What is ETKS
There are two directories of professions. They are mandatory for use in all organizations or firms in the country. The first is ETKS - a unified tariff qualification reference book. The second is the Unified Qualification Directory.
For a labor protection specialist, ETKS is an official document. It reflects the responsibilities and requirements for the skill level of specialists. The company is obliged to comply with all this.
Such standardization makes it possible to impose certain qualification requirements
Order No. 559 of the Ministry of Health and Social Relations allows for the effective regulation of labor relations, and it makes it possible to ensure an effective personnel management system.
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Occupational safety specialist or engineer - which job title is correct?
By Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development “On approval...” of May 17, 2012 No. 559n, which entered into force on July 1, 2013, a new position was introduced in the EKS called “occupational safety specialist.” It replaced the previously used position of “occupational safety engineer,” which is not included in the updated directory. At the same time, the corresponding amendments were not made to OKPDTR, which is why these documents call the same position differently. So which term is correct and should be used when drawing up the staffing table and other internal documents of the enterprise?
To answer this question, it is worth using the provisions of Art. 5 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, according to which normative legal acts issued by the executive authorities of the Russian Federation at the federal level cannot contradict the provisions of the Labor Code. At the same time, in accordance with Art. 217 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, at any enterprise that employs more than 50 people, an occupational safety service must be created or the position of an occupational safety specialist must be introduced. This means that the job title “labor safety specialist”, used in the unified qualification directory, meets the requirements of current legislation and is what should be used when developing internal regulatory documentation in the organization.
What is the difference between ETKS and EKS
Professional standard: occupational safety specialist
Both documents have legal force. The ETKS has been developed over many years and contains information about the requirements for each profession. For example, a businessman may not understand why he should choose only a person with completed secondary education as a cashier, but he is obliged to follow the law.
Important! All requirements for certain specialties were formed on the basis of many years of observational experience.
A cashier who barely graduated from school will not be able to count customers correctly. The EKS is intended to describe non-working professions - managers, some professions and employees. The second document takes into account the requirements for promotion.
The ETKS does not mention a security specialist, so it is correct to use the ETKS. But many people confuse these two documents and consider them the same.
Regardless of the position, each employee must perform a certain set of responsibilities. Each position is accompanied by a list of knowledge and skill requirements.
Even in entry-level positions, a person is offered only a limited set of responsibilities
The only difference is that in the new directory there is no division by category. Different criteria are used to assess the level of qualifications.
For example, teachers are certified for suitability for the position, and they gradually receive qualification categories - first and highest. This allows you to determine the level of professional knowledge.
III. Characteristics of generalized labor functions
3.1. Generalized labor function
| Name | Implementation and maintenance of the labor protection management system | Code | A | Skill level | 6 |
| Origin of the generalized labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Possible job titles | Occupational Safety Specialist |
| Education and Training Requirements | Higher education in the field of training “Technosphere Safety” or corresponding areas of training (specialties) in ensuring the safety of production activities, or higher education and additional professional education (professional retraining) in the field of labor protection, or secondary education and additional professional education (professional retraining) in the field labor protection |
| Requirements for practical work experience | No requirements for practical work experience, but with secondary vocational education, work experience in the field of labor protection of at least 3 years |
| Special conditions for permission to work | If the employer has hazardous production facilities, appropriate training and certification in the field of industrial safety |
| Other characteristics |
additional characteristics
| Title of the document | Code | Name of the basic group, position (profession) or specialty |
| OKZ | 2149 | Architects, engineers and related professionals not included in other groups |
| EKS | — | Occupational Safety Specialist |
| OKSO | 280101 | Life safety in the technosphere |
| 280102 | Safety of technological processes and production |
3.1.1. Labor function
| Name | Regulatory support of the occupational safety management system | Code | A/01.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Ensuring the availability, storage and access to regulatory legal acts containing state regulatory requirements for labor protection in accordance with the specifics of the employer’s activities |
| Development of draft local regulations ensuring the creation and operation of an occupational safety and health management system | |
