Law 31/1995 on Occupational Risk Prevention

What is Law 31/1995?

Until 1995, occupational safety and health in Spain was primarily governed by the 1971 General Ordinance on Safety and Hygiene at Work, a detailed and reactive regulation. The Occupational Risk Prevention Law (LPRL) changed this model: instead of prescribing specific technical solutions, it imposes a general obligation on employers to guarantee safety and health through risk assessment, prevention planning, and its integration at all levels of the company. This law has the status of labor legislation and, with adaptations, also applies to public administrations.

The law has been amended several times. The most far-reaching reform was Law 54/2003, which reformed the regulatory framework, strengthening the integration of prevention measures, creating the role of the preventive resource officer, and specifying the obligation to develop a prevention plan. Other amendments have affected maternity protection, public administrations, and coordination with equality and remote work regulations.

Its main regulatory development is Royal Decree 39/1997, Regulation of Prevention Services, together with a wide set of royal decrees on workplaces, equipment, signage, chemical, physical and biological agents, construction works, coordination of activities and other areas.

Essential structure and content

• Chapter I, object and scope (articles 1 to 4). Applicable regulations, object, scope of application (including public administrations and exclusions such as police and civil protection) and definitions of prevention, occupational risk, damage derived from work, serious and imminent risk and working condition.
• Chapter II, preventive policy (articles 5 to 13). Policy objectives, regulatory standards, actions of the Administrations, National Institute for Safety and Health at Work, Labour Inspectorate and National Commission for Safety and Health at Work.
• Chapter III, Rights and Obligations (Articles 14 to 29). Employer’s duty of protection , principles of preventive action (Article 15), prevention plan, evaluation and planning (Article 16), work equipment and protection, information, consultation and participation, training, emergencies, serious and imminent risk, health surveillance, documentation, coordination of activities, protection of particularly vulnerable workers, maternity, minors, temporary workers and obligations of workers.
• Chapter IV, prevention services (articles 30 to 32 bis). Types of preventive organization, internal and external prevention services, audits and presence of preventive resources.
• Chapter V, consultation and participation (articles 33 to 40). Consultation with workers, worker safety representatives and the safety and health committee.
• Chapter VI, Obligations of manufacturers, importers and suppliers (Article 41). Guarantees on machinery, equipment, products and substances.
• Chapter VII, Responsibilities and Sanctions (Articles 42 to 54). Responsibilities and their compatibility, requirements and work stoppage by the Inspection; the infractions and sanctions are defined in the LISOS.

The principles of preventive action

Article 15 sets out the principles that govern all prevention efforts: avoid risks; assess those that cannot be avoided; combat risks at their source; adapt work to the individual; take into account technological advancements; replace hazardous elements with those that pose little or no danger; plan prevention by integrating technology, work organization, working conditions, social relations, and environmental factors; prioritize collective protection over individual protection; and provide workers with appropriate instructions. The employer must also consider each person’s professional capabilities and anticipate potential distractions or non-reckless imprudence.

Organizational application: how to translate the law into the management system

1. Formalize the prevention plan as an integration tool, with the organizational structure, functions, responsibilities and resources (article 16.1).
2. Evaluate the risks of all positions and plan the measures with deadlines, responsible parties and resources (article 16.2).
3. Choose and document the preventive organizational method and submit it to audit when appropriate (Articles 30 and 31).
4. Implement the information, training and consultation procedures and register them by person (articles 18, 19 and 33).
5. Organize health surveillance with the guarantees of article 22 and the response to emergencies and serious and imminent risk (articles 20 and 21).
6. Manage the coordination of business activities and the protection of particularly sensitive groups (articles 24 to 28).
7. Retain the documentation of article 23 and maintain traceability of actions.

Preventive management software structures these elements as processes with responsible parties, deadlines and evidence, and makes it easier to demonstrate the integration of prevention required by law.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Interpreting the law as a catalog of documentary procedures, when its core is the integration of prevention into the management of the company.
2. Delegating all prevention to an external prevention service, forgetting that the responsibility for the duty of protection lies with the employer.
3. Use non-consolidated versions of the law and omit reforms after 1995.
4. Ignoring the obligations of workers under Article 29 and the role of managers in integration.
5. To confuse the general duty of protection with an absolute obligation of result; the law requires diligence and the adoption of all necessary measures.
6. Applying the law without its implementing regulations, which specify the obligations by type of risk and activity.

This sheet describes the structure of the standard for informational purposes; the specific application should be verified in the consolidated text published by the Official State Gazette.

Regulatory framework in Spain

• Law 31/1995, of November 8, on Occupational Risk Prevention . Consolidated text with all current amendments.
• Law 54/2003, of December 12, reforming the regulatory framework for occupational risk prevention . Integration of prevention, prevention plan and preventive resources.
• Royal Decree 39/1997, of January 17, Regulation of Prevention Services . Regulatory development of the evaluation, planning and preventive organization.
• Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989. Framework Directive on the safety and health of workers, transposed into national law.
• Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000, Law on Infringements and Sanctions in the Social Order . Classification of infringements in preventive matters and sanctions.

The law is the frame of reference in Spain; other countries have equivalent regulations, such as Decree 1072 of 2015 in Colombia, Law 29783 in Peru or Law 16.744 in Chile, with their own structures and obligations.

For an overview of how these duties fit into the wider safety management framework, see our guide to occupational risk prevention regulations in Spain, with practical questions, documentation and official sources.