BOZP for agriculture — machinery, animals, pesticides and VTZ inspections

An agricultural operation combines the hazards of both crop and livestock production, which additionally change with the season and the weather. That is precisely why it is important to assess and manage risks systematically. Below are the most common risk categories that must be covered by the risk assessment and day-to-day practice on the farm.

Machinery is the most frequent source of fatal and serious accidents in agriculture. Tractors, combine harvesters, self-propelled machines and attached implements are work equipment under Government Regulation No. 392/2006 Coll. The employer is obliged to provide machinery that is suitable for the work in question, kept in a safe condition and fitted with the necessary protective devices, and to ensure that it is operated by instructed and competent persons.

The most common safety shortcomings are missing or damaged power take-off (PTO) and cardan shaft guards, a non-functional or removed rollover protective structure (ROPS), failure to use the seat belt, and carrying a passenger in places not designed for it. Loaders and their lifting mechanism are also reserved lifting technical equipment (VTZ) under Decree No. 508/2009 Coll. and are subject to professional inspections and tests.

Livestock production brings specific hazards that are often underestimated in the risk assessment. Protection of employees against risks from exposure to biological factors is governed by Government Regulation No. 83/2013 Coll. It applies to activities in which employees are exposed to biological factors and, in Annex No. 1, expressly lists work in agriculture and contact with animals or products of animal origin. The employer is obliged to assess the nature, degree and duration of the exposure and to adopt appropriate measures.

• Injury risks — kicks, crush injuries against structures, bites, being struck by a large animal; births, moving animals and restraining them are the highest-risk activities.
• Zoonoses — transmissible and parasitic diseases passed from animals to humans; they are among the recognised occupational diseases and require hygiene measures and personal protective equipment (OOPP).
• Hygiene facilities — separate areas for changing, washing and eating, to prevent the spread of infection and contamination.
• Categorisation and surveillance — biological factors are reflected in the categorisation of work and in the occupational health service's surveillance of employees' health.

Work with plant protection products, fertilisers and disinfectants is among the activities involving exposure to chemical factors. Protection of health in this work is governed by Government Regulation No. 355/2006 Coll., which in Annex No. 1 sets the maximum permissible exposure limits (NPEL) in the workplace atmosphere. The employer is obliged to assess the risk from chemical factors, give priority to replacing hazardous substances with less hazardous ones, and ensure technical and organisational measures as well as effective personal protective equipment.

• Professional competence for pesticides — professional application of plant protection products may only be carried out by a person holding a certificate of professional competence under § 32 of Act No. 405/2011 Coll.; the certificate is valid for ten years and compliance is monitored by the Central Controlling and Testing Institute in Agriculture (ÚKSÚP).
• OOPP and hygiene — when preparing and applying sprays, protective clothing, gloves, a respirator and eye protection are required in accordance with the safety data sheet and Government Regulation No. 395/2006 Coll.
• Storage — products and fertilisers in a lockable, ventilated store, separate from food and feed, with spill containment trays and a register.
• Hazardous gases — poisoning and suffocation are a risk during silage-making and in slurry tanks; before entry the space must be ventilated, the atmosphere checked, and the person secured by a second person standing by.

Agriculture involves large quantities of flammable materials — hay, straw, grain, feed, fuels and lubricants — and the use of dryers, boiler rooms and equipment with an open flame. The basic regulation is Act No. 314/2001 Coll. on fire protection. Under § 4, a legal entity and a natural person-entrepreneur are obliged to carry out preventive fire inspections, remove identified deficiencies and comply with measures at locations and in activities with an elevated risk of fire.

A particular risk is the spontaneous combustion of damp hay and straw, and dust fires in dryers and silos. The tasks and establishment of a workplace fire patrol and a fire assistance patrol, as well as the content and scope of their training, are governed by Decree of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic No. 121/2002 Coll. on fire prevention. Fire documentation, employee training on fire protection and the professional training of patrols are just as important on a farm as the BOZP agenda itself.

• Fire extinguishers must be inspected at least once every 24 months under § 9 of Decree No. 347/2022 Coll.; they must be accessible, including on machinery and in storage areas, and their location marked.
• Dryers and boiler rooms — for activities involving an open flame and combustible dust, a written permit is issued and a fire assistance patrol established where necessary.
• Flammable liquids (diesel, lubricants) are stored and used in accordance with Decree No. 38/2026 Coll., which replaced Decree No. 96/2004 Coll. from 1 April 2026.
• Sanctions: for breaches of fire-protection obligations, a fine of up to 8,298 euros may be imposed under § 59 ods. 1 of Act No. 314/2001 Coll.; for more serious offences, up to 16,596 euros.