| Preparation of proposals for sections of the collective agreement, agreement on labor protection and employment contracts with employees on labor protection issues | |
| Interaction with representative bodies of workers on issues of labor conditions and safety and coordination of local documentation on labor safety issues | |
| Revision of local regulations on labor protection issues in the event of new ones entering into force or amendments to existing regulations containing labor law standards |
| National, interstate and widespread foreign standards regulating the occupational safety management system |
| Types of local regulations in the field of labor protection |
| The procedure for development, approval, approval and storage of local documentation |
| Fundamentals of technological processes, operation of machines, devices and equipment, raw materials used, taking into account the specifics of the employer’s activities |
| Apply regulatory legal acts and regulatory and technical documentation in terms of highlighting requirements, procedures, regulations, recommendations for adaptation and implementation in local regulatory documentation |
| Analyze and evaluate proposals and comments on draft local regulations on labor protection |
| Analyze changes in legislation in the field of labor protection |
| Use reference information databases containing documents and materials on labor protection |
3.1.2. Labor function
| Name | Providing training for workers in the field of labor protection | Code | A/02.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Identifying training needs and planning training for workers on occupational safety issues |
| Conducting introductory briefings on labor protection, coordinating the conduct of primary, periodic, extraordinary and targeted briefings, providing training for managers and labor protection specialists, training workers in methods and techniques of providing first aid to victims at work | |
| Providing methodological assistance to heads of structural divisions in the development of training programs for workers in safe labor methods and techniques, labor safety instructions | |
| Monitoring the training of workers in safe labor methods and techniques, labor safety briefings and internships in accordance with regulatory requirements | |
| Testing workers' knowledge of labor protection requirements |
| Basic requirements for technologies, equipment, machines and devices in terms of ensuring occupational safety |
| Technologies, forms, means and methods of conducting labor safety briefings, labor safety training and testing knowledge of labor protection requirements |
| Methods for identifying employee training needs on occupational safety issues |
| Fundamentals of psychology, pedagogy, information technology |
| Conduct introductory training on labor protection |
| Provide advice on the development of training programs, internships, occupational safety training and testing knowledge of occupational safety requirements |
| Use modern technical training tools (simulators, multimedia) |
| Assess the effectiveness of employee training on occupational safety issues |
| Generate reporting documents on the conduct of training, briefings on labor protection, internships and testing of knowledge of labor protection requirements |
3.1.3. Labor function
| Name | Collection, processing and transmission of information on issues of labor conditions and safety | Code | A/03.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Informing workers about labor conditions and safety in the workplace, the risk of damage to health, the guarantees provided to them, the compensation they are entitled to and personal protective equipment |
| Collection of information and proposals from employees, their representative bodies, structural divisions of the organization on issues of labor conditions and safety | |
| Preparation for submission by the employer to executive authorities, trade union control bodies of information and documents necessary for them to exercise their powers | |
| Organization of collection and processing of information characterizing the state of labor conditions and labor protection at the employer | |
| Preparation of reporting (statistical) documentation for the employer on issues of labor conditions and safety |
| The powers of the workforce in resolving labor safety issues and the powers of executive authorities to monitor and control the state of labor conditions and safety |
| Mechanisms for interaction with interested bodies and organizations on issues of labor conditions and safety |
| Composition and procedure for preparing reporting (statistical) documentation on issues of labor conditions and safety |
| Form, present and justify a position on the functioning of the occupational safety management system and monitoring compliance with occupational safety requirements |
3.1.4. Labor function
| Name | Ensuring the reduction of levels of occupational risks taking into account working conditions | Code | A/04.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Identification, analysis and assessment of professional risks |
| Development of action plans (programs) to ensure safe conditions and labor protection, improve labor conditions and safety, and manage occupational risks | |
| Development of measures to increase the level of motivation of workers for safe work, the interest of workers in improving working conditions, and involving them in resolving issues related to labor protection | |
| Preparation of proposals to ensure the work and rest regime of employees, the list of compensations due to them in accordance with regulatory requirements | |
