🩻 Must I have a medical exam before starting work?

With conditions

Quick answer

Yes: without a valid medical exam a worker can't be admitted to work. Under the Labour Code a worker is subject to preventive occupational-medicine exams: pre-employment (before admission to work), periodic (during employment) and follow-up (after incapacity due to illness lasting over 30 days). The employer refers for and pays for them, and an occupational doctor performs them, issuing a certificate of no contraindications. The exams take place in working hours, with the right to pay preserved. Without a valid certificate the employer can't admit the worker to work. There are exceptions to the pre-employment exam — including for a person re-hired to the same post within a short time, or holding a current certificate from previous employment on similar terms.

📋 The rules

Exams: pre-employment, periodic and follow-up
Follow-up: after illness longer than 30 days
The employer refers and pays; an occupational doctor performs them
Without a valid certificate: no admission to work
Exams in working hours, with the right to pay

🔓 Exceptions

Re-hire to the same post within 30 days: no pre-employment exam
A current certificate from another employer on similar terms: possible exemption from pre-employment exam
Some special work (e.g. with food): extra sanitary requirements

⚠️ Penalties & fines

Admitting a worker to work without valid exams breaches health-and-safety duties — the employer risks a fine from the National Labour Inspectorate, and in case of an accident — more serious liability. A worker who without justification doesn't undergo the exams can't be admitted to work, and evasion can be a breach of employee duties. The exams are free for the worker (the employer bears the cost). To meet the duty: after getting a referral from the employer, attend the exam with an occupational doctor at the designated facility, give the certificate to the employer before being admitted to work, and have periodic and follow-up exams on the dates set by the employer and doctor.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-06-20

❓ Frequently asked

Must I have an exam before starting work?

Yes. Before being admitted to work a worker undergoes a pre-employment occupational-medicine exam. The employer can't admit to work a person without a valid medical certificate of no contraindications to the work on the given post. The employer refers for the exam.

Who pays for a worker's medical exam?

The employer. They refer for the preventive pre-employment, periodic and follow-up exams and bear their cost. An occupational doctor performs the exams. They take place where possible in working hours, and the worker keeps the right to pay for that time.

What are the types of worker exams?

Pre-employment — before admission to work; periodic — repeated during employment on the dates set by the doctor; and follow-up — after incapacity due to illness lasting over 30 days, before returning to work. All are confirmed by an occupational doctor's certificate.

Is a pre-employment exam always required?

Not always. The pre-employment exam can be waived for, among others, a person re-hired by the same employer to the same post within 30 days of the previous contract ending, and a person with a current certificate from another employer on similar terms — within the limits set by the rules.

What's the penalty for admitting to work without exams?

It's a breach of health-and-safety rules. The employer risks a fine from the National Labour Inspectorate, and in case of a work accident — more serious liability. So admitting a worker to work without a valid medical certificate is impermissible and risky for both sides.

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