The procedure for conducting preliminary (during employment) and periodic (during employment) medical examinations of employees engaged in heavy work, work with harmful or dangerous working conditions or those where there is a need for professional selection, annual mandatory medical examination of persons under the age of 21 is determined by the Procedure for conducting medical examinations of employees of certain categories (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure) approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 21.05.2007 No. 246 (with amendments and additions).
Preliminary and periodic medical examinations
The purpose of conducting a preliminary medical examination upon employment is to: determine the employee's health status and the ability to perform professional duties without deterioration of health under the influence of specific harmful and dangerous factors of the production environment and labor process, and to identify occupational diseases that arose earlier while working at previous production facilities.
Periodic medical examinations are carried out for the purpose of:
- timely detection of early chronic occupational diseases;
- ensuring dynamic monitoring of the health of employees under conditions of exposure to harmful and dangerous production factors and the labor process;
- resolving the issue of the employee's ability to continue working under conditions of specific harmful and dangerous production factors and the labor process;
- development of individual treatment, prevention and rehabilitation measures for employees classified as at-risk;
- conducting appropriate health activities.
The occupational health physician of the territorial body of the State Labor Service annually, upon the employer's application, determines the categories of employees who are subject to a preliminary (periodic) medical examination and, by December 1, draws up an Act determining the categories of employees who are subject to a preliminary (periodic) medical examination.
Lists of employees subject to preliminary (periodic) medical examination
Based on the Act of determining the categories of employees subject to preliminary (periodic) medical examination, the employer shall draw up, within a month, four copies of the names of employees subject to periodic medical examinations, and shall have them approved by the occupational health doctor of the territorial body of the State Labor Service. One copy of the list shall remain at the enterprise, the second shall be sent to the health care institution, the third shall be sent to the territorial body of the State Labor Service, and the fourth shall be sent to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.
To conduct preliminary (periodic) medical examinations of employees, the employer must conclude an agreement with a healthcare institution.
When hiring, in the event of transfer to other difficult work, work with harmful or dangerous working conditions, the employer must issue a referral for a mandatory preliminary medical examination of the employee.
The frequency of medical examinations, medical contraindications for admission to work related to the influence of production factors, are defined in the List of harmful and dangerous factors of the production environment and labor process, when working with which preliminary (periodic) medical examinations of employees are mandatory.
Employee card and Final report based on the results of the periodic medical examination
The results of the preliminary (periodic) medical examination of employees and the commission's conclusion on the state of health are entered into the employee's card.
Based on the results of periodic medical examinations (within a month after their completion), the commission draws up a Final Act on the results of the periodic medical examination of employees in six copies, one copy remains in the healthcare institution that conducted the medical examination, the others are provided to the employer, a representative of the trade union organization, an occupational pathologist, the territorial body of the State Labor Service, and the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.
Employer's obligations regarding the organization of medical examinations
The employer is entrusted with the following functions in organizing medical examinations:
- organization of laboratory studies of working conditions to determine harmful and dangerous factors of the production environment and labor process at specific workplaces in order to determine the categories of employees who are subject to preliminary (periodic) medical examination;
- when concluding an employment contract, informing the employee against signature about the working conditions and the presence of dangerous and harmful production factors at his workplace that have not yet been eliminated, the possible consequences of their impact on health, and about the employee's rights to benefits and compensation for work in such conditions in accordance with the legislation and the collective agreement; an employee cannot be offered work that, according to a medical opinion, is contraindicated for him due to his health; persons are allowed to perform work of increased danger and those that require professional selection if they have a psychophysiological examination report;
- approval of the schedule for conducting medical examinations by healthcare institutions;
- ensuring timely and organized medical examinations and tests by employees;
- monitoring the conduct of medical examinations within the deadlines agreed with healthcare institutions;
- suspension from work of employees who have not undergone medical examinations within the established period, and denial of work to employees who, according to a medical opinion, are contraindicated for such work due to their health condition;
- ensuring the implementation of appropriate health measures specified in the Final Act in full and eliminating the causes leading to occupational diseases;
- ensuring, at the expense of the enterprise, extraordinary medical examinations at the request of the employee, if he believes that the deterioration of his health is related to working conditions;
- hiring minors only after a prior medical examination.
It should be noted that during the investigation of an accident, acute occupational disease, or the causes of a chronic occupational disease, copies of documents confirming the victim's previous and periodic medical examinations are part of the investigation materials.
In accordance with subparagraph 7 of paragraph 52 of the "Procedure for the investigation and recording of accidents, occupational diseases and industrial accidents", approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated April 17, 2019 No. 337 (as amended), the circumstances under which an accident and/or acute occupational disease (poisoning) are recognized as production-related are: a sudden deterioration in the victim's health, injuries or death while performing work (official) duties as a result of exposure to harmful and dangerous factors of the production environment, the severity and intensity of the work process, which is confirmed by a medical opinion, or in the case when the victim did not undergo a mandatory medical examination in accordance with the legislation, and the work performed is contraindicated for the victim in accordance with a medical opinion.
Source: PFU