| Analysis of documents on acceptance and commissioning of production facilities and assessment of their compliance with state regulatory requirements for labor protection | |
| Organization of pre-employment and periodic medical examinations, other mandatory medical examinations (examinations), mandatory psychiatric examinations | |
| Coordination and control of the provision of personal protective equipment to workers, as well as their storage, assessment of condition and serviceability; organizing the installation of collective protective equipment, | |
| Development of measures for medical and preventive services and maintaining the requirements for sanitary services for workers in accordance with the requirements of regulatory documents |
| Sources and characteristics of harmful and dangerous factors in the working environment and the labor process, their classifications |
| The procedure for conducting preliminary upon employment, periodic and extraordinary medical examinations of workers, other medical examinations and examinations of workers |
| A typical list of annually implemented measures to improve working conditions and safety and reduce levels of occupational risks |
| Requirements of sanitary and hygienic legislation taking into account the specifics of the employer’s activities |
| Types and amount (volume) of compensation for employees engaged in work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions, conditions and procedure for their provision |
| Methods of motivating and encouraging workers to work safely |
| Basic requirements of regulatory legal acts for buildings, structures, premises, machines, equipment, installations, production processes in terms of ensuring safe conditions and labor protection |
| The procedure for the development and examination of labor protection measures as part of design and technological documentation for production purposes |
| Requirements of normative and technical documentation for the condition and maintenance, organization of work on expansion, reconstruction and equipment of buildings, structures, premises |
| Classes and types of collective protective equipment, general requirements established for collective protective equipment, applications, principles of protection and main characteristics of collective protective equipment |
| Classes and types of personal protective equipment, their application, principles of protection and main characteristics, requirements for them, rules for providing workers with personal protective equipment |
| Coordinate a special assessment of working conditions, analyze the results of assessment of working conditions in the workplace |
| Assess the priority of implementing measures to improve working conditions and safety in terms of their effectiveness |
| Formulate requirements for personal protective equipment and collective protective equipment, taking into account working conditions in the workplace, evaluate their characteristics, as well as compliance with regulatory requirements |
| Analyze and evaluate the state of sanitary services for workers |
| Prepare the necessary documentation for concluding an agreement with medical institutions for medical examinations and medical examinations |
| Draw up documents related to providing workers with personal protective equipment, conducting mandatory medical examinations and examinations |
3.2. Generalized labor function
| Name | Monitoring the functioning of the occupational safety management system | Code | B | Skill level | 6 |
| Origin of the generalized labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Possible job titles | Occupational Safety Specialist |
| Education and Training Requirements | Higher education in the field of training “Technosphere Safety” or corresponding areas of training (specialties) in ensuring the safety of production activities, or higher education and additional professional education (professional retraining) in the field of labor protection, or secondary education and additional professional education (professional retraining) in the field labor protection |
| Requirements for practical work experience | No requirements for practical work experience, but with secondary vocational education, work experience in the field of labor protection of at least 3 years |
| Special conditions for permission to work | If the employer has hazardous production facilities, appropriate training and certification in the field of industrial safety |
| Other characteristics |
additional characteristics
| Title of the document | Code | Name of the basic group, position (profession) or specialty |
| OKZ | 2149 | Architects, engineers and related professionals not included in other groups |
| EKS | — | Occupational Safety Specialist |
| OKSO | 280101 | Life safety in the technosphere |
| 280102 | Safety of technological processes and production |
3.2.1. Labor function
| Name | Ensuring control over compliance with labor protection requirements | Code | B/01.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Monitoring compliance with the requirements of regulatory legal acts and local regulations on labor protection, the correct use of personal protective equipment, carrying out preventive work to prevent industrial accidents and occupational diseases, and implementing measures aimed at creating safe working conditions |
| Analysis and assessment of documents related to acceptance and commissioning, control of production facilities for compliance with labor protection requirements | |
| Taking measures to eliminate violations of labor protection requirements, including requests from employees |
| Channels and ways of obtaining information on compliance with labor protection requirements |
