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What it regulates
It approved a general regulation protecting workers against occupational risks, covering premises, equipment, scaffolding, hygiene, first aid and information. It is retained as a historical precursor to prevention in Spain. The February 1940 original must be read with the correction published that month and later repeals; it does not establish current preventive duties.
Who it applies to
Historical national scope: industries and work covered by occupational-accident legislation, alongside sector-specific provisions. This entry selects preventive topics and the verified correction and repeal chain. It does not reconstruct every special provision or itself determine the rules applicable to a past case.
Key provisions
The historical regulation established general protection against occupational risks. Particularly hazardous activities were also subject to applicable special regulations and instructions.
Official referenceIt assigned compliance monitoring to the Labour Inspectorate and imposition and collection of fines to labour delegates under the period’s procedures. This allocation is described as institutional history.
Official referenceIt contained rules on workplace dimensions and maintenance, circulation, stairs, openings and air renewal. These are predecessors of workplace protection rules; their historical numerical limits are not current compliance criteria.
Official referenceIt provided for first-aid supplies at workplaces and, where the establishment’s scale required, an emergency treatment room with healthcare staff and initial-care equipment. This is historical regulation, not a current healthcare standard.
Official referenceIt required informing workers of the regulation when they joined and displaying it visibly; the Article 101 correction specified the official edition published by the Ministry. Pending special instructions, the employer’s preventive instructions also had to be displayed.
Official referenceHistory and versions
Initial publication: 03/02/1940 · Initial entry into force: Three months after publication (article 104); no calculated calendar date
BOE-A-1940-1173Signed on 31 January 1940 and published on 3 February, pages 914–924. Article 104 set a three-month commencement period. The correction signed on 19 February and published on 28 February corrected Articles 33, 37, 78, 83, 92 and 101. The Order of 9 March 1971 repealed the regulation except Chapter VII from 1 June 1971. Royal Decree 2177/2004 expressly repealed that chapter from 3 December 2004. These documented milestones are not an exhaustive inventory of every rule affecting historical application.
Original publication of 3 February 1940: general regulation; commencement follows Article 104’s three-month rule.
BOE-A-1940-1173Correction published on 28 February 1940: Article 33, alternative devices; 37, reference to Article 23; 78, height of 0.90 metres; 83, separation of non-hazardous and hazardous operations; 92, one toilet per forty male workers; 101, the Ministry’s official edition. These are corrected historical details, not current recommendations.
BOE-A-1940-2040Order of 9 March 1971, validity table I(1) and final provision four: repeals the regulation except Chapter VII, effective 1 June 1971.
BOE-A-1971-380Royal Decree 2177/2004, sole article (three): inserts the express repeal of Chapter VII of the 1940 regulation into Royal Decree 1215/1997. Published 13 November 2004; in force 3 December.
BOE-A-2004-19311Verified historical publications
- BOE-A-1940-1173 · 03/02/1940
- BOE-A-1940-2040 · 28/02/1940
Transitional provisions and application notes
The original was published on 3 February 1940. Article 104 provided for commencement three months after BOE publication. That literal rule is retained without presenting a calculated calendar date as one expressly stated by the source.
Official referenceThe correction signed on 19 February 1940 and published on 28 February corrects six articles. It changes meaning and dimensions: Article 33 replaces “and” with “or” between the specified devices; Article 78 replaces 0.50 with 0.90 metres. It is not a separate second law.
Official referenceThe Order of 9 March 1971 repealed the regulation except Chapter VII, effective 1 June 1971. It is incorrect either to describe a complete repeal in 1971 or to treat the entire regulation as in force until 2004.
Official referenceRoyal Decree 2177/2004 inserted the express repeal of Chapter VII into Royal Decree 1215/1997’s repealing provision, effective 3 December 2004. No current residual force is established. The 1971 exception does not prove that the chapter remained unchanged or unaffected by other legislation throughout the intervening period.
Official reference
Official BOE legal relationships
Documentarily verified relationships are explained in the history: the 1940 correction, the 1971 repeal except Chapter VII and the express repeal of that chapter in 2004. This is not claimed to be an exhaustive history of every intermediate development.
