Prevention service

What is a prevention service?

Article 31 of Law 31/1995 defines the prevention service as the set of human and material resources necessary to carry out preventive activities in order to guarantee the adequate protection of the safety and health of workers, advising and assisting the employer, the workers and their representatives, and the specialized representative bodies. Its nature is interdisciplinary, and it must be able to provide the company with the advice and support it needs in the design and implementation of the prevention plan, risk assessment, planning, information and training, emergency measures, and health surveillance.

Royal Decree 39/1997 organizes these functions into four preventive specialties or disciplines: occupational safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics and applied psychosocial factors, and occupational medicine. An in-house prevention service must have at least two of these specialties; an external service must be accredited for all four; and a joint service must have at least three. Occupational health activities (occupational medicine) are further regulated by Royal Decree 843/2011.

The prevention service provides advice and carries out technical activities, but does not replace the employer’s obligations: the responsibility for integrating prevention, adopting measures, and ensuring safety remains with the company, regardless of the chosen approach. Contracting an external service does not transfer legal responsibility.

Differences between in-house, external and joint prevention services

The three figures share functions but differ in who provides the means, in the requirements and in the cases in which they are mandatory or possible.

• In-house occupational risk prevention service (SPP). A specific organizational unit within the company, with dedicated staff and at least two specializations. It is mandatory in companies with more than 500 employees, in those with between 250 and 500 employees that carry out activities listed in Annex I of the Regulations, and when required by the labor authority due to the hazardous nature of the activity or the accident rate. It must undergo a regulatory audit.
• External prevention service (EPS). A specialized entity accredited by the labor authority that provides the service through a written agreement. It is used when the number of designated workers is insufficient and the circumstances requiring an in-house service do not exist, or to cover specializations that the in-house service does not handle.
• Joint prevention service. A shared service provided by companies that operate in the same center, building, or industrial park, or that belong to the same sector or business group. It requires at least three specializations, resources equivalent to those of an external service, and prior notification to the labor authority.

Practical rule: the company chooses from the options permitted by law, not all of them. The larger the company or the greater the risk, the more obligated it is to have its own resources and submit them to audit.

How the preventive modality is chosen and organized

Chapter III of Royal Decree 39/1997 regulates the organizational methods for preventive resources: personal assumption by the employer, designation of one or more workers, in-house prevention service, and external prevention service, which may be combined. Personal assumption is only permitted in companies with up to 10 employees, or up to 25 if they have a single workplace, without activities listed in Annex I, and with accredited capacity on the part of the employer.

The decision is documented in the prevention plan and follows a sequence:

1. Determine the number of workers, the centers and whether the activity is included in Annex I of the Regulation.
2. Check if any of the circumstances that require the establishment of an in-house prevention service apply.
3. If it is not mandatory, consider appointing workers with the necessary training and resources, and decide which specialties are covered with own resources and which are contracted out.
4. In the event of an agreement with an external service, formalize it in writing with the minimum content required by the Regulations and consult with the workers’ representatives.
5. Guarantee the health surveillance activity with own or external resources that comply with Royal Decree 843/2011.
6. Schedule the regulatory audit when the modality includes own resources and review the organization in the event of changes in staff, activity or accident rate.

Worker safety representatives have the right to be consulted on the organizational structure and the agreement with the external service, and to receive the annual report and program of the service.

Functions and resources of the prevention service

Regardless of the modality, the prevention service must be able to provide the company with:

• System design and implementation. Advice on the prevention plan and on integrating prevention into management.
• Assessment and planning. Evaluation of risk factors, proposal of measures and support for the planning of preventive activity, with verification of its effectiveness.
• Information and training. Training content and activities tailored to the risks of each position.
• Emergencies and first aid. Support in the design of emergency measures and their implementation.
• Health surveillance. Health activity carried out by personnel with accredited technical competence, training and capacity, in accordance with Royal Decree 843/2011.
• Annual report and program. Documents prepared by the service that must be available to the labor authority and workers’ representatives.

External services must also comply with the accreditation, facilities, personnel and ratio requirements set out in Order TIN/2504/2010, and maintain accreditation through the annual activity report.

Quality criteria and common errors

Experience from audits and inspections points to some recurring shortcomings in preventive organization:

1. To contract with an external service and consider that prevention is outsourced, without integrating it into management or assigning internal functions.
2. Choosing the option based on cost without checking if the law requires an in-house service or audit.
3. Generic concerts that do not specify the activities, centers and positions covered.
4. To cover health surveillance with resources that do not meet health requirements.
5. Not consulting the workers’ representatives or providing them with the annual report and schedule.
6. Do not review the modality when the company grows, changes activity or incorporates tasks from Annex I.

An effective prevention service is recognized because its recommendations reach the planning stage, its technicians know the actual job positions, and the company has internal contacts with defined preventive functions.

Regulatory framework in Spain

• Law 31/1995, articles 30 and 31. They regulate the protection and prevention of risks through designated workers or prevention services, define the prevention service and establish its functions and its interdisciplinary nature.
• Royal Decree 39/1997, Chapter III (Articles 10 to 22) . Organizational methods for preventive resources, cases of mandatory in-house service, requirements for in-house, external and joint services, agreements and functions.
• Order TIN/2504/2010 . It develops the accreditation of specialized entities as external prevention services, the report of preventive activities and the authorization to carry out audits.
• Royal Decree 843/2011 . Basic criteria on the organization of resources to develop the health activity of prevention services, including health surveillance.

In other countries, the equivalent role varies: in Colombia, the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (SG-SST) requires a licensed occupational health and safety officer; in Peru, Law 29783 regulates occupational health and safety services; in the European Union, Directive 89/391/EEC allows companies to use external services when they lack internal expertise. The specific conditions are determined by each national framework.