The short answer: The construction site occupational health and safety plan is prepared and updated by the coordinator — since 1 November 2025, this has been expressly stipulated by § 15 odst. 2 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., as amended by zákon č. 318/2025 Sb. Responsibility for signing the plan was transferred to the client under § 14 odst. 4 of the same Act, while nařízení vlády č. 319/2025 Sb. removed from § 7 písm. c) nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. the requirement for the plan to be approved and signed by all contractors known when it was prepared. Under § 15 odst. 3, a limited-scope plan is prepared for rescue and emergency response work, whereas under § 15 odst. 4 no plan is prepared for maintenance work on technological equipment that does not involve construction work.
For years, the usual practice on construction sites was for the client to receive the OHS plan from the coordinator, file it with the contract, and wait for each contractor to sign it in turn. Since 1 November 2025, the client has been responsible for signing it, while contractors instead undertake to comply with the measures laid down by the coordinator. Anyone who missed the change may now have a plan on file that was signed by someone other than the person designated by law.
This article deals exclusively with the plan as a document. When a coordinator is mandatory and how the price is determined are discussed in OHS Coordinator on a Construction Project; the division of responsibilities between the client and contractors is explained in OHS on Construction Sites: Obligations, the OHS Plan, and Preparing for an Inspection.
Who prepares the plan and who signs it
Until the end of October 2025, the law did not expressly identify who was responsible for preparing the plan; this followed indirectly from § 7 písm. c) nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. Amendment č. 318/2025 Sb. added a clear sentence to § 15 odst. 2 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb.: “The plan shall be prepared and updated by the coordinator.” Under the same paragraph, the client must ensure that the plan is prepared and updated — but is not responsible for writing it.
Responsibility for signing moved in the opposite direction. Under § 14 odst. 4 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., in the version effective from 1 November 2025, the client is “also required to sign this plan and require all contractors, including persons referred to in § 12 and, where applicable, other persons, to cooperate with the coordinator throughout the preparation and execution of the project and to comply with all measures laid down by the coordinator.” Correspondingly, in čl. I bodě 3, nařízení vlády č. 319/2025 Sb. removed from § 7 písm. c) nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. the words “and to have it approved and signed by all contractors, if they are known when the plan is prepared.”
One part of the signature requirement nevertheless remains and is often overlooked in practice: § 8 odst. 1 písm. h) nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. still requires the coordinator, during project execution, to have the updated plan “approved and signed by all contractors, if they were not known when the plan was prepared.” A company that joins the project later must therefore still sign the plan.
The status of the coordinator’s measures also changed on the same date: in čl. I bodě 2, nařízení vlády č. 319/2025 Sb. replaced the word “recommends” with “lays down” in § 7 písm. a) nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. A recommendation thus became an instruction with which contractors must comply under § 16 písm. c) zákona č. 309/2006 Sb.; they must also require compliance from the other contractors.
The OHS plan before and after 1 November 2025
| Issue | Until 31 October 2025 | From 1 November 2025 | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who prepares and updates the plan | The law did not identify the author; this followed from the implementing regulation | “The plan shall be prepared and updated by the coordinator.” — now expressly stated in the law | § 15 odst. 2 zák. č. 309/2006 Sb. |
| Who signs the plan | Approval and signature by all contractors known when the plan was prepared | Signature by the client; the client requires contractors to comply with the coordinator’s measures | § 14 odst. 4 zák. č. 309/2006 Sb.; § 7 písm. c) NV č. 591/2006 Sb. ve znění NV č. 319/2025 Sb. |
| Limited-scope plan | Not addressed by the law | Rescue and emergency response work and the remediation of accidents, fires, explosions, and network failures: work and technological procedures used until the incident has been resolved | § 15 odst. 3 zák. č. 309/2006 Sb. |
| When no plan is prepared | The law contained no express exemption | Maintenance work on technological equipment where no construction work is carried out on the construction site and the work cannot be classified as an activity under § 3 odst. 1 | § 15 odst. 4 zák. č. 309/2006 Sb. |
| Work stopped by the coordinator | The coordinator pointed out deficiencies and required corrective action | The coordinator immediately instructs work to stop in the event of an imminent danger; the contractor stops work when instructed | § 15 odst. 6 a § 16 písm. d) zák. č. 309/2006 Sb. |
| New statutory offences | Failure to appoint a coordinator and failure to ensure that the plan was prepared and updated were punishable | Failure to ensure that the plan is signed and failure to make the coordinator’s measures binding on contractors are now also offences | § 17 odst. 1 písm. zh) a zi), § 30 odst. 1 písm. zf) a zg) zák. č. 251/2005 Sb. |
When a plan is required and when none is prepared
Under § 15 odst. 2 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., the obligation to ensure that a plan is prepared arises in two situations: where work exposing an individual to an increased risk of death or injury under příloha č. 5 nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. will be carried out on the construction site, or where the circumstances specified in § 15 odst. 1 apply (more than 30 working days with more than 20 people working at the same time, or a total workload exceeding 500 person-days).
