From 01/01/2020, the rules for conducting a special assessment of working conditions (SOUT) are changing. New responsibilities will appear for all its participants: organizations conducting assessments, employers and even labor inspectors. In our material you will find ready-made instructions for conducting a special assessment, which already takes into account legislative innovations. And also refresh your knowledge in this area, learn about the mistakes that employers make when conducting special assessments and their consequences. We will also tell you about automatic fines for special assessments - very soon they will become a reality.
How the legislation on SOUT has changed until 2021
At first, special assessment activities were called “Workplace Certification”, then they were renamed SOUT (special assessment of working conditions). Since 2014, the main nuances of this procedure are regulated by the Law of December 28, 2013 No. 426-FZ “On the special assessment of working conditions.”
Since then, this law has been amended 5 times: by the laws of June 23, 2014 No. 160-FZ, of July 13, 2015 No. 216-FZ, of May 1, 2016 No. 136-FZ, of July 19, 2018 No. 208-FZ and of December 27, 2018 No. 553-FZ.
Despite the fact that the procedure for conducting special assessments has already been studied and has been used in practice for several years, the legislation on special assessment continues to be adjusted. The purpose of the amendments is to improve the quality of special assessments in order to ensure guarantees and rights of workers.
Now another package of amendments to Law No. 426-FZ is approaching ─ draft No. 769142-7 is already in the State Duma. The start of application of the new version of the law is scheduled for January 2021.
What's new in the SOUT procedure since 2021
Globally, legislators did not rewrite Law No. 426-FZ. But starting from 2021, there will be a number of significant adjustments to the procedure for conducting SOUT.
The changes affected not the special assessment procedure itself, but the preparatory stages for it and the final procedures, as well as a number of other provisions of Law No. 426-FZ.
If we list these amendments very briefly, they will fit into a few lines:
- the organization conducting the special assessment is responsible for registering the employer before the start of the special assessment in the FSIS SOUT system and then notifying him of the special identification number assigned by the system ─ without this number, the SOUT report will be invalid;
- the start of validity of the SOUT results will shift ─ it will be possible to use the results of the special assessment only after information about it appears in the FSIS SOUT (federal information system for recording the results of the special assessment). Now this moment is tied to the date of approval of the report.
Important clarification! New edition of Part 4 of Art. 8 of Law No. 426-FZ provides that the period of the special assessment will continue to be calculated from the date of approval of the report regarding the results of the special assessment, containing information that constitutes a state or other secret protected by law.
But that's not all the changes. In the new edition of Law No. 426-FZ, a number of other aspects will be corrected and added regarding the additional responsibilities of appraiser organizations, the timing of approval of the SOUT report, the use of UKEP when sending a copy of the approved report, etc. We will talk about them further.
Choosing an organization
Only organizations that are independent in relation to the customer company and have the appropriate accreditation can conduct SOUT. The Register of such organizations has been published on the official website of the Ministry of Labor. In the statutory documents of the organization, conducting a special assessment must be indicated as the main type of activity (or one of the types). There must also be an accredited testing laboratory with the scope of accreditation “conducting research and measurements of harmful and dangerous factors in the working environment and the labor process.”
The organization must employ at least five experts with a certificate for the right to conduct special assessment work under an employment contract. At least one expert must have a higher education in the specialty “general hygiene”, “occupational hygiene” or “sanitary and hygienic laboratory research”. In addition, the expert must have additional professional training in the field of environmental control systems and at least three years of experience in the field. You can find out more about what kind of training an expert needs and what Unital-M offers in this area in our article.
When choosing an organization, it is important to pay attention to the cost of services. Sometimes the price per seat can be extremely low. This may be due to the fact that SOUT experts do not travel to take measurements, but immediately generate a ready-made report. At the same time, the labor inspectorate will definitely see violations when checking reports in the future, having analyzed the discrepancy in the information: for example, taking measurements on the same day in remote locations, using inappropriate instruments, discrepancies between the dates of measurements and the timing of verification of instruments, etc.
