On November 14, 2022, the Ministry of Public Health (referred to as “MSP” for short) issued Ministerial Agreement No. 00049-2022, which contains the “Regulation for the Promotion of Health in the Workplace.” This agreement was published in the Third Supplement of the Official Gazette No. 188, dated November 14, 2022.
The Regulation aims to regulate the promotion of health in public and private workplaces that have more than 25 employees. Both employers and employees must comply with the Regulation.
Under the Regulation, workplaces must implement a Health Promotion Plan in the Workplace, which consists of several stages:
- Planning: Assess the health and occupational safety needs of the workplace; identify the main problems that affect workers’ health related to work activities; determine activities to improve healthy living; develop action plans regarding working conditions and health, among others.
- Implementation: Notify the National Health Authority of the formal commitment to implement the plan, which must be executed in the workplace. Request the MSP’s support and evaluation of the plan’s implementation. Design a teaching and learning program for the project, which should include the following:
- Adjustment: Develop awareness methods to create workers’ interest in promoting workplace health.
- Reactivate: Conduct a diagnosis of employees’ knowledge level regarding promoting health in the workplace to establish teaching mechanisms.
- Inform: Employers and workers together identify the problems that arise to generate information and knowledge about health in the workplace.
- Learning process: Critical discussion of what has been learned.
- Evaluate: Analyze whether the learning objective has been achieved. “Activate and Live” certificate: Once the workplace has submitted a compliance report on the plan, the National Health Authority will grant the “Activate and Live” certificate. This certificate will be valid for two years from the date of issuance.
- Renewal: The workplace must request the renewal of the “Activate and Live” certificate from the National Health Authority four months before its expiration. To do so, it must comply with the plan’s stages again.
- Focal point: Workplaces must designate a health professional to lead and form work teams to comply with the plan. Additionally, this professional will notify the MSP of the plan’s implementation in the workplace.
- Control: The National Health Authority, through the Agency for Quality Assurance of Health Services and Prepaid Medicine (ACESS), will verify that workplaces that have health establishments have the “Activate and Live” certificate to grant the respective operating permits.
Additional provisions:
- Workers must participate during the planning and implementation of the plan.
- The National Health Authority may require workplaces to incorporate other health measures if deemed necessary.
- Within six months of the Regulation’s publication in the Official Gazette (i.e., by November 14, 2022), workplaces must have the promotion plan in place. Within 12 months, they must implement the plan and obtain the “Activate and Live” certificate. Within 13 months, the ACESS will verify that workplaces with health establishments have the certification.
