I am opening a company/trade in Croatia – what do I need from occupational safety/fire protection (hereinafter H&S) – is one of the most common questions that bothers future owners.
Before I give you an answer, I would like to congratulate you sincerely and heartily for deciding to venture into entrepreneurial waters here in Croatia! I sincerely believe that we need as many people as possible who are ready for ventures and do not run away from the responsibility of looking for their own business path. I hope that you will succeed in your plan and that you will successfully cope with all the challenges you encounter.
One of the challenges that every entrepreneur in Croatia faces at the very beginning is certainly the sea of laws, rules and regulations that you as an employer have to think about. Some already give up because it is not easy to be an owner or CEO, an accountant, an economist, a marketing expert and an occupational safety expert at the same time. It’s too much bureaucracy for one person. I can’t help you with everything, but I can give an answer to the question in the title.
The question of what I need from H&S when opening a company in Croatia has a very simple answer: It depends. Yes, now I’m pretending to be smart because that answer doesn’t help you at all, since there are many things causally connected in the law on occupational safety, so I will expand it a bit, i.e. I will ask you two questions:
Will you have a workspace? And will only you work in the business entity, or will you employ other people?
If you are going to have a workspace, an electrical installation test (for insulation resistance and indirect contact) should be done for that space, and you should get one or more fire extinguishers for it (the quantity depends on the size and purpose of the space – it is not the same if you run an office or a kitchen). If you hire employees right from the start, then you belong to the category of employer and you are a full subject of the Croatian law on occupational safety / fire protection.
To summarize:
- Are you an entrepreneur, have no employees and no business premises? You do not need anything from the area of H&S. Example: you opened a company, you drive a taxi for Uber, you work alone. The vehicle has passed technical inspection, you have a driver’s license – that’s all you need because you do not operate in the area under your control, and the vehicle is regulated by traffic law.
- Are you an entrepreneur, you have no employees, but you do have business premises? It is necessary to examine the electrical installations and procure an adequate amount of fire extinguishers (depending on the size and purpose of the space).
- Are you an entrepreneur, you have employees, and you have business premises? Read the next article 😉
Everything you read above applies to all types of business entities in Croatia (d.o.o., j.d.o.o., crafts, etc.). Likewise, if you use the space, it doesn’t matter if you own the space or rent it, it matters that it is the space you use for your business purposes. I hope I have helped you with this text and that you are now breathing easier, at least in relation to this issue. If there is a need for additional clarifications, be sure to contact me.