| The system of state supervision and control over compliance with labor protection requirements, the rights and responsibilities of representatives of state supervision and control over compliance with labor protection requirements, the responsibilities of employers when conducting state supervision and control over compliance with labor protection requirements |
| Issues of public control over the state of working conditions and labor protection, principles of interaction with public control bodies |
| Responsibility for violation of labor protection requirements (disciplinary, administrative, civil, criminal) and the procedure for bringing to responsibility |
| Apply control methods (observation, document analysis, survey) and develop the necessary tools for this |
| Document the results of control measures, instructions to persons who committed violations of labor protection requirements |
| Interact with the labor protection committee (commission) authorized for labor protection in order to increase the effectiveness of measures to monitor the state of labor conditions and labor protection |
| Analyze the reasons for non-compliance with labor protection requirements |
| Assess and select adequate measures to eliminate identified violations |
3.2.2. Labor function
| Name | Ensuring control over the state of working conditions in the workplace | Code | B/02.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Planning for production control and special assessment of working conditions |
| Organization of the work of the commission for a special assessment of working conditions | |
| Monitoring the assessment of working conditions, reviewing its results | |
| Preparation of documents related to the assessment of working conditions and its results | |
| Monitoring the implementation of the list of recommended measures to improve working conditions, developed based on the results of a special assessment of working conditions | |
| Selection and provision of the necessary documentation and information on issues of special assessment of working conditions, appropriate explanations in the process of conducting a special assessment of working conditions |
| Basic technological processes and production modes, equipment and principles of its operation, raw materials used in the production process |
| The procedure for conducting production control and special assessment of working conditions |
| Collect and analyze documents and information about working conditions |
| Develop a production control program |
| Draw up the necessary documentation when assessing working conditions, including a declaration of compliance of working conditions with state regulatory requirements for labor protection |
3.2.3. Labor function
| Name | Ensuring investigation and recording of industrial accidents and occupational diseases | Code | B/03.6 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 6 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Organization of the work of the commission to investigate industrial accidents and occupational diseases |
| Obtaining, studying and presenting information about the circumstances of industrial accidents and occupational diseases | |
| Formation of documents necessary for the investigation and recording of industrial accidents and occupational diseases, as well as for insurance coverage of victims at work |
| Types of occupational diseases |
| Procedure for investigating industrial accidents and occupational diseases |
| List of materials collected during the investigation of industrial accidents and occupational diseases |
| Analyze information, draw conclusions and conclusions based on an assessment of the circumstances of industrial accidents and occupational diseases |
| Identify and analyze the causes of industrial accidents and occupational diseases and justify the necessary measures (measures) to prevent similar incidents |
| Prepare materials and fill out document forms during the investigation of industrial accidents and occupational diseases |
3.3. Generalized labor function
| Name | Planning, development and improvement of the occupational safety management system | Code | C | Skill level | 7 |
| Origin of the generalized labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Possible job titles | Head of Labor Safety Service |
| Occupational Safety Specialist |
| Education and Training Requirements | Higher education in the field of training “Technosphere Safety” or corresponding areas of training (specialties) in ensuring the safety of industrial activities, or higher education and additional professional education (professional retraining) in the field of labor protection |
| Requirements for practical work experience | At least five years in the field of labor protection |
| Special conditions for permission to work | If the employer has hazardous production facilities, appropriate training and certification in the field of industrial safety |
| Other characteristics |
additional characteristics
| Title of the document | Code | Name of the basic group, position (profession) or specialty |
| OKZ | 2149 | Architects, engineers and related professionals not included in other groups |
| EKS | — | Occupational Safety Specialist |
| — | Head of Labor Safety Service | |
| OKSO | 280101 | Life safety in the technosphere |
| 280102 | Safety of technological processes and production |
3.3.1. Labor function
| Name | Defining goals and objectives (policies), occupational safety management processes and assessing the effectiveness of the occupational safety management system | Code | C/01.7 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 7 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Formation of goals and objectives in the field of labor protection, including the state of working conditions, taking into account the characteristics of the employer’s production activities |