There is no need to rush to make a choice; you should check everything carefully. You can save on price while maintaining the quality of service by carrying out SOUT in large quantities at once, rather than in stages.
What does the procedure for carrying out SOUT look like starting from 2021?
A special assessment is still required once every 5 years. The stages of its implementation are presented in the diagram:
And, of course, let’s not forget about filing a declaration - no one has canceled this obligation of the employer. Let us recall that such a declaration is submitted in relation to workplaces with optimal (class 1) or acceptable (class 2) working conditions (Article 11 of Law No. 426-FZ). Its form and procedure for submission are approved by Order of the Ministry of Labor dated 02/07/2014 No. 80n.
The declaration must be submitted within 30 working days from the date of approval of the special assessment report (Part 1, Article 11 of Law No. 426-FZ, paragraphs 3, 5 of Appendix No. 2 to Order of the Ministry of Labor No. 80n). The declaration can be submitted remotely on the Rostrud website (clarifications of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated January 16, 2019).
What will the employer additionally receive from the appraiser company starting from 2021?
Starting from 2021, the appraiser company will be obliged to inform the employer about the fact of sending information about the special assessment carried out at his enterprise to the FSIS SOUT. This is given 3 working days from the moment such information is sent (Part 3 of Article 18 of Law No. 426-FZ).
This obligation will be considered properly fulfilled only if the employer receives a notification from the appraiser company in one of the forms specified in the law:
- in the form of a paper notice delivered by registered mail with return receipt requested;
- in the form of an electronic document signed by UKEP.
Note that the appraiser company, according to the new version of the law, is given a number of responsibilities with clearly defined deadlines for their implementation:
- She is given 10 working days from the date of approval of the report to transfer information about the results of the special assessment to FSIS SOUT. The law requires this to be done in the form of an electronic document signed by the UKEP (Part 3 of Article 18 of Law No. 426-FZ).
- Within 10 days, she must inform Rostrud about changes in the composition of qualified experts and a reduction in the scope of accreditation of the testing laboratory (Article 19 of the new edition of Law No. 426-FZ).
When is a repeat special assessment needed, and when is an examination needed?
The results of the special assessment may not suit the employer or employees. To check the quality of the conducted SOUT, you can conduct a state examination for a specific workplace. The procedure for conducting the examination of SOUT was approved by Order of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated August 12, 2014 No. 549n.
It’s another matter if, during the special assessment, there were violations of the methodology for its implementation or the requirements of the law and these violations were identified by inspectors during inspections. In this case, it is possible that the special assessment will have to be carried out again. A repeated special assessment is carried out based on the order of the state labor inspector.
In the new edition of Part 6 of Art. 24 of Law No. 426-FZ it is noted that the results of the examination of the quality of SOUT, consideration of disagreements on the issues of conducting a quality examination and the results of its implementation also need to be transferred to the FSIS SOUT. The responsibility for transferring this information to the information system is assigned to the body authorized to conduct the examination - the executive body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation on labor protection issues at the location of the employer who conducted the special assessment (clause 1 of Article 24 of Law No. 426-FZ).
Where to begin? Issuing an order, forming a commission and a list of jobs
Before the start of work at the enterprise, it is necessary to issue an order to carry out special assessment work, create a special commission and draw up a list of places for assessment.
The order includes information about the composition of the commission, the procedure for its activities and the schedule for carrying out the special assessment and assessment process. The commission includes labor protection specialists of the organization and representatives of the trade union. The number of participants must be odd. The commission is headed by the employer or his representative.
The SOUT schedule is drawn up in free form. Members of the commission must familiarize themselves with it and sign it.
At the preparatory stage, the commission’s tasks include determining the list of workplaces that are subject to SOUT. For this purpose, staffing is used. Similar places are indicated separately. For such places the following should be of the same type:
- employee qualifications,
- labor functions and working hours,
- working conditions (ventilation, air conditioning, heating and lighting systems, technological processes, equipment, tools, materials, raw materials),
- location.
