COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Health and Safety at Work is Everybody's Business A Practical guidance for employers Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Safer and Healthier Work for All - Modernisation of the EU Occupational Safety and Health Legislation and Policy
Date: 2017-01-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, accident prevention, health legislation, health risk, labour standard, occupational safety, public awareness campaign, safety standard, small business

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.1.2017  SWD(2017) 9 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Health and Safety at Work is Everybody's Business  A Practical guidance for employers Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Safer and Healthier Work for All - Modernisation of the EU Occupational Safety and Health Legislation and Policy {COM(2017) 12 final} {SWD(2017) 10 final}  
 
 
Contents 
1. Good health and safety is good for your business .............................................................................. 4 

2. The legal obligations ............................................................................................................................ 5 

3. Risk assessment in practice ................................................................................................................. 6 

4. Prevention as a key principle............................................................................................................. 11 

5. OSH training....................................................................................................................................... 14 

6. Leadership and OSH culture .............................................................................................................. 17 

7. Three examples of risk management in practice .............................................................................. 21 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Health and Safety at Work is 

Everybody's Business 

 Practical guidance for employers1 

This  guidance  document  complements  the  European  Commission's  Communication  "Safer 
and Healthier Work for All – Modernisation of EU Occupational Safety and Health legislation 
and policy".  

It  is  a  practical  guide  for  employers,  to  be  adapted  to  national  circumstances,  providing  an 
overview of the main obligations and existing tools and resources which can help to put those 
obligations in practice. Its objective is to assist effective and efficient implementation of the 
occupational safety and health framework. 

A  brief  word  on  the  law:  at  the  EU  level,  the  legislation  sets  minimum  requirements 
throughout  the  EU  and  comprises  the  Framework  Directive  89/391/EEC  and  more  than  25 
related Directives on various  subjects.  EU Directives  have to  be transposed into  national 
law and implemented by the Member States. Employers will therefore first of all need to 
look at the national legislation; firstly, it contains the relevant (transposed) EU provisions, 
and secondly, it may contain important additional requirements that  employers may need to 
comply with. Member States are indeed allowed to adopt more stringent protective measures 
than those foreseen in the EU Directives. It is also the national competent authorities, usually 
the  labour  inspections,  who  are  primarily  responsible  for  enforcing  the  national  provisions 
transposing the Directives.  

1 The document refers to the EU OSH "Framework Directive" (89/391/EEC) and does not take account of the 
transposition acts of the Framework Directive made in the Member States. Therefore, it will remain for those 
who read this document to decide how it best can be used with respect to the national legislation.  
The document draws mainly on articles, guides and tools produced by EU-OSHA (including OSH Wiki). 

3 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
1. Good health and safety is good for your business 

As an employer you surely know that you have a legal responsibility to protect your workers 
from  occupational  health  and  safety  (OSH)  risks.  You  probably  also  know  that  you  are 
supposed to make a risk assessment that would underpin your health and safety actions.  

But OSH is not just about compliance with law 
and  it  is  much  more  than  an  administrative 
duty.  It  is  simply  a  vital  part  of  good  business 
management.  

the  people  you  employ: 

The  success  of  your  company  is  foremost  the 
success  of 
their 
combined  skills,  talents,  commitment  and  hard 
work. This is why you try to attract and recruit 
the  best  people,  you  invest  in  their  training, 
develop  their  careers  and  make  sure  they  earn 
enough to stay with you. You want them to remain motivated. Occupational health and safety 
is  part  of  the  same  investment.  Through  good  OSH  you  are  reducing  the  chances  that  your 
best-qualified  mechanic  will  get  badly  injured  in  an  accident,  that  your  promising  designer 
will be out  of work for  weeks because  of a burn-out,  that  your  experienced accountant  will 
start making mistakes as he is suffering from constant back pain. 

Figure 1. Source: EU-OSHA 

Experience shows that for every euro you as an employer invest in OSH you can expect 
a  return  of  more  than  two2.  Avoided  production  losses  and  disturbances,  sick  leaves, 
damages to equipment and to the company image as well as avoided administrative and legal 
costs  are  only  some  of  the  potential  benefits  deriving  for  enterprises  from  lower  rates  of 
accidents at work and decreases in work-related ill-health. 

