넛지EAP(관리자)

Q. Do you conduct interviews with both the health manager and the department head before returning to work?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️. Since the health interview and the department head interview determine different matters before returning to work, we recommend conducting both. The health interview determines "which duties should be restricted based on the current health condition," while the department head interview determines "how to assign duties within those restrictions," so the health interview should come first. - Before the interview: Obtain job requirements from the department head, such as shift scheduling, weight limits for heavy loads, and equipment operation status, and pass them on to the employee. Instruct them to show these requirements to their attending physician during medical appointments. This makes it easier to obtain a more specific medical opinion rather than just a single line stating "able to work." - Health interview: Compare the medical opinion with the job requirements and finalize your opinion regarding a return as is, a conditional return, or a re-evaluation. If you find it difficult to make a judgment, you can request a work suitability assessment from an occupational health physician or an occupational and environmental medicine specialist. - Department head interview: Determine the placement and the plan for the first week of return based solely on the work restriction items from the health interview results. If you are concerned about the burden on the employee, you may conduct the meetings on consecutive days, or if the employee agrees, proceed with a single three-party meeting including the Health Manager. Even in this case, you should handle health matters only during the health interview session, and separate the discussion so that only work adjustments are discussed once the Department Head enters. It is safer to convey only the restriction items, duration, and review date to the Department Head, such as "Exclusion from night shifts for 4 weeks, exclusion from handling items over 20kg alone, review after 2 weeks," instead of the diagnosis or symptoms. Since health information is sensitive data and requires separate consent for processing (Article 23 of the Personal Information Protection Act), I recommend keeping the original medical opinion and health interview records separate from personnel records and sharing only the agreed-upon details of the work adjustment with HR and the Department Head. For reference, while the reinstatement procedure for general sick leave is not separately defined by law and follows the company's internal rules, if the illness was one that prohibited work (Article 220 of the Enforcement Rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Act), it is mandatory to obtain the opinion of a physician, such as a Health Manager or Occupational Health Doctor, before allowing the employee to return to work; therefore, it is advisable to verify this aspect first. I have organized an Excel role chart in the post below that generates a step-by-step schedule simply by entering the 6 pre-return steps, the scope of information sharing, and the expected return date. https://nudgeeap.com/community/risk-assessment/137145056 https://nudgeeap.com/community/risk-assessment/137148531

Q. When raising next year's EAP budget, what justification do you provide if the utilization rate was low in the previous year?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ Since usage rates only show "how many people used it," I recommend including indicators that show "how much the users needed it" when usage rates are low. If you organize the aggregate values ​​from the vendor report as shown below, it will be much easier to answer questions from the finance team. - Average number of sessions per person: This shows how many sessions the employee continued after starting counseling. If the number of sessions is long, it serves as evidence that there was a genuine need rather than just a one-time use. - Proportion of major counseling topics: The proportion of topics such as job stress, interpersonal relationships, and family is directly linked to the reason for including assessment and manager training next year. - Monthly new users and peak booking periods: If demand surged during specific periods (organizational restructuring, evaluation season, etc.), it serves as a basis for tailoring programs for those times. - Satisfaction: Recording the number of responses along with the average score is helpful for explaining the reliability of the numbers. I recommend setting the counseling budget based on this year's performance, while creating separate categories for testing and training, attaching formulas and objectives such as "Number of Targets × Unit Price" or "Session × Cost per Session." By separating the categories, you can explain the reasons for increases on an item-by-item basis—e.g., "Counseling is maintenance, testing is new"—and predetermine where to cut back first if adjustments are needed. For next year's utilization rate, presenting it in three categories—remuneration, standard, and expansion—rather than a single number makes it easier to answer questions like "Why that number?" If you need examples from other companies, you can request the aggregation range of similar-sized clients from your current provider. However, since guaranteeing employee anonymity is a legal obligation when implementing EAP (Article 83, Paragraph 2 of the Framework Act on Workers' Welfare), it is safer to include only company-wide aggregates in your budget data rather than individual usage details, and to exclude figures for smaller departments. I have summarized the formulas for each budget item, the rationale to display when utilization rates are low, and an Excel spreadsheet that automatically calculates amounts for each scenario when you input the previous year's performance in the post below. https://nudgeeap.com/community/eap/137099185 https://nudgeeap.com/community/eap/137105806

