Preliminary decision of the Supreme Administrative Court KHO:2022:5 - indoor air quality
This case is interesting because it was decided by the Supreme Administrative Court. The background to the case was the company's indoor air problems, which had already caused respiratory illnesses among employees. The regional administrative authority had imposed a conditional fine of 8,000 euros on the company to enforce its obligation to provide a report on the condition of the structures and materials in the workplace that affected indoor air. According to the regional administrative authorities' decision, the matter had to be resolved by means of an investigation that opened up the structures.
After the company failed to comply with its obligation, the authorities had ordered the company to pay a penalty of 8,000 euros and also imposed a new penalty of 16,000 euros. The company had justified its failure by saying that the owner and landlord of the building had prohibited the carrying out of structural investigations.
The company had appealed to the Administrative Court. The Administrative Court rejected the company's appeal, after which the company took the matter to the Supreme Administrative Court. However, the Supreme Administrative Court did not change the Administrative Court's decision, but extended the occupational safety obligation to also apply to the company that rented the building as its business premises. Accordingly, the conditional fine could also have been ordered to be paid.
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