Good OSH is important in big companies, but it is vital for small ones. In fact, serious OSH 
incidents can be particularly catastrophic for a small enterprise: 

 

It  is  far  more  difficult  for  micro  and  small  enterprises  to  recover  from  any  OSH 
incident. 

  Key workers cannot be easily or quickly replaced. 

  Short-term interruptions of business can lead to loss of clients and important contracts. 

  A  serious  incident  can  lead  to  the  closure  of  a  business  due  to  the  direct  costs  of 

dealing with the incident or the loss of contracts and/or customers. 

  Even small incidents and cases of ill health can double the level of sickness absence. 

2 Calculating the international return on prevention for companies: costs and benefits of investments in 
occupational safety and health, International Social Security Association; 2013. 

4 

 
 
 
                                                            
As  an  owner  or  manager  of  a  small  company  you  might  feel  you  do  not  have  the  time,  the 
money or the capacity to deal with OSH or you might assume that it is up to your workers to 
take care of their health and avoid accidents at work.  

But there are many examples of how health and safety can be effectively managed in a small 
company, for the benefit of the workers and the business itself. Companies which achieve this 
often draw on the unique assets related to their small size: the fact that communication lines 
are short and personal and that simple solutions can be implemented at short notice. What can 
make  it  easier  to  achieve  good  OSH  in  small  companies  is  also  the  fact  that  you  have 
personal,  daily  direct  contact  with  your  staff  and  that  your  workers  are  often  more 
autonomous and personally-engaged in designing working methods and the workplace itself.  

Whatever the company size, it makes sense to have good OSH and managing OSH does not 
have to be complex. Simple improvements can often substantially improve health and safety 
at  work  and  in  most  sectors  you  do  not  need  any  special  expertise  to  be  able  to  identify 
potential  risks  and  decide  how  to  address  them.  Most  of  the  time,  just  looking  around  your 
workplace, thinking about past incidents and talking to your staff will give you a good idea of 
what could be dangerous or make people ill and what could be improved.  

There are plenty of guides and tools that can help you in the process. Your national authority 
for health and safety and the EU agency (EU-OSHA) are good places to start finding relevant 
material. This guidance document also provides some practical examples and references.  

Useful tools and references: 

  European  Agency  for  Safety  and  Health  at  Work  (EU-OSHA)  has  developed  so 
far  a  number  of  guidance  documents  and  practical  tools  for  day  –to-day  OSH  risk 
management: https://osha.europa.eu/en 

  National Focal Points. EU-OSHA is a network organization, with a "focal point" in 
each  Member  State.  The  focal  points  in  each  Member  State  are  typically  the 
competent  authority  for  safety  and  health  at  work  and  can  provide  more  detailed 
information 
context: 
anchored 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/about-eu-osha/national-focal-points/focal-points-index 

guidance, 

national 

and 

the 

in 

2. The legal obligations 

The law obliges you as an employer to ensure the safety and health of workers in every 
aspect  related  to  work.  To  fulfil  this  obligation,  you  are  supposed  to  take  actions  such  as 
evaluating  the  risks  to  the  safety  and  health  of  your  workers,  ensuring  that  each  worker 
receives  adequate  safety  and  health  training,  involving  workers  and  their  representatives  in 
discussions on health and safety and keeping a record of occupational accidents. Depending 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
on  your  national  legislation  or  the  sector  or  nature  of  your  activity,  there  might  exist  some 
more specific obligations.  

Workers also have some legal obligations in relation to health and safety. They are supposed 
to make correct use of equipment, inform you of any serious and immediate danger and of any 
shortcomings  in  the  safety  arrangements.    They  should  also  cooperate  with  you  in  ensuring 
that the working environment and working conditions are safe. 

You can manage health and safety issues internally with some workers or through a service in 
your  company  (e.g.  the  human  resources  department)  or,  if  this  is  not  possible,  with  the 
assistance of competent external services or  persons, which however  will not discharge you 
from your legal responsibilities in this area. You can also do it on your own if your national 
legislation so authorises.  

Since health and safety is an indispensable aspect of business management, it makes sense to 
fully integrate OSH considerations in the overall functioning of your company. Make it part 
of  your  normal  operations  rather  than  seeing  it  as  an  external  obligation  and  yet  another 
administrative box to tick. Most of the OSH obligations you would probably implement even 
if they were not required by law as they are quite simply logical measures to prevent accidents 
and health problems at work. 