Příloha č. 5 was narrowed with effect from 1 November 2025: in čl. I bodě 20, nařízení vlády č. 319/2025 Sb. added an exemption to point 6 (work within protective zones around energy lines) for low-voltage electricity infrastructure and gas infrastructure operating at up to 4 bar where the work is performed by licensed distribution operators. This is linked to § 14 odst. 9 písm. d) zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., under which no coordinator is appointed for those networks or for electronic communications infrastructure.
Conversely, two situations reduce the scope of the plan or remove the requirement altogether. Under § 15 odst. 3, a limited-scope plan is prepared for rescue and emergency response work and for remedying the consequences of accidents, fires, explosions, and network failures, and is used only until the incident has been resolved. Under § 15 odst. 4, no plan is prepared for maintenance work on technological equipment that does not involve construction work on the construction site.
What the plan contains
Its content is governed by příloha č. 6 nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb.: identification details of the project, the client, the designer of the project documentation, and the coordinator; a site layout drawing; and the content specified in part II písm. C. The law further states that the plan “must contain basic information about the project and the construction site, the work procedures proposed for individual tasks and work activities with regard to the risks of the planned work, including specific requirements for their safe performance, their anticipated duration, and their sequence or concurrent execution” — § 15 odst. 2 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb.
Part II písm. C přílohy č. 6 covers details that a generic template cannot address: fencing and access points, protective and controlled zones, temporary electrical distribution systems, the assessment of external influences such as vibrations from traffic or flooding, procedures for excavation, concrete, assembly, and demolition work, work at height including fall-arrest systems and anchoring methods, simultaneous operations such as two cranes working on one construction site, and measures for work carried out in buildings that remain operational. Under § 15 odst. 2 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., the plan must be adapted to the actual conditions and any material changes to the project.
The scope of matters covered by the plan expanded from 1 November 2025: the new point 9 in part I přílohy č. 1 nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. added rules for internal traffic routes on construction sites, while the new písm. f) in point 1 added a requirement to minimise light pollution from site lighting.
When the coordinator stops work
The most far-reaching change appears in § 15 odst. 6 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb.: the coordinator must immediately instruct the contractor or a person referred to in § 12 to stop work if individuals are exposed to an imminent threat to their safety, life, or health. The coordinator must inform the site manager, and under the same provision the work must remain suspended until corrective action has been taken. The corresponding requirement is the new písm. d) in § 16, under which the contractor must stop work when instructed by the coordinator.
However, no regulation specifies who bears the cost of downtime, how the interruption is to be recorded, or who confirms that the issue has been remedied. These matters must be addressed contractually, preferably before such a situation arises.
Offences: signing the plan and making the measures binding
Zákon č. 318/2025 Sb. added two new statutory offences for both categories of offender to zákon č. 251/2005 Sb., o inspekci práce. For individuals, these are § 17 odst. 1 písm. zh) — failure to ensure that the construction site OHS plan is signed — and písm. zi) — failure to ensure that all contractors, including persons referred to in § 12, are bound to comply with the measures laid down by the coordinator. For legal entities and self-employed individuals, the corresponding provisions are písm. zf) and zg) in § 30 odst. 1.
The maximum fine for either of the new offences is CZK 400,000: § 17 odst. 2 písm. b) zákona č. 251/2005 Sb. covers písm. zd) to zi), while § 30 odst. 2 písm. b) covers písm. zc) to zg). The same maximum fine continues to apply to failure to ensure that the plan is prepared or updated under § 15 odst. 2 or 3.
