Managing the Activities of Authorization to Practice Trades and Professions in Terms of Safety and Health at Work

The fulfillment by the employer of the legal obligation to authorize in terms of safety and health at work the practice of trades and professions under specific legislation is currently encumbered by the lack of clear and coherent legal regulations setting the occupational categories to be approved, the authorization methodology and the competent regulatory authorities. This lack of regulation or even "legal vacuum" generated a lot of confusion in practice and led to conflicts between various stakeholders, with harmful effects in terms of ensuring safe and healthy workplaces. As a result, there is an urgent need to undertake a study establishing the constituent elements of the legislative and methodological framework to be adopted and implemented in Romania in order to achieve a modern and adequate management of the activities to authorize the practice of trades and professions in terms of safety and health at work. From this perspective, this paper analyzes the evolution of national law in the field of authorization of trades and professions in terms of safety and health at work, are identified the professional categories whose authorization is governed by specific legislation and is presented for each personnel category the authorization methodology applied by the appropriate regulatory authority. Studies and research have enabled the identification of other professional categories engaged in hazardous activities with high risk of injury and occupational disease, for which the opportunity of an internal or external authorization is required to be analyzed.