A service provider's general obligations

This page contains a general description of leisure service providers' obligations under the Consumer Services Act 185/2025. For more detailed instructions, see Tukes instructions Safety in Consumer Services.

Duty of care

A consumer service provider is subject to a general duty of care: The service provider must ensure that the consumer service is safe for the users and other persons directly affected by it.

The duty of care means that the service provider must know the safety aspects of the provided service and take practical measures to ensure that the service is safe. While the measures must be adequate and reasonable, their content and scope differ from one provider to another. The factors considered when assessing the duty of care include the type, nature and scale of the consumer service and the conditions in which it is provided, special characteristics of the groups of persons using the service and those directly affected by it, and the results of a risk assessment focusing on the specific service in question.

Service users are persons who participate in the service. Examples of service users are the audience attending a concert, the customer of a beauty care service, a pupil taking a riding lesson or a tourist going on a dog sled safari.

Persons who are directly affected by the service do not participate in it themselves but may still be exposed to the hazards caused by it. Examples include persons who escort a service user, monitor the performance of the service from the outside, or live or find themselves near the place where the service is provided.

Other obligations imposed on service providers by the Act complement the content of the duty of care and add detail to it.

What is a safe service?

The safety of a consumer service means that:

  1. the consumer service does not expose service users or other persons in the immediate vicinity to an unacceptable risk of health harm, and
  2. the service provider plans and delivers the service in compliance with the provisions of the Act.

In other words, the safety of a consumer service means that the service provider has, by complying with the obligations laid down in the Act, ensured that the risks of the service they provide are managed and that the risk level is acceptable.

Health harm refers to a physical or mental illness, injury or other harm to the health of a service user or a person affected by the service caused by the service. Examples include a fracture, allergic reaction or psychological trauma.

Information on a consumer service

To comply with the provisions of the Act, the service provider must be in possession of sufficient and correct information on the consumer service they offer. For example, this information may relate to the functional content of the service, technical requirements, customers' special safety needs or competence required of the service provider.

This requirement is limited to information and competence that the service provider can reasonably obtain. It does not mean that the information should be available free of charge or only in public sources, however. For example, the service provider may have to attend training or obtain a standard that are subject to a fee in order to acquire the information essential for the safety of the service.

Duty to document

The service provider must have written documentation on how they have ensured that the service is safe. The content of this documentation varies between different services. It must include the results of the hazard identification and risk assessment as well as written descriptions of how the service was planned and how it is delivered.

Consequently, the safety documentation of the service must consist of documents related to 

  • results of hazard identification and risk assessment as well as safety measures taken on their basis 
  • safety deviations identified in the service 
  • purchase, construction, inspection and maintenance of equipment, structures and facilities 
  • the personnel's training, qualifications and induction 
  • customer guidance and rules of the service 
  • action in case of emergencies and accidents 
  • accidents that have occurred in the service 

While the documentation must be produced in writing and kept up to date, there are no other requirements for its format. All material related to the customer safety of the service need not be compiled in a single file. The information may be found in different files or databases, and it may consist of text, images, numeric data, videos or other file formats. The information may also be included in documents required under other legislation (such as a rescue plan referred to in the Rescue Act (379/2011)).

It is advisable to draw up a table of contents for the safety documentation of the service, making it possible to find out at a glance which documents the documentation consists of and where the information can be found. Rather than primarily being compiled for the authorities, the purpose of the documentation is to support the service provider in planning the safety of the service and practical safety work.

The service provider need not submit the documentation to Tukes unless they are requested to do so. When processing an enforcement matter, Tukes may request the service provider to submit documents relevant to the matter.