53 / 70
20th anniversary of the
Prevention Law 31/1995
The 8th of November marked the 20th an-
niversary of Ley de Prevencion de Riesgos
Laborales 31/1995 (Act on the Prevention
of Occupational Hazard 31/ 1995) the aim
of which, from its inception, was to ensure
the safety and health of workers. This law
has served as the basis, framework, and re-
ference for the development of regulations,
royal decrees, and laws on the prevention
of risks which have dealt in greater detail
with various technical and legal aspects.
The enactment of the law implied evolving
from a reactive approach (repairing the da-
mage after it had occurred) to a preventive
one, with an increasing trend towards safe-
guarding well-being at work from a holistic
management perspective which addresses
not only physical hazards, but also those
relating to our mental and overall health.
In its essence, the Law details the
company’s responsibility of protecting the
safety and health of workers mainly by
means of three essential preventive mana-
gement activities: the occupational hazard
prevention plan; the assessment of risks;
and the planning of preventive measures.
FCC has carried out these activities sin-
ce the law was enacted by being the first,
at that time, to create the first manage-
ment systems for occupational hazards
in 1997 and setting up the first preven-
tion shared services in the same year.
Act 31/1995 has been amended on several
occasions over the years, particularly as re-
gards the main and general responsibilities
of the businessman and the concept of inte-
gratingthepreventiveactivity inthecompany.
Gradually, everyone has become aware
of the benefits derived from this integra-
tion. Employees are more informed of their
rights and obligations in relation to safe-
ty at work, recognising the advantages
in terms of production and of the results
such as the reduced rate of accidents,
related cost savings, less sanctions, and
the promotion of the preventive culture.