Workers particularly sensitive to occupational risks

What are especially sensitive workers?

Risk assessment is carried out with a standard working population in mind, but certain individuals have a greater susceptibility to a specific risk for personal reasons: a chronic illness, a disability, an allergy, a temporary functional limitation, pharmacological treatment, age, or, in the case of pregnancy and breastfeeding, a biological state specifically regulated in Article 26. Law 31/1995 requires that these characteristics be taken into account in the assessment and that adapted measures be adopted, in accordance with the principle of adapting work to the individual in Article 15.1.d.

Special sensitivity is relative to a specific risk: a person may be especially sensitive to noise but not to other agents, or to physical exertion but not to working with screens. Therefore, the concept does not equate to a category of people or a diagnosis, but rather to the relationship between an individual condition and a specific exposure, which must be analyzed on a job-by-job basis. Royal Decree 39/1997 (Article 4.1.b) requires that the assessment consider the possibility that the person occupying or about to occupy the position may be especially sensitive to any of its conditions.

Article 25 is complemented by the protection of maternity (Article 26), minors (Article 27) and people with temporary or fixed-term employment relationships (Article 28), which together with it form the group of groups with reinforced protection under the law.

Obligations and actions

• Knowledge of the condition. The company can only act on what it knows: information is obtained through health surveillance (in terms of fitness and need for adaptation), through voluntary communication from the individual, or through official recognition of disability. Health data is confidential and only healthcare personnel have access to it.
• Risk assessment. Analyze the compatibility between the job conditions and the person’s condition, with the advice of the prevention service, and document the conclusions.
• Preventive and protective measures. Adaptation of the job (equipment, times, tasks, organization), additional technical measures, change of job when adaptation is not possible, and specific training and information.
• Prohibition of employment in incompatible positions. Do not assign the person to positions in which their condition may pose a danger to themselves or others, paying special attention to transitory states or situations that do not meet the psychophysical requirements of the position.
• Health surveillance. Specific examinations with adapted protocols and, where appropriate, mandatory when the state of health may constitute a danger (article 22.1).
• Equality and non-discrimination. The measures must be reasonable adjustments in accordance with disability legislation and cannot become a reason for exclusion or unfavorable treatment.

Common situations

• Recognized disability. Reasonable adjustments to the job and access, in accordance with Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013, and risk compatibility assessment.
• Chronic diseases. Diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, asthma, among others, with compatibility analysis for work at height, alone, with shifts or with exposure to specific agents.
• Sensitivities and allergies. Chemical and biological agents, latex, flours, with job replacement or change of position.
• Temporary treatments and situations. Medication that affects attention, recovery after an injury or intervention, with adaptations limited in time.
• Age. Older workers with functional changes that advise adapting workloads, rhythms, lighting or shifts.
• Mental health. Situations that require adaptation of work organization, support and workload, with confidentiality.

Organizational application: how to manage special sensitivity

1. Define a special sensitivity management procedure that integrates the prevention service, human resources and management, with voluntary and confidential communication channels.
2. Include in the evaluation of each position the psychophysical demands and risks that may be critical for certain individual conditions.
3. Translate the conclusions of health surveillance (fitness with restrictions or need for adaptation) into concrete measures with responsible party and deadline.
4. Apply reasonable adjustments to equipment, time, tasks and organization, and document the adaptation or change of position.
5. Train managers in the management of adaptations and in non-discrimination, and the staff in the communication procedure.
6. Periodically review the adaptations, especially the temporary ones, and in the event of changes in position or condition.
7. Record the actions with restricted access and separation between health data and fitness data.

Preventive management software allows you to manage fitness restrictions and job adaptations confidentially, plan their reviews, and maintain traceability of the measures.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Consider special sensitivity as a permanent label rather than a relationship between condition and specific risk.
2. Excluding or discriminating against the person instead of adapting the job with reasonable adjustments.
3. Claiming to know health data that only healthcare personnel can handle, or communicating diagnoses instead of fitness.
4. Do not translate fitness restrictions into actual workplace measures.
5. Forget about temporary situations (treatments, recoveries) that require adaptations limited in time.
6. Confusing the protection of article 25 with that of maternity in article 26, which has its own rules.

The assessment of compatibility is the responsibility of the health personnel of the prevention service; this sheet is for informational purposes.

Regulatory framework in Spain

• Law 31/1995, articles 15.1.d, 22 and 25. Adaptation of work to the person, health surveillance and protection of especially sensitive workers.
• Royal Decree 39/1997, article 4.1.b. Consideration in the assessment of the possibility that the person is especially sensitive.
• Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013, of November 29. General Law on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion: reasonable adjustments and non-discrimination.
• Directive 89/391/EEC, Article 15. Groups exposed to particularly sensitive risks must be protected against hazards that specifically affect them.

Law 15/2022, comprehensive for equal treatment and non-discrimination, reinforces the prohibition of discrimination based on illness or health condition; in Colombia, job stability reinforced for health reasons is a consolidated criterion in constitutional jurisprudence.