Bulgaria DSE Regulations

Germany, Bulgaria, Poland and Sweden all implement EU Council Directive 90/270/EEC on minimum health and safety requirements for work with display screen equipment. Click here for more details on the OSHA website

The Directive requires employers to:

• analyse DSE workstations for risks (eyesight, musculoskeletal, mental stress)

• ensure workstations meet minimum ergonomic standards (equipment, environment, software)

• plan work so screen work is periodically interrupted by breaks or different tasks

• provide information and training on safe DSE use

• offer eye and eyesight tests and, where needed, corrective appliances for DSE work

The UK DSE Regulations are essentially that Directive in UK form, so your existing training is already broadly aligned; what follows is how each country has “localised” it.

Legal framework

• Health and Safety at Work Act – general OSH law.

• Ordinance No. 7 of 23.09.1999 on minimum requirements for health and safety at work and use of work equipment (general workplace/ equipment rules).

• Ordinance No. 7 of 15.08.2005 on minimum requirements for provision of health and safety when working with video displays – this is the DSE-specific transposition of Directive 90/270/EEC.

Key duties under the 2005 VDU Ordinance

• Risk assessment

  • Employers must assess risks at workplaces equipped with video displays (eyesight, musculoskeletal strain, mental stress) and take technical/organisational measures to control them.

• Workstation requirements

  • Minimum ergonomic standards for screen, keyboard, work chair, desk, lighting and microclimate; prevention of glare/reflections; enough space for posture changes.

• Work organisation

  • Work with video displays must be organised with breaks or task changes to reduce DSE load – closely mirroring the EU Directive.