| Planning the occupational safety management system and developing performance indicators in the field of occupational safety | |
| Assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the occupational safety management system | |
| Preparation of proposals for areas of development and adjustment of the occupational safety management system |
| National, interstate and basic international standards on occupational safety management, certification systems in the field of occupational safety |
| Principles and methods of program-targeted planning and organization of occupational safety measures |
| Methods of analysis and forecasting, technologies for collecting information (survey, questionnaire, applications) |
| The best domestic and foreign practices in the field of occupational safety management |
| Analyze best practices in the field of formation and development of an occupational safety management system and assess the possibilities of its adaptation |
| Highlight key goals and objectives in the field of labor protection, indicators of the effectiveness of measures to improve working conditions, reduce levels of occupational risks |
| Apply methods to verify (audit) the functioning of the occupational safety management system, identify and analyze shortcomings |
3.3.2. Labor function
| Name | Distribution of powers, responsibilities, duties on labor protection issues and justification of resource provision | Code | C/02.7 | Level (sub-level) of qualification | 7 |
| Origin of the labor function | Original | Borrowed from the original |
| Original code | Professional standard registration number |
| Labor actions | Preparation of proposals and corresponding draft local documents on the distribution of powers, responsibilities and duties in the field of labor protection between employees |
| Development of proposals for organizational support for occupational safety management | |
| Organization and coordination of labor protection work | |
| Justification of mechanisms and volumes of financing of labor protection measures |
| Types of production and organizational structure of enterprises |
| Modern HR management technologies |
| Principles, methods, technologies of information and persuasion |
| Scientific work organization and ergonomics |
| Fundamentals of psychology and conflict management, business etiquette |
| Fundamentals of financial planning and budget development |
| Mechanism for financing preventive measures to reduce industrial injuries and occupational diseases at work |
| Design the structure of occupational safety management, the structure of the occupational safety service, justify its number |
| Specify the requirements for knowledge and skills, the level of training of occupational safety service specialists |
| Describe the powers, responsibilities and duties in the field of labor protection for managers and specialists |
| Carry out calculations of the necessary financial support for the implementation of labor protection measures |
How to use ETKS
Such a reference book is mandatory for use. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately redo the job description in accordance with the document. After which the specialist needs to redo the contract with the organization and conclude it again. It is impossible to record the position “security engineer” in the work book, since it is not provided for in the reference book.
Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
With the introduction of new standards, the requirements have changed. Therefore, if a specialist wants to continue to carry out his activities, he needs to undergo professional retraining or receive additional education.
Important! For the head of the labor protection service, requirements for the level of experience also apply. It must be at least five years old, otherwise the person is not eligible to hold this position.
Job responsibilities of a labor protection specialist
The job responsibilities of an occupational safety specialist are very extensive; anyone who thinks that they can sit and do nothing is mistaken.
Therefore, I will give some of them:
- Methodological assistance, development, implementation of documents in accordance with the requirements of legal regulations.
- And as everyone knows there are a huge number of them, starting from instructions and ending with calculations of professional risk, wherever you look, there must be a regulation, an order, a program or an instruction. There are simply tons of documents.
- Monitoring the quality of work with personnel.
- This includes supervision of timely instructions, identification of additional work with personnel after long-term sick leaves, before starting one-time or dangerous work.
- Monitoring the creation of safe working conditions for personnel.
- This item is very extensive, and includes supervision of the full provision of special clothing and personal protective equipment, flushing and disinfecting agents, personnel training, control over the timely maintenance of equipment and the use of only serviceable tools.
- Monitoring a complete medical examination of workers and preventing the development of occupational diseases.
- Organization of a special assessment of working conditions, with subsequent compensation to employees, the guarantees and compensation they are entitled to for work in hazardous working conditions.
- Participation in the investigation of an industrial accident.
- Participation is an understatement, because all the main work, if you have an accident, falls on the shoulders of a labor protection specialist.
- Monitoring compliance with the sanitary condition of employees’ workplaces and recreation areas.
This could go on for quite a long time, because a labor safety specialist has many responsibilities, and it all depends primarily on the specifics of the enterprise.
