A person's own GP will do the first medical check for a new job, under a draft rule from Bulgaria's health ministry. The ministry says this will cut costs for job seekers.
The change is part of a draft ordinance on mandatory pre-employment and regular medical checks for workers and employees. The ministry has put it on its website for one month of public comment.
The ordinance sets out how checks are done, depending on the type of work, working conditions and the age of workers. It covers all companies and workplaces, however they are run and whoever owns them. It does not cover seafarers, people who work with sources of ionising radiation, or other groups for whom a law or regulation sets special health or medical certification rules. Those special rules stay in force.
The job candidate pays for the pre-employment check, while the employer pays for regular checks. If the job is at night, the employer pays for the pre-employment check too.
People starting work for the first time must have a pre-employment check. So must those who have been out of work under an employment contract for more than three months. A check is also needed when someone moves to a different job, with the same or another employer, if the new job involves factors that harm health and safety and a risk of occupational illness. People who will work nights must also have a check before they start.
Regular checks are mandatory for all workers and employees for as long as they work. They aim to monitor health regularly and spot early any changes in the body that come from the workplace and the work itself. The checks must also catch occupational and work-related diseases in time, as well as socially significant illnesses.
Where possible, checks will take place at the company itself, and the employer must provide suitable rooms and conditions that meet the rules for medical care. Time spent on checks counts as working time and, where possible, the checks are done during working hours.
The doctor who carries out the checks and tests enters the results in the National Health Information System. Data on workers' health and physical and mental development, and their medical records, are handled under the Personal Data Protection Act.
According to its reasoning for the draft, the ministry wants to bring the ordinance in line with current laws and reflect the real situation and the new social and economic relations in the country. The draft also updates the rules on medical monitoring of workers to match today's conditions and advances in medical science.
People suspected of having an occupational disease will get qualified medical help more easily, the reasoning adds.