Occupational medicine in Bulgaria: what is it and why is it needed?

What is an OMS?

Occupational medicine is a branch of medicine devoted to safe working conditions. Doctors who specialise in this field must not only have standard medical skills, but also know their way around the law; they must be able to identify, assess and control risks, provide emergency care and prevent illness.

Bulgaria has an Occupational Medicine Service, whose purpose is not always clear to foreigners. Many company directors only learn about the OMS and the obligations connected with this service after an inspection by the labour inspectorate and the payment of fines.

Meanwhile, many entrepreneurs have to deal with this organisation (or rather, with these organisations, since there are quite a few firms offering such services) — everyone who opens their own office and hires employees.

When hiring even one person, the employer is obliged to provide them with services from an OMS. This is stated in Art. 25 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Obligations of the employer and the OMS

The employer must:

• provide the OMS staff with a place to carry out their activities;
• assist the service and appoint a person responsible for contacts with it;
• provide access to all workplaces;
• provide the technical and medical information required for the OMS to operate;
• ensure that the service’s staff can contact the various departments of the enterprise or the officials responsible for working conditions, safety practices, environmental protection, fire safety and so on.

The service’s staff, in turn, must:

• provide the employer with information about the medical examinations required for employees;
• maintain «здравни досиета», that is, employee health files;
• prepare opinions on employees’ professional fitness for specific types of work;
• notify personal physicians of employees’ illnesses or pathologies for diagnosis and treatment;
• draw up annual summary analyses of employees’ health in connection with specific working conditions;
• take part in risk assessment;
• develop recommendations for the employer during recruitment;
• organise and conduct first aid training for employees;
• advise the enterprise’s working conditions committees and groups.

It should be stressed once again that all employers must sign a contract with an OMS, regardless of the number of jobs. It makes no difference whether the enterprise is large or small, whether work is carried out there or training is provided, or what form of ownership is involved. It also does not matter whether the employees work at the firm full-time or part-time.

At the same time, sole traders (ET) and self-employed businesspeople do not have to sign a contract with an OMS as long as they do not hire employees — including under a civil contract.

Contract with an OMS

Before opening an office and hiring staff, a company’s manager needs to sign a contract with an occupational medicine service. There are quite a lot of such companies in Bulgaria — just as there are, for example, firms that service cash registers. They must hold a certificate of registration as an OMS issued by the Minister of Health.

The cost of signing a contract may vary depending on the number of employees. The more of them there are, the lower the cost of the risk assessment for each employee. For example, if there are three employees, you pay 20-30 leva per year for each + 10 leva for signing the contract. If there are more than 40 employees, the risk assessment for each costs only 12-17 leva. Training and the organisation of preventive examinations are paid for separately — in these cases the price is usually agreed individually. The contract is normally signed for a year, but in the case of seasonal employment cooperation for a shorter period is possible.

So, even before opening an office and hiring staff, you need to choose an OMS, sign a contract and provide the service’s staff with conditions for their work. This will help you avoid difficulties and fines during labour inspectorate checks.

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