A large part of the health regulations issued in 2020 focused on the protection of employees during working hours. Thus, the decade has begun with increased attention to compliance with company health and safety regulations.
Since the beginning of 2020, the authorities at the global level have been much more vigilant in compliance with health regulations, leading to increased inspections of company facilities to verify that employees are working under adequate health and safety conditions. Although these inspections are intended to prevent the transmission of diseases, once the officers begin to inspect, they usually audit compliance with other regulations that are equally mandatory.
In Costa Rica, the standards for the protection of the health and safety of employees place special emphasis on company diligence in preventing risks at work. For this reason, companies that demonstrate the correct implementation of an occupational health and safety compliance program, even when accidents occur, manage to avoid penalties that can go as far as the cancellation of permits and closure of activities.
Furthermore, companies with procedures that ensure the safety of their employees tend to have a much better commercial image and suffer fewer incidents that delay operations.
Among the main elements of an effective occupational health and safety program are:
- Identification of the health and safety standards that regulate each internal process and the ways to comply with them.
- The communication of compliance duties so that all members of the organization know and understand their obligations.
- Constant training on how to comply with the rules.
- The installation of communication mechanisms that favor the reporting of irregularities and suggestions for improvement.
- The continual verification of compliance, through previously defined processes.
- Commitment to compliance by all levels of the organization.
- Evaluation and periodic update of the legal regulations and other applicable standards.
- Provision of the means to verify a successful application of the program over time.
BLP’s expert Compliance team can advise you on the development and implementation of health and safety programs under varying conditions. For more information, contact us at [email protected] or +506 6280 2269 via WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal.