3. Risk assessment in practice 

One  of  the  key  legal  obligations  for  employers  in  OSH  is  to  "be  in  possession  of  an 
assessment of the risks to safety and health at work, including those facing groups of workers 
exposed to particular risks" and to "decide on the protective measures to be taken (…)".  

Risk assessment is however NOT just an obligation  – it is the real basis of any approach to 
safety  and  health  management  and  is  essential  in  the  establishment  of  a  safe  and  healthy 
workplace. It will help you to identify the right measures to prevent risks at work and provide 
the right information and training for workers.  

  Key steps and sources of information 

The  law  does  not  prescribe  exactly  how  to 
conduct the risk assessment although for some 
specific high-risk sectors or activities coverage 
of  certain  elements/risks  can  be  required. 
National  legislation  may  also  include  more 
detailed  requirements  concerning  the  content 
and form of risk assessments. 

There  are  different  methods  to  conduct  a  risk 
assessment  but  essentially,  you  need  to  think 
about  what  might  cause  harm 
to  your 
employees  and  decide  how  to  prevent  that 

6 

Figure 2. Source: EU-OSHA 

 
 
 
harm. The process involves five steps as shown in Figure 2.  

Remember  to  involve  workers  and  their  representatives  in  the  process  –  they  will  help  you 
understand the existing risks. They should also get to know what conclusions you draw from 
the assessment and what measures you will implement as a consequence. 

Other sources of information include analysis of past incidents, health statistics, advice from 
your national OSH authorities and sectoral associations. It is particularly useful to look into 
"near-misses"  -  events  that  had  the  potential  to  result  in  injury,  illness  or  damage  –  but 
fortunately  it  did  not.  In  workplaces,  near  miss  situations  are  common  occurrences,  though 
they  are  often  ignored.  However,  near  misses  can  be  looked  at  as  free  lessons  on  how  to 
prevent  accidents  from  occurring.  Therefore, 
gathering  information  about  near  misses  and 
the 
information 
analysing 
appropriate corrective actions is a good way to 
promote safety in the workplace. 

For every reported major injury,  
there are 300 near misses. 

Near misses - "Iceberg theory"  

initiate 

the 

to 

Source: OSH Wiki 

  Do you need an external consultant? 

If you do not have the necessary competences within your company, you shall ask an external 
health and safety specialist to take care of the health and safety activities for your company, 
and to carry out a risk assessment for you.  But in most cases this should not be necessary. A 
straightforward  process  based  on  judgment  and  requiring  no  specialist  skills  or  complicated 
techniques is sufficient for most businesses. Doing the risk assessment yourself, for example 
with a free online tool, will not only save you money but also give you a reassurance that you 
have taken all important issues into account.  

In some situations, however, external expertise is necessary. This could be for example if: 

- you need to assess less obvious risks, e.g. in highly complex technical systems; 

- examine finer details of particular risks; 

- devise a novel technical measure for risk reduction. 

If you have to call in external expertise: 

 make  sure  that  you  choose  somebody  with  the  right  qualifications  and  competencies  –  and 
check if your national legislation has regulated this; 

- involve your workers or their representatives in the final decision on who should conduct the 
risk assessment, what it should cover and how it will be followed up. 

  Work situations and activities which may involve risks 

When preparing your risk assessment you may want to look at the following different aspects 
of work situations and activities. Bear in mind: this is not an exhaustive list. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  use of work equipment, such as tools and machines; 
  work practices and layout of premises; 
  use of electricity; 
  hazardous substances, such as fumes, dusts, chemicals; 
  physical agents, such as noise, vibration, radiation; 
  biological agents, such as moulds, bacteria, viruses; 
  environmental  factors,  such  as  inadequate  light,  temperature,  humidity, 

ventilation; 

  human factors, such as design of the equipment and workplace; 
  psychological factors that can lead to stress, violence, bullying; 
  work organisation and 'housekeeping' measures; 
 

repetitive,  forceful  or  heavy  work  or  awkward  postures  which  can  lead  to 
musculoskeletal disorders; 

  other  factors,  such  as  dangers  related  to  other  people,  work  with  animals, 

weather conditions etc. 

Figure 3. Napo in... shocking situations – Napo Consortium 

For each of these hazards, more detailed guidance exists, developed either at European level 
(European  Commission,  EU-OSHA)  or  by  the  competent  national  authorities.  Those  are 
useful sources for more detailed information on how to identify, but also manage these risks. 

