Annotation

The article focuses on the legal and organizational mechanisms for protecting employee safety and health at work within the Armenian legal system. It treats occupational health as a multi-dimensional structure involving legal, socioeconomic, organizational, technical, sanitary, and rehabilitative measures designed to protect the life and physical integrity of employees throughout their careers. Specifically, it examines Chapter 23 of the Armenian Labour Code in relation to the EU Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, which serves as the "constitution" for European occupational safety and health (OSH). The primary objective is to conduct a comparative analysis between Armenian labour legislation and European Union standards to identify systemic gaps and contradictions. By revealing these differences, the authors aim to provide a roadmap for legislative approximation, bringing Armenian law into conformity with the more advanced EU human rights and labour standards. The study utilizes a comparative legal analysis as its primary method, alongside systemic and scientific abstraction methods. The research finds a fundamental shift in philosophy between the two systems: EU law has moved from a reactive stance toward a proactive culture of risk assessment and prevention. A critical finding is that Armenian law lacks a clear mechanism for designated safety responsible persons, effectively transferring the burden of safety from the employer to the employee. Furthermore, Armenian legislation is criticized for having unclear remedies and self-protection measures, such as the right to refuse work, which lack the predictability needed to ensure adequate protection or reparation for damages.

Keywords: occupational health, health safety and security, health policy, public health, health law, right to work.