Construction work, cleaning, security, gardening and electrical maintenance are just some of the activities Communities of Owners are involved in. These all pose a set of risks, such as the possibility of falling from a ladder, accidents due to misuse of tools and violent attacks on security staff.
Under the Spanish Workplace Risks Prevention Act (Ley de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales – PRL), a Community of Owners is responsible for doing everything possible to prevent accidents to their own or third-party employees on their property. The figures speak for themselves: 50% of Communities of Owners are not taking the right preventive steps.
In order to ensure that your Community of Owners is complying with the Workplace Risks Prevention Act, you need to carry out a risk assessment to identify, evaluate, classify and propose steps to control workplace risks.
If a Community of Owners fails to take the right steps, they can face fines of up to €800,000 depending on how serious the infringement is. What workplace risk prevention responsibilities must Communities of Owners comply with and how can they make sure they are not penalised? They can face civil liability and administrative and criminal charges as well as surcharges on Social Security contributions.
In other words, not hiring a Prevention Service, not carrying out a risk assessment, not training workers or using equipment without a CE marking may be a serious infringement.
So it is very important for Presidents of Communities of Owners and Property Managers who run such communities to be properly informed about the regulations. We also recommend you contact your insurance broker to go over your current policies and cover because the complex world of insurance requires special knowledge. An insurance broker provides advice on how to adapt your insurance to your needs so as to protect your interests and property.