Please see, as an example, the guidance developed so far for chemical risks management: 

Useful tools and references: 

  Practical guidelines of a non-binding nature on the protection of the health and safety 
of  workers  from  risks  related  to  chemical  agents  at  work,  European  Commission, 
2005: 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/legislation/guidelines/practical-guidelines-of-a-non-
binding-nature-on-the-protection-of-the-health-and-safety-of-workers-from-the-risks-
related-to-chemical-agents-at-work 

  Minimising chemical risk to workers' health and safety through substitution, European 
2012: 

Commission 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7320&type=2&furt
herPubs=yes 

  Chemical  labels  are  changing  –  How  will  this  affect  you?,  European  Commission, 
2013:http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7639&type=2

8 

 
 
 
 
&furtherPubs=yes 

  Chemicals at work- a new labelling system – Guidance to help employers and workers 
to  manage  the  transition  to  the  new  classification,  labelling  and  packaging  system, 
European 
2013: 
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7634&type=2&furt
herPubs=yes 
  Guidance  and 

including  on  chemical  risks 
management  accessible  from  the  websites  of  National  Focal  Points  of  EU-OSHA: 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/about-eu-osha/national-focal-points/focal-points-index 

interactive  risk-assessment 

Commission, 

tools, 

Vulnerable workers and other people 

When  making  a  risk  assessment,  also  pay  attention  to  workers  who  might  be  especially 
vulnerable  (see  Figure  4)  and  also  to  other  people  who  are  at  your  premises:  contractors, 
visitors, members of the public. Often measures to reduce risks to vulnerable workers will in 
any case benefit the whole workforce. 

Figure 4. Source: EU-OSHA 

  Risk prioritisation and follow-up actions 

Once you have identified the hazards and know whom they affect, you will need to evaluate 
and prioritise risks. You need to also verify whether there are any specific legal obligations - 
for instance regarding specificities of risk assessment, information or training of workers etc. 
related to a given risk, sector of activity or category of worker. 

In implementing the measures necessary for the safety and health of your workers you need to 
take into account the following general principles of prevention: 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  avoiding risks; 

  evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided; 

  combating risks at source; 

  adapting the work to the individual, especially as regards the design of workplaces, the 
choice of work equipment and the choice of working and production methods, with a 
view, in particular to alleviating monotonous work;   

  adapting to technical progress; 

   substituting 

the  dangerous  by 

the  non-dangerous  or 

the 

less  dangerous; 

  developing a coherent overall prevention policy, covering technology, organisation of 
work,  working  conditions, social relationships and the influence of factors related to 
the working environment; 

  giving    collective  protective  measures  priority  over  individual  protective  measures 
(e.g.  control  exposure  to  fumes  by  local  exhaust  ventilation  rather  than  personal 
respirators); 

  seeking to improve the level of protection. 

Risk assessment and the resulting preventive and protective measures are not done once-and-
for-all.  Monitor  effectiveness of your  actions,  adapt  your  plan if necessary  and look out  for 
new risks as your activities/workplace changes. 

  Documenting your risk assessment 

The  law  requires  that  you  write  down  the  results  of  your  risk  assessment  and  protective 
measures and keep a written record for reference, and indeed it makes sense. You can use it to 
demonstrate  to  your  workers,  to  trade  unions  and  labour  inspectors  that  you  have  made 
informed decisions about the risks and ways to tackle them. It will also be a useful tool for 
you to monitor implementation of the actions you planned. There are no specific requirements 
as to the content of the written record, but it would be reasonable to include elements such as: 

  name and function of the person(s) carrying out the examination; 

  the hazards and risks identified; 

  groups of workers facing particular risks; 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  the  necessary  protection  measures  –  when  you  would  plan  to  introduce  them,  who 
them  and  how  you  would  monitor  progress; 

responsible 

would  be 

for 

  information  about  the  involvement  of  workers  and  their  representatives  in  the  risk 

assessment process. 

There are plenty of tools which can help you conduct and record your risk assessment. These 
include guides, checklists and templates. See the box at the end of this section for some ideas 
and  check  the  website  of  the  EU-OSHA  and  your  national  health  and  safety  authority  for 
further material.  