Q. What criteria do you usually use to appoint worker representatives to the Occupational Safety and Health Committee?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ Employee members are not selected by the company but are appointed by the employee representative (Article 35, Paragraph 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Occupational Safety and Health Act). If the company does not have a labor union, the procedure is to first appoint a person representing the majority of employees (Employee Representative, Article 2, Paragraph 5 of the Act), and then have that person appoint the members. Since the procedure for appointing the employee representative is not detailed in the statutes, we recommend that you document the election notice, voting method, and results. - Composition: The composition consists of the employee representative themselves, an honorary industrial safety supervisor (only if appointed, with at least one designated by the employee representative), and up to 9 employees from the relevant workplace appointed by the employee representative. If there is no honorary industrial safety supervisor, you may compose the committee with the employee representative and designated employees, provided that the number of members is equal to that of the employer members (Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the Act). - Ratio of office workers to field workers, shift teams: There are no specific ratios stipulated in the statutes. We recommend dividing the appointments by department, job function, and work team so that the opinions of departments with a high volume of hazardous work and shift teams can be included in the meeting. If you record the date of nomination along with the representative's department and shift on the nomination letter in the name of the employee representative, you will have a record of the basis for the nomination. - Subcontractors: Since employee members are nominated from among the workers at the relevant workplace, employees of subcontractors are not eligible to serve on the committee. If a subcontractor operates within the workplace, we recommend obtaining opinions from the Contractor-Subcontractor Consultative Body (Article 64 of the Act, meeting at least once a month) and submitting necessary matters as agenda items to the Occupational Safety and Health Committee. - Absence from Meetings/Replacement: While employee representatives or honorary industrial safety supervisors may designate one workplace employee to act as a substitute when attendance is difficult (Article 37, Paragraph 3 of the Enforcement Decree), there are no substitute provisions for nominated employee members. Since meetings require the attendance of a majority of both employee and employer members to be held, it is advisable to establish terms of office (e.g., 1-2 years) and replacement criteria in the operational regulations—which are not stipulated in the law—and to have the employee representative nominate replacements. The Excel spreadsheet and operational procedures for managing member nomination records, automatic tie-breaking, and quarterly meeting records are summarized in the post below. https://nudgeeap.com/community/serious-accidents-act/136990142 https://nudgeeap.com/community/serious-accidents-act/136994521

Q. Do you cover the costs for risk assessment improvements using the Safety and Health department's budget?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ Article 4, Subparagraph 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act stipulates that management responsible for safety and health must formulate a budget necessary to implement ① the provision of safety and health personnel, facilities, and equipment required for accident prevention, ② the improvement of hazardous and dangerous factors, and ③ other matters notified, and execute it according to its intended purpose. Since improvement costs identified through risk assessments fall under the category of "improvement of hazardous and dangerous factors," it is correct that they should be reflected in the budget; however, the law does not specify which departmental budget account they should be allocated to. In fact, Subparagraph 5 of the same article grants safety and health managers and supervisors the authority and budget necessary for their duties, so formulating them into a departmental budget is also permissible. The key point is that you must be able to verify that the funds needed for improvements have actually been allocated and executed according to plan. Article 36 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act also mandates the establishment and implementation of improvement measures based on the results of risk assessments. Therefore, it is advisable to manage the reasons and schedules separately for items that have been stalled for several months under the "scheduled for improvement" status. In practice, it is common to operate them mixed together as shown below. - Facility improvements (workbenches, racks, local exhaust ventilation, etc.): Allocate a separate 'Safety and Health Improvement' item within the relevant department's budget. During the budget planning period, the Safety and Health department should submit a list of improvement measures and estimated costs to verify their inclusion. - Common/minor improvements or new items arising during the year: The Safety and Health department should establish a consolidated reserve item and execute them first in order of risk level. - Implementation management: Record the risk level, responsible department, budget source, expected completion date, and reason for non-implementation for each item in a ledger, and report to the head of management during the semi-annual inspection. Regarding the issue of "no budget this year, so we'll do it next year," establishing a standard where high-risk items are processed first in the current year as reserve items, while the remainder is recorded as a basis for inclusion in the following year's budget, will reduce disputes between departments. While improvements are delayed due to budget constraints, I recommend recording temporary measures such as changes in work methods or protective equipment. The format for the Improvement Measure Implementation Management Ledger and the items for recording management inspection meetings are summarized in the post below. https://nudgeeap.com/community/risk-assessment/134758888 https://nudgeeap.com/community/serious-accidents-act/134369648

