Tallinn apartment building told to hire safety specialist for one cleaner
After hiring a single cleaner, a small Tallinn apartment association was told to hire a workplace safety specialist — even as officials disagree on the rule's necessity.
The apartment association had hired a resident of the building willing to work as its cleaner. In September, the association received a notice from the Labor Inspectorate saying it had not yet appointed the required workplace safety specialist and must now do so.
The small apartment association has no other employees under contract. The board chair receives a salary, and accounting services are outsourced.
The inspectorate's demand has sparked confusion among residents, especially amid public discussions about reducing bureaucracy. One resident questioned whether centuries of practice and common sense aren't already enough for cleaning.
Urmas Mardi, a board member of the Estonian Union of Cooperative Housing Associations (EKÜL), called the requirement excessive.
He said the union has never been approached with this concern before and noted that if an association has only one employee but is still required to appoint an additional specialist, it raises questions about the specialist's actual role.
Mardi supports hiring residents as cleaners, saying it fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility toward the other owners. He noted that quality often improves as well, as residents value the property more than outside workers.
He likewise acknowledged that larger, more complex buildings, like the Kuldne Kodu complex on the outskirts of Pärnu, may need some oversight due to their numerous alcoves and rooms. But he stressed that such rules shouldn't be applied universally.
"There has to be a line somewhere," the union board member said, adding that such situations should be considered case by case. "To say a safety specialist is automatically required as soon as there's a single employment relationship in a building isn't justified."
Inspectorate: All workplaces must be safe for employees
The Labor Inspectorate disagrees. Communications specialist Carolin Liis Tamm said businesses with contracted employees are required to provide safe and healthy working conditions.
"The person who takes on the role of a workplace safety specialist handles occupational health and safety at the company," Tamm said.
This includes drawing up risk assessments, providing work clothes and personal protective equipment, assessing the need for employee health checks and instructing employees.
By law, a risk assessment identifies occupational hazards, assesses risks to employee health and outlines measures to prevent or reduce them, including a timeline for implementation. For an apartment association, this could include documenting hazards on wet stairs or slippery walkways and creating a plan to address them.
Associations that have not appointed a specialist receive automatic reminders. However, notices are not sent to organizations without contracted employees or to one-person associations where the board member is the sole employee.
Asked if the requirement is really practical for small apartment associations with just one employee, Tamm emphasized that every employee's work and workplace must be safe and safeguard their health.
"A safe work environment doesn't create itself," she said. "Someone has to identify potential risks and find ways to prevent or reduce them."
At EKÜL, Mardi noted that making specialist appointments mandatory for all apartment associations could lead to token assignments just to meet legal requirements.
"It seems that wouldn't actually serve the law's intended purpose, which is meant for larger organizations," he said.
ERR also asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications last week whether the requirement creates unnecessary bureaucracy for small apartment associations, but the ministry has not responded.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