Frequently asked questions
Does a plan prepared before 1 November 2025 remain valid?
The transitional provisions of zákon č. 318/2025 Sb. (čl. II) concern the accreditation of examination boards and say nothing about plans prepared earlier. Practical guidance is provided by § 15 odst. 2 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb.: the plan must be adapted to the actual conditions and material changes to the project, so the client’s signature under § 14 odst. 4 should also be addressed at the next update.
Do contractors sign the plan as well?
Contractors who were known when the plan was prepared are no longer required to approve and sign it under § 7 písm. c) nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb., as amended by nařízení vlády č. 319/2025 Sb. Contractors who were not known at that time must approve and sign it during project execution under § 8 odst. 1 písm. h) of the same regulation.
What is a limited-scope plan?
Under § 15 odst. 3 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., a limited-scope plan consists of work and technological procedures drawn up for rescue and emergency response work and for remedying the consequences of accidents, fires, explosions, and failures, particularly those involving technical infrastructure networks and equipment. It is used on the construction site only until the incident for which it was prepared has been resolved, and it is prepared and updated by the coordinator.
Is a plan required for maintaining technology in a production hall?
Under § 15 odst. 4 zákona č. 309/2006 Sb., no plan is prepared for maintenance work on technological equipment where no construction work is carried out on the construction site, provided that the nature of the work does not allow it to be classified as an activity under § 3 odst. 1. What matters is the nature of the work, not how the purchase order describes it: as soon as the maintenance includes construction, assembly, or demolition work within the meaning of § 3 odst. 1, the situation must be assessed differently.
Sources used for this article
- OHS Services for Companies – a service provided by SOHE.
- OHS Coordinator on a Construction Project: When One Is Mandatory, the 2025 Amendment, and Pricing – when the obligation to appoint a coordinator arises, the thresholds for notifying the start of work, and how the price is calculated.
- OHS on Construction Sites: Obligations, the OHS Plan, and Preparing for an Inspection – how responsibility is divided between clients, contractors, and managers, and what inspectors examine.
- Annual OHS Inspection under § 108 of the Labour Code – the documentation a contractor must provide for its own operations, independently of the construction site plan.
- Zákon č. 309/2006 Sb. – zákon o zajištění dalších podmínek bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví při práci; version effective from 1 November 2025; § 3 odst. 1 (contractor activities), § 12 (persons outside employment relationships), § 14 odst. 4 and odst. 9 písm. d), § 15 odst. 1 to 4 and odst. 6, § 16 písm. c) and d).
- Zákon č. 318/2025 Sb. – amendment to zákon č. 309/2006 Sb. and zákon č. 251/2005 Sb., dated 23 July 2025; under čl. VI, it took effect on 1 November 2025, except for part three (the amendment to § 105 odst. 7 of the Labour Code), which took effect on 1 January 2026; transitional provisions in čl. II.
- Nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb. – o bližších minimálních požadavcích na bezpečnost a ochranu zdraví při práci na staveništích; version effective from 1 November 2025; § 7 písm. a) and c), § 8 odst. 1 písm. h), příloha č. 1 part I point 1 písm. f) and point 9, příloha č. 5, příloha č. 6.
- Nařízení vlády č. 319/2025 Sb. – amendment to nařízení vlády č. 591/2006 Sb., dated 20 August 2025; under čl. II, it took effect on 1 November 2025; čl. I points 2, 3, 5, 6, and 20.
- Zákon č. 251/2005 Sb. – o inspekci práce; § 17 odst. 1 písm. zh) and zi) and odst. 2 písm. b), § 30 odst. 1 písm. zf) and zg) and odst. 2 písm. b).
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute a legal opinion; the legal position was verified against e-Sbírka as of 28 August 2026. The specific arrangements for the OHS plan on a particular construction site must reflect the actual operations, the manufacturer’s documentation, the operating environment, and the risk assessment.
Are you dealing with a specific construction project and need a coordinator who will genuinely prepare the plan and keep it up to date on site, rather than merely handing over a binder? We provide OHS coordination during both project preparation and execution, as well as annual OHS inspections covering contractors’ own operations. Send us a no-obligation enquiry stating the planned start date and number of contractors, see our OHS Services for Companies, or email the project details to info@sohe.cz.