Q. Does the health manager check all ingredients before purchasing new chemicals?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP. There are no specific regulations in the law requiring health managers to personally review all ingredients of new chemical substances. Obligations such as posting and keeping MSDS, posting management guidelines, and providing worker training (Article 114 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act), as well as warning labels on workplace containers (Article 115), lie with the employer. The company is free to decide who in each department reviews what. Therefore, if the volume is high, we recommend a structure where the purchasing and user departments conduct the initial screening, and then divide the responsibility for expert judgment among them. - User Department/Purchasing Department (1st Stage): Write the intended use, monthly usage amount, and location of use on the request form, and verify whether the MSDS received from the supplier exists before placing an order. Hold orders without MSDS - Health Manager: Determine whether the item is subject to prohibition or permit, is a hazardous substance under management, is subject to workplace environment measurements or special health examinations, and assesses necessary protective equipment and training. - Safety Officer: Assess physical hazards such as flammability and storage conditions. - Environment Officer: Determine whether the item is a hazardous chemical under the Chemical Substances Control Act (verify based on the classification standards revised in August 2025). If you ensure that small quantities of samples or test supplies also go through the same request form, you can prevent items from entering without an MSDS. Since the party transferring or providing the item must provide the MSDS along with the item (Article 111 of the Act), you should request samples from the supplier as well. I recommend classifying review results into approval, conditional approval, and hold. If the approval is conditional, I suggest recording the necessary measures, completion deadline, and verifier. Since new raw materials are subject to periodic risk assessments (Article 15 of the Guidelines on Workplace Risk Assessment), grouping purchase approval records and risk assessments into the same flow ensures you do not miss any details. I have organized the 5-step review process, checklist, and the Excel spreadsheet for the division of responsibility defining departmental roles in the posts below. https://nudgeeap.com/community/risk-assessment/136904291 https://nudgeeap.com/community/risk-assessment/136907999

Q. If the water tank is cleaned only once every six months, would it be okay to rent equipment like a gas detector?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ If only company employees enter the water tank, the cleaning company hiring the workers must prepare and implement measures such as oxygen and hazardous gas measurements, ventilation, the placement of supervisors, and protective equipment like breathing apparatus, as the employer. The company (the contractor) is responsible for providing risk information in writing before work begins—such as the location and structure of the water tank, methods for shutting off power and water supply, and measures to be taken in case of an accident—and verifying that the company has taken these measures accordingly (Article 65 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act). Therefore, the company does not necessarily need to purchase the equipment; however, we recommend that you obtain copies or photos of the company's measurement results, which include the name of the measurer, the time and location of the measurement, and the measured values. However, if an in-house employee directly enters the water tank to inspect it, the company must designate a measurer and provide the measuring equipment (Article 619-2 of the Rules on Industrial Safety and Health Standards). In this case, renting is an option instead of purchasing. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency's 'Visiting One-Call Service for Preventing Asphyxiation Accidents' (☎1644-8595) lends out equipment such as multi-gas concentration meters, ventilation fans, and air-supplied masks free of charge and provides training on their usage. Please note that positive pressure air respirators are not available for rental, and concentration measurements taken by the Agency do not substitute for an assessment of adequate air quality at the workplace. For rented equipment, please obtain the calibration and inspection dates. You should verify that the standard concentration and alarm setting concentration have been calibrated prior to measurement, as recommended in KOSHA GUIDE H-80-2021. Since the revision in December 2025 requires the record of the measurer, date, time, location, and results to be preserved for three years, it is advisable to obtain the company's measurement results under the same criteria. A table summarizing the responsible parties for each piece of equipment and the points to verify with the company is provided in the text below. https://nudgeeap.com/community/serious-accidents-act/136831590 https://nudgeeap.com/community/serious-accidents-act/136841095

Q. Is it mandatory to obtain the worker's signature on the health checkup follow-up counseling log?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ You cannot find any regulation requiring worker signatures on consultation logs in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, its Enforcement Decree, its Enforcement Rules, or the main text of the Notification on "Standards for the Implementation of Worker Health Examinations." The signature requirement is closer to a long-standing practice at each workplace than a statutory requirement. The core requirements of the laws are: ① taking necessary measures based on the results of the health examination and explaining the details to the worker (Article 132, Paragraph 4 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act; Article 210, Paragraph 1 of the Enforcement Rules), and ② the health manager recording and maintaining the details of their work performance (Article 22, Paragraph 1, Item 13 of the Enforcement Decree). Therefore, it is more important to meticulously record the date and time of the consultation, the consultation method (face-to-face, telephone, or messenger), the details of the follow-up care provided, and the plan for subsequent actions, rather than focusing on the signature. If findings such as job reassignment or reduction of working hours are obtained during special, ad-hoc, or temporary health examinations, you must submit a "Report on the Results of Follow-up Management Measures" to the competent regional employment and labor office within 30 days of receiving the results sheet, and attach documents proving that the measures were implemented. In such cases, obtaining confirmation from the employee makes it convenient to use as proof, but the format of proof is not strictly limited to a signature. If you continue to obtain signatures, I recommend narrowing the scope to simply stating that the employee "confirmed the date and time of the consultation and the follow-up management matters provided," rather than the entire content of the consultation. Since using this signature as consent for the collection of personal information requires separately informing the employee of the purpose, items, retention period, and right to refuse (Articles 15 and 22 of the Personal Information Protection Act), it is advisable to distinguish between confirmation signatures and consent forms. For those who are concerned, please also inform them that health examination results cannot be used for purposes other than health protection and maintenance, and that individual results cannot be disclosed without the individual's consent (Articles 132, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act). For phone or messenger consultations, it is practical to record the date, time, method, and instructions in a consultation log instead of using a signature, and to send the instructions again via text message if necessary to maintain a record. For those who discuss work stress or sleep issues during the consultation, it would be a good idea to introduce EAP counseling as an option. Please also refer to the articles below regarding the scope of health consultation record sharing and consent for EAP integration. https://nudgeeap.com/community/inquiry/135599127 https://nudgeeap.com/community/inquiry/135844827

