OSGB Inspections, Warning Points and Sanctions
The Responsible Manager’s Inspection Duties (Art.18)
In OSGBs, the responsible manager is the person accountable for maintaining the unit’s compliance with the legislation. Under Article 18 of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Services, the responsible manager’s principal duties are as follows:
- Monitoring the assignments of the appointed personnel (workplace physician, occupational safety expert and other healthcare staff),
- Keeping and archiving the records related to the service,
- Preparing the documents requested during inspections,
- Following up on application, authorization and visa procedures.
Since these duties directly affect the completeness of the records and documents examined during an inspection, the responsible manager function lies at the center of the OSGB’s level of inspection readiness.
Scope of Authorization and the Visa Requirement (Art.19-20)
Under Article 19 of the Regulation, an OSGB may operate only at the address for which it holds authorization and in the sections specified in the plan contained in its application file. It may not provide services or operate in subjects for which it has not been authorized. This principle draws the boundaries of the authorization in terms of both physical premises and the subject matter of the service.
Article 20, in turn, governs the term of the authorization certificate: authorization certificates must be visaed every five years. When the visa procedure is not completed in time, the authorization certificate is suspended or revoked. Since visa follow-up is among the duties assigned to the responsible manager under Article 18, missing the visa deadline produces consequences both administratively and in terms of liability.
Warning Points and Sanctions (Art.21-22)
For violations that do not require direct revocation, the warning points determined in Annex-7 are applied pursuant to Article 21 of the Regulation. These points accumulate over time and turn into sanctions once they reach certain thresholds. Article 22 governs the consequences attached to accumulation and to cases of serious violation.
| Situation | Basis | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Violations not requiring direct revocation | Art.21 (Annex-7) | Application of the relevant warning points |
| Total warning points reaching 300 | Art.22 | Suspension of the authorization certificate for six months |
| Application documents being contrary to the truth | Art.22 | Direct revocation of the authorization certificate |
| Being suspended three times within one visa period | Art.22 | Direct revocation of the authorization certificate |
| Providing services while suspended | Art.22 | Direct revocation of the authorization certificate |
The warning point system has a graduated structure: individual violations result in points, the accumulation of points leads to temporary suspension, and serious cases such as declarations contrary to the truth or violation of the suspension rules lead to direct revocation.
Objection Process (Art.22/A)
Article 22/A of the Regulation provides for an objection commission to which the measures applied may be challenged. This provision constitutes a procedural safeguard that allows decisions concerning warning points, suspension and revocation to be assessed through an administrative review mechanism.