Railway Safety Act 2005

Medical fitness for duty.

112.—(1) A railway undertaking may require a safety critical worker to undergo an assessment by a medical practitioner, nominated by the undertaking, of his or her fitness to perform a safety critical task and such person shall co-operate with such medical assessment.

(2) Railway undertakings shall ensure that safety critical workers undergo assessment by a medical practitioner of their fitness to perform safety critical tasks.

(3) Where, following an assessment under subsection (1), a medical practitioner is of the opinion that a safety critical worker is unfit to perform a safety critical task, he or she shall notify the railway undertaking concerned, by the quickest practicable means, of that opinion and shall inform the safety critical worker of that opinion and the reasons for that opinion.

(4) If a safety critical worker becomes aware that he or she is suffering from any disease or physical or mental impairment which, should he or she perform a safety critical task, would be likely to cause him or her to expose a person to danger or risk of danger, he or she shall immediately notify the railway undertaking concerned.

(5) Where a railway undertaking receives a notification under subsection (3) or (4), it shall not permit the safety critical worker concerned to perform a safety critical task until such time as an assessment under subsection (1) confirms that he or she is fit to so perform that task.

(6) The Commission may, with the consent of the Minister, and after consultation with railway undertakings, organisations which represent staff of railway undertakings, the Medical Council, the Health and Safety Authority and such other persons as in the opinion of the Commission may be relevant, make regulations in relation to all or any of the following—

(a) the nature of a medical assessment under subsection (1) and the matters that shall be assessed, or

(b) the frequency of an assessment under subsection (2).

(7) The Commission may, after consultation with railway undertakings, organisations which represent staff of railway undertakings, the Medical Council, the Equality Authority, the Health and Safety Authority and such other persons as in the opinion of the Commission may be relevant, publish guidelines in relation to the types of disease or physical or mental impairment which may require notification by a safety critical worker to a railway undertaking under subsection (4).

(8) On each occasion that a safety critical worker attends his or her medical practitioner, he or she shall inform that medical practitioner of his or her position as a safety critical worker.