But you can’t sit idle and you constantly have to resolve some additional issues. Either employees complain about managers and demand additional means and protective measures and safer conditions, or the employer wants to take tough measures against unscrupulous employees.
Either you just relax and decide that all the documents are in order, everything is working smoothly, changes will be made to the legal regulations, or an accident will occur or a new “introduction” will come from management.
The range of responsibilities of an occupational safety specialist is very broad, since neglecting it can lead to accidents, injuries and losses to employers.
Responsibility of a labor protection specialist
If we touch on the issue of responsibility, then, like any other employee, it is disciplinary. The employer has the right to punish for justified mistakes.
But the most interesting thing comes next, administrative and criminal liability, because it can arise even due to an incorrectly drawn up job description.
First of all, it should indicate that failure to ensure safe working conditions is the responsibility of department heads, but control. After all, we must not forget that the HSE at an enterprise performs the function of monitoring and preventing the development of emergency situations.
And again, the occupational safety specialist cannot be held responsible for the actions of workers since they are not subordinate to him.
But if there was not sufficient control, for example, employees are not provided with special clothing and personal protective equipment, the SOT is aware of it, but does not take any action, then liability arises due to the lack of proper control.
If an accident occurs, the occupational safety specialist may be liable if it turns out that there is no training, instruction or internship for workers, this indicates that there was no control.
Many examples can be given, the main thing is to know that if you have identified a violation of the law, for example, failure to provide workers with PPE, write a memo addressed to the head of the organization, inform him about this, about the consequences that may arise in the event of an inspection by the labor inspectorate or in the event of accident.
As one inspector I know likes to say when he reveals a problem: “Did you write the memo?” Because in labor protection, without covering yourself and your employer with the appropriate document, you automatically become disarmed from administrative and criminal liability.
To do this, you first need to study the regulations, competently develop the necessary documents, carefully monitor the safe performance of work by personnel, requiring the elimination of violations by timely drawing up an order.
And you should always remember that a labor protection specialist is the same employee of the employer as the rest of the staff and must perform his job duties conscientiously and efficiently (Article 21 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Goals of an occupational safety specialist
An occupational safety specialist is a person distanced from production, located between workers and the employer, and often between a rock and a hard place.
Because it is necessary to control the creation of safe working conditions for workers, reminding the employer of his responsibility under the law and demanding financial investments from him, and at the same time protect his manager from unsafe actions of workers or complaints.
To do this, you need to constantly improve your professional level, monitor changes in regulations, communicate with other labor protection specialists, participate in various labor protection competitions, and most importantly, propose to the manager to take labor protection to a new level, using some know-how.
The main thing is not to sit still, fold your arms, you need to work efficiently, because an active and good occupational safety specialist who constantly confirms his competence will always be in special regard with management, you just need to strive for this.
Professional standards or ETKS
Labor protection requirements when working with students
At this stage of time, it is planned to replace ECTS and EKS with uniform professional standards. Each document will contain information about the requirements for the level of education, skills, and abilities. Job descriptions and other important points are indicated.
This approach allows you to clearly separate the responsibilities of different positions.
Both regulations - ETKS and the professional standard - have equal legal force. But the document that was adopted later will have priority.
The correct name of the profession is of great importance for obtaining benefits, benefits and double experience. For example, in industrial production a welder is called an electric gas welder and he can work in a foundry or press area. But the professional standard allows the name welder.
All this is important for obtaining the right to a preferential pension. Otherwise, you will have to defend it in court.
Qualification Requirements
The manager must have a higher education in the field of “technosphere safety” or something close to it. Subject to obtaining one higher education, it is possible to take specialized courses.
Important! Technosphere security, as a specialty, has several categories.
The first category requires specialized training in the same area as for a manager, or any specialty in ensuring production safety. It is possible to take specialized courses.
The second category has similar requirements. The third category is for people without work experience. Secondary specialized education with additional retraining is allowed for her.
