15Occupational risk prevention

Employers must guarantee the health and safety of their employees but without merely complying with legislation and remedying risk situations, meaning that they have an obligation to perform risk assessments, adopt measures in emergency situations, provide protective equipment and to guarantee the health of employees, including pregnant or breastfeeding women (ensuring they do not perform tasks which could put them or their unborn child/baby at risk).

All employers must have a risk prevention service to provide advice and assistance in prevention tasks and employers must appoint one or more workers to take charge of these activities. At companies with less than 10 workers, this service may be provided directly by the employer, provided that it habitually pursues its business at the workplace and has the necessary capacity to do so. An external risk prevention service may also be used in certain cases.

Failure to comply with occupational risk prevention obligations may give rise administrative, labor, criminal and civil liability.

Lastly, legislation relating to foreign enterprise and investment has also moved with the times, as shown by recent regulations governing work permits for digital nomads.