It is enough to conduct a special assessment of 20% of similar jobs (at least two), and the results will be applicable to all similar places. They fill out one SOUT card and develop a unified list of measures to improve working conditions.
If, during the assessment of these workplaces, at least one is identified that does not correspond to the criteria of similarity, then the SOUT will need to be carried out for all places previously recognized as similar.
Errors and violations made during the implementation of SOUT
Listed below are the most common mistakes made by employers and appraisers when conducting special assessments:
- Employer mistakes.
Due to the special assessment, the employer may be punished by labor inspectors. It's all about the numerous requirements that the law imposes on this procedure.
Let's name the most common violations of employers during the implementation of SOUT:
| Item no. | Type of violation | What legal norm has been violated? |
| 1 | The employer did not organize a planned special assessment | A special assessment is carried out at least once every 5 years, unless otherwise not established by this law (clause 4 of article 8 of the Law of December 28, 2013 No. 426-FZ “On special assessment of working conditions”) |
| 2 | The employer did not organize an unscheduled special assessment | In some cases, the law obliges employers to conduct unscheduled SOUT (Article 17 of Law No. 426-FZ). For example, when changing technological process, replacement of production equipment, which can have an impact on the level of exposure to harmful and (or) hazardous production factors on workers, etc. |
| 3 | SOUT was carried out by a company that does not have appropriate accreditation (the special assessment report is invalid) | The requirements for such companies are specified in Art. 19 of Law No. 426-FZ. The list of companies authorized to carry out SOUT is posted on the website of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation |
| 4 | The employer did not familiarize the employees with the results of the SOUT | The employer is given 30 calendar days from the date of approval of the SAW report, to familiarize workers with the results of the assessment of their jobs. It does not include periods of temporary incapacity for work of the employee, whether he is on vacation or a business trip, periods of rest between shifts (Clause 5, Article 15 of Law No. 426-FZ) |
| 5 | The procedure for conducting a special assessment was not followed (the results of the SOUT may be invalid) | Methodology for conducting a special assessment and Classification of harmful and (or) hazardous industrial conditions factors, the report form on the implementation of special assessment and assessment and instructions for filling it out approved by Order of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated January 24, 2014 No. 33n |
| 6 | Incorrect application of special assessment results | When providing compensation for work in harmful and (or) dangerous conditions cannot be guided solely by the results carried out special assessment of workplaces. It is necessary to take into account the requirements of other legal acts of the Russian Federation (for example, the right to additional leave “for harmful activities” for medical workers in psychiatric medical institutions does not depend on the class of working conditions, established based on the results of the SOUT, which is provided for other employees medical organizations in accordance with paragraph. 4 hours 1 tbsp. 22 of Law No. 3185-1) |
| 7 | The employer did not involve representatives trade union organization to participate in the special assessment procedure | If the company has a trade union or other representative workers' body, its representative must be included in the composition commission for conducting SOUT (part 2 of article 9 of Law No. 426-FZ) |
| 8 | The employer did not inform employees about the date of the special assessment, and they could not be present during it | The employee has the right to be present during special assessments at your workplace (Part 1, Article 5 of Law No. 426-FZ) |
| 9 | The employer did not take into account the employees' suggestions when identifying potentially harmful or dangerous production factors | The employee has the right to contact the employer, his representative, the organization conducting the special assessment, the expert of the organization conducting special assessment with proposals for implementation at his workplace identification of potentially harmful and (or) hazardous industrial factors and for clarification on issues related to special assessment of working conditions at his workplace (Article 5 of Law No. 426-FZ) |
| 10 | The special assessment commission did not identified all harmful factors that affect employees | Identification of potentially harmful and/or dangerous production factors in the workplace is carried out expert of the appraiser company. Identification results potentially harmful and (or) hazardous production factors approved by the commission (Part 2 of Article 10 of Law No. 426-FZ) |
For an employer, a special assessment carried out with violations can result in a whole set of negative consequences - legal proceedings (if employees go to court to invalidate the results of the special assessment system), unscheduled visits by inspectors, examination of the special assessment system and other unexpected and not very pleasant events and unplanned expenses.
