Occupational health and safety — PRL (Spain)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For any Spanish employer with employees. Covers the recurring duties of Ley 31/1995 and RD 39/1997: updating the risk assessment, health surveillance, training, emergency measures and evacuation drills, checks of work equipment and PPE, safety and health committee meetings and prevention-system audits. Does not cover sector-specific duties such as construction, carcinogens, ATEX and contractor coordination, nor equality plans and pay registers.
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- 9 planned checks, the most frequent every 3 months since the last job
Planned checks
Informative summary verified on 11/09/2026. It does not replace legal advice: the regulation cited prevails. If you spot an error, report it.
Some checks are only mandatory in certain countries: pick yours and the list follows.
In Italy this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In France this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Germany this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Switzerland this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Austria this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United Kingdom this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
- 01
Offer periodic health surveillance
The employer guarantees workers periodic surveillance of their health based on the risks of their job, carried out by the prevention service's medical staff. It is generally voluntary for the worker except where the law makes it compulsory. Proof: fitness certificates and the log of examinations offered and declined. Applies to all employees: the actual interval is set by the medical protocol for the risk concerned, annual in most cases and more frequent for noise, asbestos, carcinogens or biological agents.
every 12 months since the last inspectionLegal obligationLey 31/1995 art. 22Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 02
Provide workers with OSH training
Every worker receives sufficient theoretical and practical training on the risks of their job: on hiring, on change of duties, on introduction of new technology, and repeated periodically when needed, never at the worker's expense. Proof: signed training certificates and the training log. Applies to all workers, including temporary and agency staff; in construction and other sectors the collective agreements, such as the Convenio General del Sector de la Construcción with the TPC card, impose specific training hours and renewals.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationLey 31/1995 art. 19Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 03
Check the condition of work equipment
Equipment exposed to conditions that cause deterioration must undergo periodic and extraordinary checks by competent staff, plus a check after each assembly or relocation. Results must be documented and kept available to the authorities for the whole service life of the equipment, so the retention shown here is a minimum. Proof: the equipment check reports. Applies to all work equipment subject to deterioration, such as machines, ladders, scaffolding and lifting appliances; the specific industrial rules requiring their own inspections for pressure equipment, forklifts and cranes continue to apply.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationRD 1215/1997 art. 4Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 04
Review the risk assessment and preventive planning
The employer updates the risk assessment whenever working conditions change, new equipment or substances are introduced, health damage occurs or periodic checks show the measures are inadequate, and in any case at the interval agreed with the workers' representatives. The annual review set here is standard practice among prevention services, not a statutory deadline. Proof: the dated risk assessment and the updated preventive activity plan. Applies to all employers with employees, including those where the owner personally takes on the preventive activity.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationLey 31/1995 art. 16; RD 39/1997 art. 6Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 05
Check and replace the PPE in use
Periodically check that the PPE issued is intact, within the manufacturer's service life and appropriate to the assessed risks; replace expired or damaged items and record every issue. The annual interval is a recommendation, unless the manufacturer sets shorter ones. Proof: the PPE issue log signed by workers and the inspection records. Applies to employers that supply PPE to workers; fall-arrest PPE and respiratory protective equipment have their own manufacturer-set checks and expiry dates, often with an annual inspection by a competent person.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationRD 773/1997 art. 3 y art. 7Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 06
Run the annual evacuation drill
Activities covered by the Norma Básica de Autoprotección run at least one emergency drill a year and assess its results; other employers must in any case periodically check that the emergency measures work. Proof: the drill report with date, participants, evacuation times and findings. Applies to the activities of Anexo I of RD 393/2007 and to those added by regional rules; for other employers art. 20 of Ley 31/1995 only requires a periodic check of the emergency measures, with no interval stated.
every 12 months since the last inspectionLegal obligationRD 393/2007 Norma Básica de Autoprotección, cap. 3.6.4; Ley 31/1995 art. 20Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 07
Review the self-protection plan
The plan de autoprotección must be reviewed at intervals of no more than three years and updated whenever the activity, the building or the rules change significantly; data relevant to civil protection must be entered in the competent administrative register. Proof: the plan signed by a competent technician and the register entry receipt. Applies to the activities of Anexo I of RD 393/2007, such as public entertainment venues, premises above certain capacities or heights and industrial activities above threshold, and to those added by regional rules.
every 36 months since the last jobLegal obligationRD 393/2007 Norma Básica de Autoprotección, cap. 3.7 y art. 5Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 08
Hold the safety and health committee meeting
The comité de seguridad y salud meets quarterly and whenever either of the representations sitting on it requests it. Minutes must record the topics, the decisions and the owners. Proof: the signed meeting minutes. Applies to companies or workplaces with 50 or more workers; below that threshold the duties are carried out by the delegado de prevención with no quarterly meeting requirement.
every 3 months since the last jobLegal obligationLey 31/1995 art. 38.3Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026 - 09
Have the prevention system audited
Employers that have not outsourced the whole preventive activity to an external prevention service must have their system audited externally, repeated every four years and every two years for the activities of Anexo I of RD 39/1997. The first audit is due within twelve months of the preventive planning becoming available. Proof: the audit report signed by the accredited auditor. Applies to employers with their own preventive resources, whether full or partial; employers with up to 50 workers not carrying out Anexo I activities may replace the audit with a notification to the labour authority where the preventive system is clearly effective and not complex.
every 48 months since the last inspectionLegal obligationRD 39/1997 art. 29 y art. 30Spain onlySourceverified on 11/09/2026
In Portugal this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United States this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Other country this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
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