To move to another category, experience is required. To move from the third to the second - at least 1 year, to get the first - at least two years. To become a manager you need to work for at least 5 years.
A labor protection specialist, whose qualification requirements are quite high, must constantly confirm his skills. Timely certification allows you to expect a certain set of knowledge and skills from a person. This is what will allow him to effectively perform his duties and help in managing the organization.
Important! The document specifies an exception for one category of persons. These are those who do not have experience or special training, but who can stand out due to their extensive practical work experience. In this case, the certification commission evaluates their level of knowledge and how correctly they perform their duties. The commission makes a characterization of the employee and determines whether he can be appointed to the position.
Occupational safety specialist and his responsibilities
There is probably no need to explain to anyone who an occupational safety specialist is, even to those who have never encountered him at work; the title of the position speaks for itself.
This is a serious specialty, not easy, in my opinion, requiring a technical mindset, because in many industries it is necessary to understand the manuals of the equipment used in order to correctly draw up labor protection instructions, control the safe performance of work, and so on.
But at the same time, an occupational safety specialist, in the course of his work, is constantly in contact with staff, specialists and managers, and he needs to find an approach to everyone.
It all depends on how you initially position yourself and “place” yourself in the organization, as they say, whatever you name the ship, that’s how it will sail. So it is with the position of occupational safety specialist.
With your workforce, you need to strive to ensure that they listen, follow your requirements and respect, the latter is much more important than if they are afraid. This requires constant contact; in some cases it would be useful to ask how things are going, and in others to demand an explanation.
It is necessary to find your own approach to engineers so that those responsible for the safe performance of work come for advice, respecting your competence, and not hide when you first appear in their department.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg; an occupational safety specialist must be well versed in the legislation, constantly monitoring changes made to legal acts, because this is working with a huge number of documents that need to be developed and constantly updated.
I have heard the following phrase more than once from beginning SOTs: “I decided to do this because I thought that I needed to develop several instructions and keep a couple or three logs, and the rest of the time you just control it, but it turned out that this is not at all the case.”
Of course, it’s not like that, because if you are a labor protection specialist in a small organization, you do everything, albeit not on the same scale as when working in a large company, but all the work is on you. All areas of labor protection are upgraded at once, professionalism grows faster 
But these are the lyrics, and now on the merits.
At what number is the position of occupational safety specialist introduced?
In every organization with more than 50 people, it is necessary to create a labor protection service or introduce the position of an occupational safety specialist (Article 217 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), who must report directly to the employer (clause 3.1.1. Resolution of the Ministry of Labor No. 10).
If the staff is less than 50 employees, then the responsibilities for ensuring safe working conditions must be fulfilled in any case and by order of the enterprise fall on one of the specialists who has been trained at the labor protection training center.
But what about in enterprises where there are, say, 250 people, how can one occupational safety specialist “pull the burden”?
In this case, it is necessary to resort to the calculation of the number, which is given in Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated January 22, 2001 N 10 “On approval of inter-industry standards for the number of labor protection service employees in organizations.”
The calculation is carried out depending on the staffing units, the number of departments, the remoteness of objects and other factors.
I will leave you a link to this calculation for download. It is designed in such a way as to simplify your work and calculate without much difficulty!
Just substitute your values from the indicated tables of the Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated January 22, 2001 N 10 (as amended on February 12, 2014) “On approval of inter-industry standards for the number of occupational safety and health workers in organizations.”
Requirements for a labor protection specialist
In some organizations there is still an opinion that the job responsibilities of a labor protection specialist can be easily performed by a clerk, and in fact this is often what happens.
Until an accident occurs or, based on the results of an inspection, they are obliged to carry out a lot of measures aimed at eliminating violations.
It is to increase the prestige and authority of the profession of occupational safety specialist that the Ministry of Labor, by its order No. 524n dated 04.08.14. introduced the professional standard “Occupational Safety and Health Specialist”.
These requirements for a labor safety specialist were introduced to reduce injuries at enterprises, because if your specialist does not have enough qualifications, then the legal requirements will not be properly met.
