Establishing a sunbed company
Are you setting up a sunbed company? Whether you are a beginner as an entrepreneur or an operator expanding your business, you need to take into account a few things related to the establishment of a sunbed company. In addition to normal responsible business, sunbed entrepreneurs/operators shall ensure radiation safety for their customers and employees.
Provisions on the safety of radiation use are laid down in the Radiation Act, and regulations on sunbeds are contained particularly in sections 171–174 of the Radiation Act. The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority monitors sunbed equipment and its use under the Radiation Act. Sunbed activities do not require a licence by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, but before launching your sunbed business, you must submit a written notification to the municipal health protection authorities (section 13 of the Health Protection Act). They inspect sunbed sites during their monitoring visits under the Health Protection Act. Contact your municipal health protection authority. They will advise you on setting up a sunbed company.
The sunbed entrepreneur is responsible for the radiation safety of the sunbed.
Instructions concerning the safety of the use of radiation and radiation activities are issued by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority.
General obligations of sunbed entrepreneurs
Sunbed operators shall ensure that those under 18 years of age cannot access sunbeds and that sunbed services are not sold to those under 18 years of age.
The unsupervised use of sunbeds is prohibited. At the site, the operator must appoint one or more responsible persons who are always present when sunbeds are used. This provision applies also to gyms and swimming pools. Where necessary, the responsible person will instruct customers on the use of the sunbed device and verify the age of young people.
Eye protectors shall be available at sunbed sites, and safety instructions for the use of sunbeds shall be provided in the vicinity of each sunbed device, including information on the harmful effects of UV radiation. The claim that the use of a sunbed promotes health or cures illnesses shall not be included in sunbed instructions.
Radiation safety instructions for sunbed users are available to entrepreneurs as a STUK poster, which may be printed in Finnish, Swedish and English. The printed poster in Finnish may be ordered free of charge from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority by e-mail at solarium(at)stuk.fi.
Sunbed entrepreneurs must also ensure that the sunbed devices in use comply with the STUK regulations and that they are in working order in all respects.
Appointment of the responsible person and their duties
The operator shall designate a responsible person appropriately familiar with the use of the device at the place of use of the sunbed device, who shall, where necessary, instruct the customer on the protection of their eyes and safe use of the sunbed device and shall ensure that a person under 18 years of age cannot use the sunbed device. There may be one or more responsible persons depending on the scope of the activities of the sunbed site. At least one responsible person must be present whenever the sunbed device is used. The responsible person is not required to have more than basic knowledge when instructing customers on the use of the sunbed device. The responsible person shall be a person aged 18 or over.
It must be possible to monitor the use of sunbed devices
Sunbed devices are placed or their use shall be organized in such a way that the customer cannot use the sunbed device without the designated responsible person (responsible persons/staff) noticing it. The sunbed facilities shall always be locked or use of the sunbed disabled when the responsible person is not present or is unable to monitor customers entering the sunbed facility and the use of the device, for instance due to other duties.
The responsible person must be present when sunbeds are used.
The sunbed device may only be used when the designated responsible person is present and can effectively monitor that a person under 18 years of age cannot use the sunbed device. The use of a loyalty card, key card, or another similar key to access the sunbed site and the use of the device without the supervision of staff does not meet the requirements of the Radiation Act. The use of the key in the absence of staff does not completely exclude the use of sunbeds by minors.