[Employee protection and occupational medicine in Switzerland. Legal and organizational aspects]

Abstract

The regulations aimed at protecting the health of workers are essentially contained in both the Labour Law (general hygiene, duration of work and rest periods, special protection of women and minors) and in the Law Governing Accident Insurance (prevention of accidents and professional illnesses). The employer is obliged to take all the necessary measures for the protection of his employees and to ensure the collaboration of the latter to this end. The National Insurance together with the federal and cantonal Labour Law enforcement agencies share the task of supervising the application of legal health protection. In particular, the National Insurance and the Confederation have a medical service at their disposal. In order to comply with requirements, large firms have their own health and safety service, some with an industrial physician. An ordinance which will oblige high risk firms or firms above a certain size to have resident industrial physicians as well as other labour safety specialists is at present being discussed. One of the aims of the proposed revision of the Labour Law is an improvement in the medical supervision of workers exercising their profession at night.