Since 2014, employers have been required to carry out a special assessment of working conditions. Federal Law of December 28, 2013 426-FZ 'On a special assessment of working conditions' establishes the legal and organizational basis and procedure for a special assessment of working conditions and also defines the rights, obligations and responsibilities of participants in a special assessment of working conditions.

A special assessment of working conditions (SOUT) is a unique set of measures implemented consistently to identify harmful and (or) dangerous factors of the working environment and work process and assess the level of their impact on the employee, taking into account account of the deviation of their actual values from those established by the federal executive body authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation standards of nutrition (hygienic standards) of working conditions and use of personal and collective protective equipment for workers.

Which companies should carry out a special assessment of working conditions?
According to the art. 212 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, all employers are obliged to ensure safe working conditions. To do this, they are required to run SOUT.

Which legal act regulates the procedure for the execution of SAWS?
SAUT is regulated by the federal law n. 426 of 28 December 2013 and the 'Methodology for conducting SAUT'.

The identification of potentially harmful and (or) dangerous production factors is not carried out in relation to:

employee workplaces, professions, positions, the specialties of which are included in the lists of relevant jobs, industries, professions, positions, specialties and institutions (organizations), taking into account which early allocation of an old-age pension is made;
workplaces, in connection with work in which, in accordance with legislative acts and other regulatory acts, guarantees and compensation are provided for work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions;

workplaces where harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions have been established based on the results of a previous certification of workplaces for working conditions or a special assessment of working conditions.
The list of harmful and (or) dangerous production factors subject to research (tests) and measurements in these workplaces is determined by an expert of the organization who conducts a special assessment of working conditions.

Who conducts SOUT?
SOUT is carried out jointly by the employer and the organization or organizations involved by the employer to carry out work under the SOUT, on the basis of a civil law contract.
The organization that conducts the SAUT (hereinafter referred to as the Organization) is a legal entity accredited as an organization that provides services for the SAUT and which carries out, on the basis of a civil law agreement with the employer, measurements and evaluations , as well as the assessment of the compliance of working conditions with the state regulatory requirements of labor protection, carried out in accordance with the 'Methodology for conducting SAWS', execution and preparation of a report and conclusions on SAWS.

Which document confirms the certification body's right to SOUT?
The organization is obliged to provide the Client with a notification (copies of the notification) about the organization's inclusion in the register of organizations providing services in the field of labor protection. The specified register can be viewed on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation.

How often is the employer required to SAW?
Chapter 2, art. 8 of the federal law n. 426 of the SOUT of 28 December 2013 establishes that the employer is obliged to perform the SOUT at least once every 5 years. Previously (according to AWP) with newly organized workplaces, the employer was obliged to carry out the certification within 60 days, but now, in Federal Law No. 426, this condition is not specified, therefore, SOUT, in the workplaces of the new organization, must be carried out immediately.

How many jobs is the employer obliged to submit to SAWS?
The employer must SOUT all workplaces, if the workplace certification has not previously been carried out in these places and its results are valid (up to 5 years). Furthermore, in the workplaces for which the workplace certification was previously carried out, the working conditions should not have been changed:

Work procedures;
Working hours;
The location of the workplace;
Equipment for lighting, heating, ventilation