inspection.
The Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans, and Social Affairs is obligated to make contacts of on-duty labor inspectors available on its website.
The change in reporting work-related injuries in comparison to the previous law involves the obligation to report injuries that result in the employee’s incapacity to work for three workdays or more, aligning with European statistics on work-related injuries where injuries resulting in an incapacity to work for more than three days are reported.
PS. Additionally, the new legal provision allows for the submission of injury reports electronically, when conditions for such reporting are met.
Serbia’s Workplace Safety Regulations: Understanding Penalties for Non-Reporting of Injuries