What it regulates

Establishes the general framework for preventing work-related harm. It recognises workers’ rights to protection, information, training and participation and assigns preventive duties to employers. It regulates risk assessment, preventive planning and the organisation of preventive resources. It also covers coordination between employers and the role of public authorities. Its scope and specific exceptions must be read together with its implementing legislation.

Who it applies to

Employers and workers; public authorities and their staff; and cooperatives with working members. It also places specific duties on manufacturers, importers, suppliers and self-employed workers. Article 3 sets out the relevant scope, exceptions and particular arrangements.

Key provisions

Protection

Employers must protect workers’ safety and health in all work-related aspects.

Article 14

Preventive management

Prevention must be integrated into company management through a prevention plan, risk assessment and the planning of preventive measures.

Article 16

Training

Preventive training must be theoretical and practical, sufficient, appropriate and related to the job. Its cost must not be borne by the worker.

Article 19

Coordination

Where several employers operate at one workplace, they must cooperate and coordinate prevention, with specific duties for workplace operators and principal contractors.

Article 24

History and versions

The table highlights three amendments; it is not an exhaustive history. The BOE shows 14 text versions and marks consolidation as completed. The latest amendment was published on 09/04/2026 and took effect on 10/04/2026; the database record update on 06/11/2026 is a separate date.

Legislative Royal Decree 5/2000 repealed Article 42.2, 42.4 and 42.5 and Articles 45 to 52, except the third and fourth paragraphs of Article 45.1, with effect from 01/01/2001. Consult the current text and BOE analysis rather than relying only on the 1995 original.

Publication	Change or milestone	Effective date
13/12/2003	Law 54/2003 strengthens the integration of prevention and amends, among others, Articles 14 and 16; it introduces Article 32 bis on the presence of preventive resources.	14/12/2003
08/09/2022	Royal Decree-Law 16/2022 removes the exclusion of domestic service in Article 3.4, adds the eighteenth additional provision and amends the fifth additional provision.	09/09/2022
09/04/2026	Law 1/2026 expressly includes self-employed workers in preventive promotion under Article 7.1.a and amends the second paragraph of section 1 and section 4 of the fifth additional provision.	10/04/2026

Publication dates of the 14 observed text versions. These are not entry-into-force dates; one version may incorporate several changes.

10/11/1995 · 31/12/1998 · 06/11/1999 · 08/08/2000 · 13/12/2003 · 30/12/2005 · 19/10/2006 · 23/03/2007 · 23/12/2009 · 06/08/2010 · 28/09/2013 · 29/12/2014 · 08/09/2022 · 09/04/2026

Related legislation

Royal Decree 39/1997 develops the organisation of prevention services. Royal Decree 171/2004 develops Article 24 on coordination between employers. Royal Decree 614/2001 specifies protection against electrical risk.

Official sources

Official sources checked on 14/11/2026. Updating a database record does not by itself mean that the legislation has been amended.

The BOE consolidated text is for information and has no legal force. Refer to the official publication for legal purposes.

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The 5 key values of the workplace safety risk identification and assessment report