Let us note that the claims of workers and inspectors against the employer based on the results of special labor assessment, as judicial practice shows, are not always justified (see Decision of the Rebrikhinsky District Court of the Altai Territory dated January 14, 2019 in case No. 2A-14/2019, Appeal ruling of the Chelyabinsk Regional Court dated 04/16/2018 in case No. 11-5344/2018).
- Violations of the appraiser company.
It would be useful for the employer to become familiar with the mistakes that the appraiser company’s experts make in practice. Due to these errors, the results of the special assessment may be challenged and/or canceled:
Knowing about these shortcomings, the employer, when drawing up an agreement for the provision of services for carrying out special assessment and assessment work, can provide for separate conditions that will help avoid negative consequences due to errors made by the appraiser. In particular, it is possible to stipulate in the contract the procedure for the appraiser company to compensate the employer for losses incurred during a re-special assessment if the results of the special assessment are subsequently declared invalid due to violations committed by the appraiser company’s experts.
Shelf life of materials for special assessment of working conditions
Deadline for compiling a report on SOUT
It is established by order of the employer when organizing this event at the stage of forming the commission.
Shelf life of SOUT materials
It is 45 years, however, if, as a result of the special assessment and control system, harmful or dangerous production factors are identified and working conditions are appropriately classified according to harmfulness and danger, such materials must be stored for 75 years.
Validity period of SOUT materials
The materials based on the results of the special assessment are valid for the entire period of establishment of the corresponding hazard class or the validity period of the declaration of compliance of working conditions with state regulatory labor protection requirements.
Automatic fines SOUT 2021
For the fact that an employer violated the rules for conducting a special assessment established by law or did not carry out this procedure at all, in 2020 they will continue to be punished under Part 2 of Art. 5.27.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
The penalties have not changed - the employer will be warned or fined in the following amounts:
- officials and individual entrepreneurs - from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles;
- companies - from 60,000 to 80,000 rubles.
The differences between the 2020 fines and those in force in 2021 are the possibility of their imposition not only by inspectors during inspections, but also the generation of fines automatically.
A special computer program will monitor information received by FSIS SOUT and compare data on the registration period of employers with information on the special assessment they conducted. If the program detects that the company has been operating for more than a year, but has not carried out a special assessment, a fine under Part 2 of Art. 5.27.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation will be calculated automatically without the participation of controllers.
Let's sum it up
- Starting from 2021, amendments and additions are being made to the Law “On Special Assessment of Working Conditions” dated December 28, 2013 No. 426-FZ, according to which SOUT participants will have new responsibilities.
- The appraiser company will be obliged, before the start of the SOUT, to register the employer in the FSIS SOUT and inform him of the identification number assigned to him by this system - without this number, the SOUT report will be invalid.
- It will be possible to use the results of the special assessment only after information about it appears in the FSIS SOUT (currently this moment is tied to the date of approval of the report).
- The appraiser company will have a new obligation to inform the employer about the fact of sending information to FSIS SOUT about the special assessment carried out at his enterprise. This is given 3 working days from the moment such information is sent to the information system.
- From 2021, fines for violating the procedure for conducting special assessments and failure to conduct a special assessment will be assessed not only based on the results of inspections, but also automatically based on the results of monitoring the information available in the information system.
Deadline for compiling the OHS report
A report on this event is drawn up strictly in a unified form, by an occupational safety specialist or other authorized person. Document approval takes place in several stages:
- drafted by an expert;
- familiarization by the employer;
- agreement with the commission;
- approval by the employer.
Sample
After the specialist who conducted the assessment has filled out and signed the form, it is submitted to the employer for review. The next step is the study of the report by the commission members. The duration of signing by this group is not regulated by law. But after approval, a three-day period begins for the director to approve the report. After signing, the new assessment results come into force.