He will not notice the danger at the right moment and this will lead to an accident. But then he still has to investigate. This is where all the sore spots that an unqualified employee simply did not deal with due to ignorance will be revealed.
Not only employees, but also the employer can suffer from poor training of a labor protection specialist. Therefore, the order specifies the requirements that must be presented to a labor protection specialist hired for this position:
- Higher education in the specialty “Technosphere Safety” or similar, aimed at the safety of production processes.
- If you have a higher education, there are no requirements for experience, but if you have a secondary vocational education, you must have at least 3 years of experience in a COT position.
- If the enterprise has hazardous production facilities, the labor protection specialist must be certified in industrial safety.
Either higher or secondary vocational education, not in the technosphere, plus advanced training for labor protection specialists (professional retraining) in the amount of 256 hours.
These requirements for occupational safety specialists, leading specialists and heads of departments are more stringent; they are also specified in Order No. 524n. And when drawing up job descriptions, you need to be based on these conditions.
Do not attribute unnecessary responsibilities to yourself, for example, ensuring safe working conditions for workers; remember, the occupational safety specialist only has control!
Job description of a labor protection specialist using my example, for your reference when you click on the link
Employer's liability
What is provided by law must be fulfilled, otherwise administrative liability for the absence of a labor protection specialist will “fall on the shoulders” of the employer (Part 1 of Article 5.27.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) from 50,000 to 80,000 rubles.
And even if during the inspection the inspector reveals a non-compliance with the qualification requirements of your SOT, you face a fine in the same amount.
In practice, I have not encountered an inspector going so deep during an inspection, but, as they say, “what the hell is not joking,” because other structures can also request information confirming qualifications:
- If your company aims to work for a large holding company, then the qualifications of a labor protection specialist will certainly be of interest to the customer.
- Quarterly reports provided to labor protection supervisors from the Administration of the Moscow Region must also indicate the compliance of the labor protection system with the requirements of the regulatory legal acts.
Perhaps in some other cases it is necessary to provide information about the professional training of a labor protection specialist; if you know, write comments, this will help those HSEs who cannot get their manager to send them for retraining.
Documents with requirements
In his work, any leader must rely on official orders. For labor protection, this is Order 3559 from the Ministry of Health and Social Relations. It was adopted on May 17, 2012 and continues to be current.
The professional standard was approved by the Ministry of Labor on August 4, 2014. It was order No. 524.
It is worth remembering that the professional standard has priority rights, since it was adopted later
The latest document involves the introduction of several levels of qualifications. This allows you to see visual movement up the career ladder.
IV. Information about the organizations that developed the professional standard
4.1. Responsible development organization
| Federal State Budgetary Institution "All-Russian Research Institute of Labor Protection and Economics" of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, Moscow | |
| Director | Platygin Dmitry Nikolaevich |
4.2. Names of development organizations
| 1 | SRO NP "National Association of Organizations in the Field of Occupational Safety and Health" (SRO NP "NOOBOT"), Moscow |
| 2 | FSBI "All-Russian Research Institute of Labor Protection and Economics" of the Ministry of Labor of Russia, Moscow |
| 3 | Non-profit educational institution "Institute of Industrial Safety, Labor Protection and Social Partnership", St. Petersburg |
| 4 | Institute of Occupational, Industrial and Human Safety, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Perm National Research University", Perm |
- All-Russian classifier of occupations.
- All-Russian classifier of types of economic activity.
- Unified qualification directory for positions of managers, specialists and other employees.
- All-Russian classifier of educational specialties.
Responsibility for non-use in practical activities
Compliance with professional standards has become mandatory since July 2020. The documents reflect all the features of the safety equipment. If the employer refuses to follow this, he will be given an order to eliminate the violations.
In this case, it is necessary to conduct certification of all employees
In case of refusal, a fine of 1,000 to 50,000 rubles is imposed. An occupational safety specialist must have a certain level of knowledge, which is confirmed by a document, otherwise his appointment is illegal.
Occupational safety is important in any enterprise. Before hiring any employee, the manager must ensure that his qualifications meet the standards.
