Council recommendation of 18 February 2003 concerning the improvement of the protection of the health and safety at work of self-employed workers
Date: 2003-02-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: access to information, accident prevention, health risk, occupational health, occupational safety, self-employed person, worker information

28.2.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 53/45

COUNCIL

COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION

of 18 February 2003

concerning the improvement of the protection of the health and safety at work of self-employed
workers

(2003/134/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 308 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal for a recommendation from the
Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Communication from the Commission on a
Community programme concerning safety, hygiene and
health at work (1996 to 2000) (3) provided for exam-
ining the need for a proposal for a Council recommen-
dation concerning the health and safety of self-employed
workers, given the ever-increasing number of
such
workers.

framework Directive

The European Parliament in its Resolution (4) on the
General framework for action by the Commission in the
field of safety, hygiene and health protection at work
(1994 to 2000) proposes that it include measures to
to self-employed
extend the
workers. The European Parliament in its Resolution (5)
on the mid-term report on the implementation of this
programme again draws attention to the category of
self-employed workers, who are largely outside the scope
of the legislation, and stresses that the growth in subcon-
tracting has led to an increase in the number of acci-
dents at work.

The Commission Communication of 11 March 2002 —
‘Adapting to change in work and society: a new
Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002
to 2006’ — and Council Resolution of 3 June 2002 on a
new Community strategy on health and safety at work

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(1) Opinion of 23 October 2002 (not yet published in the Official

(8)

Journal).

(2) OJ C 241, 7.10.2002, p. 139.
(3) OJ C 262, 7.10.1995, p. 18.
(4) OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 478.
(5) Resolution of the EP of 25.2.1999 (A4-0050/1999).

(2002 to 2006), which aim at instilling a culture of
prevention and influencing behaviour, should, wherever
possible, be taken into account by both employed and
self-employed workers.

The social partners attach particular importance to the
protection of the health and safety of both self-employed
workers and of other persons working at the same work-
place, and almost all are in favour of a Community
recommendation
action in the form of a Council
focusing on high risk sectors and notably on information
and awareness-raising measures on risk prevention,
appropriate training and medical surveillance.

As a general rule, workers who exercise their occupa-
tional activity in a manner which does not involve an
employment relationship with an employer or, more
generally, does not make them subordinate to a third
person are not covered by the Community Directives on
health and safety at work,
framework
Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the
introduction of measures to encourage improvements in
the safety and health of workers at work (6). Moreover,
these workers are not covered in certain Member States
by the legislation applicable in the field of health and
safety at work.

in particular

Self-employed workers,
they
work alone or with employees, may be subject to health
experienced by
and safety risks
employees.

irrespective of whether

to those

similar

self-employed workers may
Through their activities
jeopardise the safety and health of other persons
working at the same workplace.

There are also certain ‘high-risk’ sectors in the Commu-
nity in which the number of self-employed workers is
very high (agriculture, fishing, construction, transport).

(6) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.

L 53/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.2.2003

HEREBY RECOMMENDS THAT MEMBER STATES:

1. promote,

in the context of

their policies on preventing
occupational accidents and diseases, the safety and health of
self-employed workers, while taking account of the special
risks existing in specific sectors and the specific nature of
the relationship between contracting undertakings and self-
employed workers;

2. when promoting health and safety for

self-employed
workers, choose the measures they deem to be most appro-
priate, such as one or more of the following:
legislation,
incentives,
information campaigns and encouragement of
relevant stakeholders;

3. take the necessary measures,

including awareness-raising
campaigns, so that self-employed workers can obtain from
the competent services and/or bodies, as well as from their
own representative organisations, useful
information and
advice on the prevention of occupational accidents and
diseases;

4. take the measures necessary so that self-employed workers
can have access to sufficient training to acquire appropriate
safety and health skills;

5. facilitate easy access

to this

without
workers;

involving excessive

information and training
self-employed

expense

for

6.

7.

in accordance with national law and/or practice, allow self-
employed workers who so wish to have access to health
surveillance appropriate to the risks to which they are
exposed;

in the context of their policies on preventing occupational
accidents and diseases, take account of available information
on experience in other Member States;

8. examine, at the end of a four-year period starting with the
adoption of
the effectiveness of
recommendation,
existing national measures or measures taken subsequent to
this recommendation and inform the
the adoption of
Commission of their findings.

this

Done at Brussels, 18 February 2003.

For the Council

The President

N. CHRISTODOULAKIS

(9)

The recent recommendation by the ILO accompanying
the Convention concerning health and safety in agricul-
ture (1) stipulates that Member States must progressively
extend to self-employed farmers the protection applic-
able to workers, taking account of the views of represen-
tative organisations of self-employed farmers if neces-
sary.

(10) Work accidents and occupational diseases to which self-
employed workers are particularly exposed result in high
costs in both social and human terms.

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

For these reasons, it is appropriate to take account of
the category of
self-employed workers and in this
recommendation to focus on preventing the risks of
to which self-
occupational accidents and diseases
employed workers are exposed.

The need to take account of the specific situation of the
self-employed has already been recognised in relation to
work carried out at temporary or mobile construction
sites, as Directive 92/57/EEC (2) provides for the exten-
sion to the self-employed of certain relevant provisions
on the use of work equipment and protective equip-
ment.

Improving the standards of safety and health of self-
employed workers can improve the conditions of
competition and competitiveness on a European level.

It is also necessary to improve access of self-employed
workers to training and information with a view both to
improving their own health and safety and that of the
persons working at the same workplace.

(15) Member States should choose the means they deem to

be most appropriate to meet the objectives.

(16)

(17)

(18)

This recommendation does not affect existing or future
national provisions providing for a higher degree of
protection.

In the current situation, the Member States are in the
best position to take appropriate measures, whereby the
Community should also contribute towards achieving
the objectives of this recommendation.

The proposal was drawn up following consultation with
in accordance with Article 138(2)
the social partners,
and (3) of
the EC Treaty, and with the Advisory
Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at
Work,

(1) ILO, Convention 184/2001 of 21.6.2001.
(2) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 6.