The situation of fire protection and occupational safety education in relation to the adult education law that will enter into force on September 1, 2020
DATE OF REGISTRATION CEDIT_ADMIN WRITTEN BY
Our position
According to currently circulating half-information and beliefs, the fire and occupational safety education required by employers will fall under the scope of adult training, which is defined in this law for reporting, administration, etc. it will come with tasks. In our opinion, fears arising from a wrong interpretation of the law are unfounded.
It can be stated that XCIII of 1993 on labor protection. Act (hereinafter: Mvt), as well as mandatory fire safety and occupational safety training prescribed in Act XXXI of 1996 on fire protection, technical rescue and the fire brigade (hereinafter: Ttv) (when starting a job, when changing a workplace, a job title, when changing work equipment, or when starting up a new work equipment, when introducing new technology, when introducing the use of new materials, etc.) they do not fall under the scope of the amended Adult Education Act LXXVII of 2013 (hereinafter: Fktv).
The holding of fire safety and occupational safety training does not inherently require organization. Taking into account its content, participation in education is not suitable for the development of competence, nor for the development of competence. Prescriptive laws do not stipulate the duration of education, but experience shows that, according to decades of national practice, an average of one hour is sufficient for knowledge acquisition and rechecking. It is not necessary for the instructor to have a professional qualification or any other qualification. It follows from this that the fire safety and occupational safety trainings required by the above legislation do not meet the standard of adult training either in terms of content, scope, or methodology, and in every way contradicts the provisions of Section 1 (1) of the Fktv Act on the scope of the Act.
- Personal and material scope of the law
- §* (1) This Act shall apply
- b)* organized for targeted competence development and competence development aimed at organized carried out for education and training that is not part of the basic tasks of public education institutions, vocational training institutions and higher education institutions and does not belong to sub-point aa) [sub-points aa) and b) together hereinafter: adult training activity], and...
Explanation:
XCIII of 1993 on labor protection. Act (hereinafter Mvt.), the planning and organization of occupational health and safety training (§ 55 Mvt.) is the employer's obligation. This is therefore a specific employer obligation aimed at meeting the requirements of safe work that does not endanger health.
See the requirements of occupational safety education based on the Mvt below:
- § (1)* As part of education, the employer must ensure that the employee
- the) when starting work,
- b) in the event of a change of workplace or position, as well as in the event of a change in the requirements for safe and health-free work,
- c) when converting work equipment or putting new work equipment into operation,
- d) when new technology is introduced, acquire theoretical and practical knowledge of safe and non-health-threatening work throughout the entire period of employment, learn the necessary rules, instructions and information. Training must be held during regular working hours and, if necessary, must be repeated periodically, taking into account changed or new risks and preventive measures. Completion of the training must be recorded in writing, indicating the topic and signed by the participants.
(2) Until the knowledge prescribed in paragraph (1) is acquired, the employee may not be employed independently.
The holding of fire protection and occupational safety training is mandatory for all employers, and participation in training is mandatory for all employees in Hungary today. As a result of this obligation, in terms of education, the employees present on the labor market do not receive any advantage compared to each other.
The trainings generally include the rights and obligations contained in the Mvt and the Ttv, as well as the special, exclusively local regulation of health and safe work at a given workplace, the tasks and regulations to be performed in the event of an occupational accident or fire. With this knowledge, the employee participating in the education can only comply with the regulations of his own workplace, he does not acquire extensive knowledge for the use of other workplaces, jobs, and technologies. It is no coincidence that both laws require new education to be held in the event that any of the above circumstances change. It can be stated that completion of the education does not result in the development of targeted competence.
The mandatory repetition obligation in the Mvt and Tvt cannot be considered competence development either. Neither the content, nor the methodology, nor the duration of the education exhausts the "development” as a legislative goal. The purpose of periodic repetition of fire protection and occupational safety training is not to acquire new competence or to improve existing ones, but to acquire as deep as possible the local behaviors required for safe and accident-free work at the relevant workplace.
Neither the Mvt nor the Ttv gives an obligation to the effect that the holder of the education must have any kind of professional qualification in these subjects. Fire and occupational safety education must be distinguished from occupational safety and occupational health activities that can be carried out on the basis of occupational safety and occupational health qualifications, and from fire protection qualifications obtained on the basis of a specialized course providing fire protection qualifications (e.g. various fire protection examinations for the practice of certain activities, etc.) , since on the one hand, the mentioned activities can only be performed on the basis of a professional qualification, and on the other hand, the mentioned professional qualifications can be acquired within the framework of adult education.
The Fktv. and its executive decree clearly defines the reporting and administrative tasks for all organizations engaged in adult education. Among other things, the training institution must conclude a study contract with all training participants. Since it is mandatory to take fire safety and occupational safety training, the extremely adverse situation would arise that every active worker in Hungary would receive at least one training each year when changing jobs, moving premises, when an extraordinary event occurs, etc. would sign more than two study contracts per year with their current employer or their partner in charge of education. And this is obviously contrary to the Fktv. and the goals of the legislator in this regard. Due to the obligation to notify the holding of the educations, the reception of notifications would be extremely large, and their administration would make the work of the designated office impossible.
In view of the above, it can be stated once again that fire protection and occupational safety training (with the exception of training that is tied to a qualification or required for obtaining a professional qualification) does not fall under the Fktv. under its scope.
