To carry out activity as an occupational health service, a special entry with the Ministry of Health is required. Only persons who have obtained a certificate and are included in the Register of Occupational Health Services are entitled to offer these services to employers.
Who may establish an occupational health service?
An occupational health service may be established by:
- employers – individually or in partnership with other employers;
- legal or natural persons registered under the Commerce Act, the Cooperatives Act or the Non-Profit Legal Entities Act, as well as companies registered under the legislation of a Member State of the European Union or a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area;
- medical establishments.
Usually, the first step in the process is registering a limited liability company (EOOD or OOD). No minimum capital is required for this. It is important, however, to correctly formulate the company's scope of activity.
Requirements for the composition of the service
Every occupational health service must have a certain minimum team of specialists. If this requirement is not met, its registration may be refused or deleted. The staff must necessarily include:
- a specialist holding a "Master's" degree in medicine and a specialty in "occupational medicine";
- a person with higher education in the field of the technical sciences (in accordance with the Classifier of Fields of Higher Education and Professional Areas) and at least three years of experience in the field of health and safety at work;
- a technical officer with an education not lower than secondary.
It is important to bear in mind that certain persons are not entitled to be included in the composition of the service or to perform specific tasks within it:
- employees of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, as well as the control bodies attached to them;
- medical specialists who have been deprived of their capacity to practise;
- persons who have concluded a contract with the National Health Insurance Fund (НЗОК) and are registered with the Regional Health Inspectorates (РЗИ).
Internal rules and documentation
Occupational health services are obliged to have rules governing their organisation and activity. In addition, they must keep and maintain certain documentation, including files on all contracts with employers and health records of the employed persons.
Registration procedure
In order to be entered in the Register of Occupational Health Services, an application must be submitted to the Ministry of Health.
Documents to be attached
The following should be attached to the application:
- Details of the service, including its name, registered seat, address and telephone number;
- A copy of the document of court registration or another act establishing the legal entity, as well as a certificate of current status;
- A contract between the employers – if the service is established jointly by several employers;
- An official list of the minimum composition of specialists in the occupational health service, signed and stamped by the founders of the service;
- Notarised copies of documents certifying the education, qualifications and professional experience of the specialists included in the list. In the event of a discrepancy between the names in the identity card, the diploma, the employment record book or other documents, a certificate of identity of a person bearing different names, issued by the relevant municipality, should be attached;
- Declarations by the persons included in the minimum composition of the occupational health service that they meet the conditions provided for in Article 25б, paragraph 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (ЗЗБУТ);
- A document for a paid state fee.
After the application is submitted, the Ministry of Health reviews the documents within 30 days. If any omissions or discrepancies are found, the applicant is given a period of at least 14 days to rectify them.
Upon approval of the submitted documents, the applicant receives a certificate of registration and entry in the Register of Occupational Health Services.
Validity of the registration
The registration is of unlimited duration. In the event of changes in the circumstances relating to the activity of the service (for example, the departure of one of the specialists entered upon registration), an application for entry of the change must be submitted within a 7-day period. The documents evidencing the change that has occurred, as well as a payment document for the state fee paid, must be attached to the application.
State fees
A state fee of BGN 367 is due for the issuance of a certificate of registration of an occupational health service.
Where entry of a change in the registration is required, the fee amounts to BGN 227.
If you need further information, a consultation or assistance with the registration of an Occupational Health Service, contact us on telephone 0887550706 e-mail: [email protected]
