ARTIKLID LÕPUTÖÖDEST
TÖÖTERVISHOIU JA TÖÖOHUTUSE KORRALDUS EESTI ETTEVÕTETES Organisation of Occupational Health and Safety in Estonian Enterprises Kati Karu, Kristi Vahur, Kadri Siibak Abstract The Estonian Occupational Health and Safety Act provides the rights and obligations of an employer and an employee in creating a safe working environment. The working environment specialist has a significant role in ensuring a working environment that is safe for health. The aim of the study was to find out how the legislative requirements set by the Occupational Health and Safety Act are applied in practice by working environment specialists, and how the legislative regulations have influenced the working environment in Estonian enterprises. The sample included 156 people performing the duties of a working environment specialist in Estonian enterprises. The data was collected using web-based questionnaires (Connect. ee); descriptive statistics and the χ2 test were used for data analysis. The practice of appointing, employing, and training working environment specialists is influenced by the fact that the qualifications of the working environment specialist are not defined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act that came into force on 1 January 2019 have been positive. However, according to the respondents, the qualifications issue of working environment specialists still needs solving. In-house cooperation cannot be considered as excellent in all enterprises. There are employees who do not adhere to the working environment safety standards, they do not use safety equipment as required and ignore safety regulations either consciously or due to the lack of knowledge. Working environment specialists work hard to raise awareness and at the same time 130