Q. How many workers do you interview during the musculoskeletal hazard investigation?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ There are no specific legal standards regarding the number of people required for interviews. However, since Article 657, Paragraph 3 of the "Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards" mandates the participation of worker representatives or workers involved in the relevant tasks in hazardous factor investigations, it is more realistic to determine a representative number for each task and establish selection criteria, rather than interviewing everyone. When determining the number of personnel, please refer to the sample criteria in the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) Technical Support Regulations (KOSHA GUIDE E-G-1-2025). The method involves selecting at least two of the highest work intensities if there are 10 or fewer identical tasks with the same work type and conditions; if there are more than 10, one additional person is added for every five exceeding that number. We recommend dividing by task, such as picking, loading/unloading, and packing. Since working conditions can vary between day and night shifts due to differences in volume or personnel composition, we recommend interviewing each shift separately. In addition to work intensity and frequency, if you ask about ① days and times when work volume is high, ② the most difficult unit tasks and the reasons for it, and ③ improvement ideas from the field during the interview, you can use this information immediately for completing the survey form and improvement plan. We recommend recording details by unit task in the second stage of the working conditions investigation on the Hazardous Factor Survey Form (Attachment No. 1 of the Notification), and using codes, shifts, and interview dates instead of names. Please manage health information, such as pain, separately using the Symptom Survey Form. For those who mention fatigue or work stress during the interview, you may also consider introducing EAP counseling as an option. 📝 Methods for dividing unit tasks and time record sheets are summarized in the posts below. https://nudgeeap.com/community/work-environment/136586298 https://nudgeeap.com/community/work-environment/136590881

Q. hello

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ Thank you for joining the Nudge EAP community! Here, HR, health, safety, and organizational culture managers can share their practical concerns, and you can also access guides and forms related to mandatory legal training, occupational safety and health, and EAP. If you have any questions while working, please feel free to leave a question on the inquiry board without mentioning your company name. You can hear expert answers as well as the experiences of other managers. If this is your first time, reading the guide below first will make it easier to use. https://nudgeeap.com/community/notice/134410871 We look forward to seeing you often. Thank you!

Q. Do you have separate criteria for requesting additional work suitability assessments for night shift workers?

A. Hello, this is Nudge EAP ☺️ Since the suitability for performing duties based on a special health examination is determined at the time of the examination, it is easier to manage operations if you establish separate criteria for requesting a work suitability assessment to account for situations where health conditions change or the employee is reassigned to a new shift later. Please organize the reasons for the request as follows: ① a request from the individual, ② when the health manager deems it necessary during counseling or follow-up care, ③ when monitoring of blood pressure, blood sugar, etc., is required for an employee scheduled for night shifts, or ④ a request from the department head. For requests from the department head, we recommend that the health manager first consult with the individual to confirm the necessity and consent, rather than requesting it immediately. You can choose the appropriate request source based on workplace conditions, such as an occupational health physician (specialist in occupational and environmental medicine) or a special health examination institution. However, sending work information, such as work schedules and frequency of night shifts, along with the request will help ensure an accurate assessment. We recommend that you only convey information necessary for adjusting the work schedule to the department head—such as "night shift availability/restriction, duration, and timing of re-evaluation"—and not share specific disease names or test results. Article 132 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act prohibits the use of health examination results for purposes other than the protection and maintenance of workers' health, so please explain this to the individual before taking any action. For those seeking consultation due to the difficulty of night work, it would also be beneficial to introduce them to Employee Assistance (EAP) counseling. Please also refer to the article below regarding the determination of eligibility for special health examinations for night work. https://nudgeeap.com/community/risk-assessment/136525881