On November 30, 2022, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued Circular No. 25/2022/TT-BLDTBXH (“Circular 25”) stipulating the regime of granting personal protective equipment (“Circular 25”). Sustainable Industrial Development”) in labor. Circular 25 takes effect from April 1, 2023, and replaces Circular No. 04/2014/TT-BLDTBXH dated February 12, 2014 (“Circular 04”).
Below, ATA Legal Services would like to summarize the important changes in Circular 25 compared to Circular 04.
1. Expanding the scope of employees who are subject to the regime of granting personal protective equipment
Circular 25 adds “Vietnamese workers going to work abroad under contracts” in cases where they are provided with personal protective equipment. This will create a mechanism to protect the rights of workers working abroad and bind the responsibility of labor export enterprises to protect the rights of workers working abroad.
2. Additional type of personal protective equipment
In line with the reality of socio-economic development, Circular 25 introduces an additional type of PPE that enterprises must equip their employees with, which is a "Means of preventing radiation"
3. Expand the scope of cases determined to be eligible for personal protective equipment
Previously, Circular 04 defined cases in which employees exposed to “bad physical factors” or “bad biological factors” would be eligible to equip PPE. However, defining what is "bad" will be difficult for the application. Therefore, Circular 25 clarifies that employees only need to be exposed to physical factors that "do not meet hygiene standards" or come into contact with environments that are listed as having harmful biological factors. determined to be eligible to equip PPE without determining the level of toxicity, danger, or risk of influence of that toxic or dangerous element.
In addition, Circular 25 adds many cases where workers are equipped with PPE, specifically when “Working with machines, equipment, and working tools with potential hazards of occupational safety and health; working at sea, in deep tunnels, in confined spaces, working in rocky mountains and caves”.
4. Enhance the responsibility of enterprises in providing personal protective equipment for employees
Accordingly, Circular 25 adds a number of tasks that enterprises must perform in the process of considering and deciding on the provision of personal protective equipment for employees as follows:
- Organize assessment and control of dangerous and harmful factors at the workplace;
- Take the initiative in providing personal protective equipment to employees in case it is deemed necessary, even if the occupation or job of the enterprise is not included in the list of occupations or jobs with dangerous or dangerous factors. or the PPE is not on the list of PPE that must be issued according to the regulations of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (“LISA”) in Appendix I of Circular 25. Simultaneously with the issuance of PPE, enterprises must report to the LISA Ministry for consideration and amendment to the list;
- Immediately remove damaged vehicles that do not ensure occupational safety and hygiene during use.
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