Designation

Each staff delegation appoints at the constituent meeting from among its members or from among the other employees of the undertaking a staff Health and Safety representative.

Within three days of the constituent meeting, the delegation chairman informs the head of the undertaking and the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines in writing, informing them of the surname, first name and national number of the Health and Safety representative.

If the Health and Safety Representative is not an elected member of the delegation, he or she may attend all meetings of the delegation concerned in an advisory capacity.

Rights and obligations

The Health and Safety representative shall record the results of his findings, countersigned by the head of department, in a special register which shall be kept at the company’s office, where the members of the delegation, as well as the inspection and monitoring staff of the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines, may inspect them.

In urgent cases, where the findings require the immediate intervention of the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines, the representative has the right to apply directly to this administration, provided that he informs the head of the undertaking or his representative and the staff delegation at the same time.

Right to information and consultation

The head of the company must consult and inform the Health and Safety representative about:

• the assessment of risks to Health and Safety at work, including those relating to groups of employees at particular risk;
• protective measures to be taken and, if necessary, the protective equipment to be used;
• declarations to be submitted to the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines concerning accidents at work;
• any action that may have a substantial effect on Health and Safety;
• the appointment of the employees designated to carry out the company’s protective and occupational risk prevention activities;
• measures taken with regard to first aid, fire-fighting and evacuation of employees, the necessary measures, suited to the nature of the activities and the size of the undertaking and/or establishment, and taking into account other persons present on site;
• measures to organise the necessary relations with external services, in particular as regards first aid, emergency medical assistance, rescue and fire-fighting;
• the use of expertise within the company, and of expertise outside the company to organize protection and prevention activities;
• adequate training provided to each employee in the interest of his or her health and safety;
• the assessment of the risks that the company’s activities may have for the environment insofar as health or working conditions are concerned;
• measures taken to protect the environment, insofar as the health or working conditions of employees are concerned.

Right to make proposals

The Health and Safety representatives have the right to request the employer to take appropriate measures and to submit proposals to the employer in order to alleviate any risk to employees or to eliminate sources of danger.

Cooperation with the Designated Worker

The Health and Safety Representative works closely with the Designated Worker(s).

Checking rounds

Every week, the Health and Safety representative, accompanied by the head of the company or his representative, may carry out a tour of inspection at the company’s head office and at the construction sites or other temporary workplaces of the establishment.

In the administrative services, the number of inspection rounds may not exceed two per year.

The manager of the company that is subject to the inspection and the maintenance manager shall attend the inspection.

Relationship with the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines

The inspection and control personnel of the Labor and Mines Inspectorate have the right to be accompanied, during their visits to companies, by the safety and health representative; likewise, they may be assisted during the investigation of accidents.

Salary continuation

The Health and Safety Representative shall not suffer any loss of remuneration as a result of absences from duty caused by inspections or assistance to the inspection and monitoring staff of the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines.

Training leave

The employer shall allow the Health and Safety representative time off, known as training leave, to participate, without loss of pay, in training activities organized by trade union organizations or by specialised institutions coinciding with normal working hours and aimed at improving knowledge in the field of occupational Health and Safety.
This training leave is due outside the training leave provided for staff representatives and cannot be charged to the annual recreation leave.

The duration of the training leave is 40 hours per mandate, increased by 10 additional hours for a first mandate in the company concerned.

It is treated as a period of work, the related remuneration expenses being borne by the State, in the case of undertakings with a total number of employees not exceeding 150.

A grand-ducal regulation may specify the terms of this training leave and increase its duration in the event of exceptional circumstances due to changes in the workplace.