LABOR CASES

Working Environment

The Occupational Safety & Health Act, and Employer Duties


I. Introduction
On April 16, 2014, a ferry named Sewol ho, bound for Jeju island from Inchon, sank in the ocean near Jindo island, and about 300 passengers lost their lives. This is known as the Sewol ho accident, one of the worst tragedies in Korea, and one which could have been avoided if the employer had fulfilled his duty to observe safety regulations.
The current Occupational Safety & Health Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) requires the employer to establish a management system for occupational safety and health, to prepare preventative measures for harmful and dangerous equipment, facilities, materials, working environment, etc., and at the same time to periodically provide workers the necessary safety and health education to prevent industrial accidents from happening. Also, in cases where an employer is found to have violated the Act, the employer is punished immediately so that the occupational safety and health-related accident preventative activities can be habitualized. Workers can also be punished with a fine for negligence when they violate the Act.
Occupational safety cannot be emphasized enough, as it protects personnel, property, and investment by preventing accidents. This Act, which stipulates the observance of occupational safety and health regulations, is very complicated, and enumerated with many technical articles, and so here I have attempted to define the management structures of the Act clearly and divide the employer’s duties according to their characteristics in order to make the Act more easily and clearly understood.

II. The Act’s Scope of Application & Management Structure
1. Scope of application
This Act shall apply to all businesses or workplaces: Provided that this Act may not apply wholly or partially to businesses taking into consideration the degree of harm and hazard, the type and scale of business, the location of business, etc. Generally, those excluded from application are 1) public administration work, education service, foreign agencies; 2) businesses that use only office employees; and any business that ordinarily employs fewer than 5 workers. (Article 3)

2. Management structure
(1) Appointment duties
1) The general manager in charge of safety and health management: The general manager is responsible for general control of occupational safety and health and supervises safety and health managers. Accordingly, the general manager shall be capable of managing the company's business (e.g., plant manager) (Article 13). Companies that ordinarily employ 50 workers or more engaged in manufacturing etc., companies that ordinarily employ 100 workers or more engaged in wholesale and retail sales, etc., and companies that ordinarily employ 300 or more engaged in pure office administration, such as finance, etc., must appoint a general manager to be in charge of safety and health management.
2) Supervisor: An employer shall designate the head of a division within the management structure, who directly manages and supervises production work and employees involved therein or who takes charge of such a position, to carry out safety- and health-related duties such as safety and health inspections.
3) Safety manager and health manager: An employer shall assign a safety (health) manager at the workplace to assist the employer or the general manager in technical matters concerning safety among the matters regarding safety and health, and to instruct and advise the supervisor on such matters.
The business owner of a manufacturing company or etc., ordinarily hiring 50 workers or more shall generally appoint a safety (health) manager, but for companies with fewer than 300 employees, the business owner may assign the safety (health) manager an additional safety management job or refer to a professional institution to perform the necessary safety management measures. (Articles 15 and 16)
(2) Industrial safety and health committee
The business owner shall establish an industrial safety and health committee comprised of an equal number of worker and employer representatives for workplaces ordinarily hiring more than 100 employees, or which has between 50 to 100 employees engaged in dangerous work. The committee shall meet once per quarter and its decisions shall be posted, and shall be faithfully implemented. (Article 19)
(3) Safety and health management regulations
In order to maintain safety and health in the workplace, an employer shall prepare safety and health management regulations, post and/or keep them in the workplace, and notify workers thereof. The employer and workers shall observe the safety and health management regulations (Article 20). These rules shall apply to workplaces ordinarily hiring 100 workers or more; provided that for service businesses like finance, etc. these rules shall apply to workplaces ordinarily hiring 300 workers or more.

III. Employer’s Duties
1. Report industrial accidents
In cases where a worker dies due to an occupational accident, or is injured or inflicted with a disease requiring medical treatment for three days or more, the employer shall submit to the Minister of Employment & Labor an accident investigation form regarding the occupational accident within one month from the occurrence date of the occupational accident. Provided, in cases where a ‘serious accident’ occurs, the employer shall report it without delay. (Article 10)

2. Measures to prevent harm & hazards
(1) Notice of substance of acts and subordinate statutes
The business owner shall inform workers of the major aspects of orders enacted under this Act by posting them at each workplace. (Article 11)
(2) Attachment of safety signs
The business owner shall install or attach safety and health signs to warn employees of dangerous facilities and places in the workplace and provide emergency drills to promote safety consciousness. (Article 12)
(3) Safety and health measures
The business owner shall take measures necessary to prevent the following hazards in operating the business: ➀ hazards caused by machines, tools or other equipment; ② hazards caused by explosive, combustible or inflammable substances; ③ hazards caused by electricity, heat or other forms of energy; ④ Hazards caused by improper work methods in excavating, quarrying, loading and unloading, timbering, transporting, operating, dismantling, handling of heavy objects, etc.; and ⑤ hazards in places where workers might easily trip and fall, sand, structures, etc., (Article 23).
The business owner shall take measures necessary to prevent the following from causing health problems commonly encountered in the course of business operations: gas, dust, high temperatures, low temperatures, remnants, precision work, poor ventilation or lighting, computer terminals, radiation, simple repetitive actions, etc. (Article 24).
(4) Suspension of operation due to a serious accident or possible risk
If there is imminent danger of an industrial accident, or if a serious accident has occurred, the business owner shall take necessary measures for safety and health, such as immediate suspension of operations, evacuation of workers from the workplace, etc., until work can be resumed after meeting safety requirements. (Article 26)
If any worker suspends work to evacuate as a result of possible risk of an industrial accident, he/she shall report it without delay to the immediate superior officer, who shall take appropriate measures to rectify the situation. (Article 26)
(5) Other measures to prevent harm and hazards
Article 33 (Protective Measures, etc. for Harmful or Dangerous Machines, Instruments, etc.) Machines and instruments requiring harmful or hazardous work or operate

For further questions, please
call (+82) 2-539-0098 or email bongsoo@k-labor.com

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