The occupational health service (PZS) provides surveillance over working conditions and the health of employees. For agricultural professions, the key elements are correct categorisation of work according to health risks and the arrangement of preventive medical examinations in relation to work. Workers are typically exposed to physical load, noise, vibration, dust, and chemical and biological factors — these are reflected in the classification of work into the relevant category.

The categorisation of work into categories 1 to 4 is governed by § 31 of Act No. 355/2007 Coll., with the details set out in Decree No. 448/2007 Coll. The obligation to provide an occupational health service applies from the first employee under § 30 of the same Act; for work categories 1 and 2 a simplified model applies, and certain activities may also be carried out by a safety technician or a public health officer. Preventive medical examinations in relation to work are carried out under § 30e. For agricultural companies, Alpha Safety provides PZS: categorisation of work, surveillance over working conditions and coordination of medical examinations.

An agricultural operation contains numerous items of reserved technical equipment (VTZ), which are subject to an inspection regime. Decree No. 508/2009 Coll. in § 4 classifies VTZ according to the degree of hazard into groups A, B and C, and covers pressure, lifting, electrical and gas equipment. Under § 9 and § 13, the safety condition of VTZ after installation and during operation is checked by professional inspection and test; the scope and intervals are set out in the annexes. Missing or out-of-date inspection documentation is often one of the first findings during a labour inspectorate check.

• Pressure equipment — compressors, stationary pressure vessels and air receivers; subject to professional inspections and tests at the intervals set out in the annexes to Decree No. 508/2009 Coll.
• Gas equipment — gas boiler rooms, gas-fired dryers and any biogas plants; tightness and safety checks under the regime for gas VTZ.
• Electrical equipment — wiring of farm buildings, milking parlours, pumps and distribution boards; also checked against standards STN 33 1600 and STN 33 1610.
• Lifting equipment — front-end and telescopic loaders, crane arms and manipulators; operation and VTZ inspections by a person holding a valid inspection technician's certificate under § 24 of Decree No. 508/2009 Coll.

Employee education is the foundation of prevention. Under § 7 ods. 5 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. (as amended by Act No. 114/2022 Coll. effective from 1 January 2023), repeated instruction in BOZP rules must be carried out at least once every three years, unless special regulations lay down a shorter interval. Seasonal and foreign workers must be instructed clearly and in a language they understand before starting work.

Agricultural professions additionally require professional competences — operation of powered industrial trucks and loaders (a licence card under § 16 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. and refresher professional training), load slingers, electrotechnical competence and professional competence for working with plant protection products under § 32 of Act No. 405/2011 Coll. Contracted instruction may be delivered only by a person holding an authorisation issued by the National Labour Inspectorate — Alpha Safety is authorised to carry out education and training. The costs and time of training are borne by the employer and instruction is carried out during working time.

The labour inspectorate may, under § 19 of Act No. 125/2006 Coll., impose on an employer a fine of up to 100,000 euros for breaches of BOZP regulations. If the breach resulted in an occupational accident with a fatal outcome or serious bodily harm, the fine is at least 33,000 euros. Sanctions are triggered by a missing risk assessment, unsecured machinery lacking protective guards, OOPP not provided, out-of-date VTZ inspection documentation, and failure to meet obligations when working with chemical and biological factors.

Alpha Safety s.r.o. is an external provider of comprehensive safety services for agricultural enterprises, farms and cooperatives throughout Slovakia. Instead of handling each area separately, you gain a single partner for the whole of crop and livestock production safety.

• BOZP — external safety service (BTS), risk assessment for both crop and livestock production, operating rules for machinery and complete documentation.
• OPP — fire documentation for farms and storage facilities, employee training on fire protection, professional training of fire patrols and measures for dryers and feed stores.
• PZS — categorisation of work, surveillance over working conditions and coordination of preventive medical examinations, including risks from biological and chemical factors.
• VTZ inspections — professional inspections and tests of pressure, gas, electrical and lifting equipment, including loaders, milking parlours and boiler rooms.
• Training — operation of machinery and loaders, load slingers, work at height, initial and refresher instruction of employees and seasonal workers.

In agricultural operations, we most commonly encounter underestimated machine risks — missing power take-off shaft guards, a removed rollover protective structure and failure to use the seat belt. Another typical shortcoming is a token risk assessment that fails to take account of seasonal work, work with animals, or hazardous gases in silos and slurry tanks.

Inspections repeatedly reveal the same findings: unmarked and inaccessible fire extinguishers, missing OOPP when working with sprays, out-of-date inspections of pressure and electrical equipment, and seasonal workers who have not been instructed. Our experience is unambiguous — farms with a functioning BOZP system, regular training and ongoing machine maintenance show a minimum of shortcomings and, above all, fewer accidents.