  Risk assessment e-tools 

What  can  be  particularly  helpful  for  small  and  medium  enterprises  are  electronic,  internet-
based risk assessment tools,  such  as the  OiRA tool (Online  interactive Risk Assessment). 
OiRA  tools  are  easy-to-use  and  cost-free.  With  these  tools  you  can  conduct  all  steps  of  the 
risk assessment: starting with the identification and evaluation of workplace risks, through to 
the decision-making and implementation of preventative actions, to monitoring and reporting. 
There  already  exist  some  120  OiRA  tools,  in  different  languages  and  adapted  to  different 
sectors. Similar tools also exist in several Member States3.  

In  many cases,  having  a risk assessment report generated through  OiRA or  equivalent  tools 
may  be  considered  as  compliance  with  the  risk  assessment  obligation  –  remember  to  check 
your national legislation or with your national labour inspectorate if in doubt.  

Figure 5. Source: EU-OSHA. Examples of some sectors covered by specific OiRA tools 

4. Prevention as a key principle 

Once  an  accident  has  occurred  and  somebody  has  been  badly  hurt  or  even  killed,  or  once 
someone  has  been  exposed 
to  a 
dangerous  substance  that  will  cause 

3 https://oira.osha.europa.eu/en/irat-network  

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
them cancer, it is too late. The damage has been done.  

It is much better for workers and also for your company to act before something bad happens, 
to  anticipate  the  risk  and  prevent  it.  This  is  why  prevention  is  a  key  concept  and  the  main 
objective of OSH.  

Figure 6. Source: EU-OSHA. Healthy Workplaces campaign 2012-2013 

Zero Accidents Vision 

The  Zero  Accident  Vision  is  based  on  the  belief 
that all accidents are preventable. 

is  a  philosophy  rather 

Vision  Zero 
than  a 
numerical  goal:  according  to  its  way  of  thinking 
nobody should be injured or killed in an accident. 
People tend to make errors, but erroneous actions 
should  not  result  in  injuries.  This  is  one  reason 
why safety should be emphasised in planning any 
human –working or living – environment. 

Source: OSH Wiki 

  Preventive measures 

Preventive  measures  aim  to  reduce  the  likelihood  of  occurrence  of  a  work  accident  or  an 
occupational disease. Preventive measures can be of two types:  

1.  engineering  or  technical  measures  -  designed  to  act  directly  on  the  risk  source,  in 

order to remove, reduce or replace it; 

One  example  of  such  technical  measure  could  be  water-assisted  dust  suppression  to 
prevent exposure to silica dust. 

2.  organisational  or  administrative  measures  –  meant  to  change  behaviours  and 

attitudes and promote a positive safety culture. 

Harmful  factors  are  to  a  great  extent  related  to  the  nature  of  the  processes, 
technologies, products and equipment in the workplace, but may also be influenced by 
the way in which the work is organised.  

Preventive measures need to be complemented with protection and mitigation measures. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Protection measures 

Protection measures should be primarily collective. Individual measures can be considered as 
an alternative if collective solutions are not 
feasible or effective. 

1.   collective  measures  –  designed  to 
the  risk,  for 
isolate 
enclose  or 
instance through the use of physical 
barriers, 
or 
administrative measures to diminish 
the exposure duration ( job rotation, 
timing  of  the  job,  safety  signs)  and 
then, 

organisational 

2.  individual measures - any adequate 
Personnel  Protective  Equipment 
(PPE) designed to protect the worker. 

Figure 7. Source: OSH Wiki 

  Mitigation measures 

Finally,  you  should  look  into  possible  mitigation  measures  with  the  aim  of  reducing  the 
severity of any damage to facilities and harm to employees and the public. Examples include:  

  emergency plan; 

  evacuation planning;   

  warning systems (alarms, flashing lights); 

  test of emergency procedures, exercises and drills, fire-extinguishing system; 

   return-to-work plan.   

13 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
5. OSH training 

  Legal obligations and the importance of OSH training 

Any preventive measure will pose a practical challenge for workers: they will need to change 
the way they work, adapt to new equipment or new procedures. Therefore it is important that 
already when deciding on a new OSH measure you ask yourself how you are going to make 
sure  that  workers  learn  and  start  applying  the  measure  as  quickly  and  as  well  as  possible. 
Without this, your risk management plan will simply not work. Indeed, recent studies looking 
into  the  profitability  of  health  and  safety  interventions  show  that  those  interventions  which 
involve training and organizational change are more profitable than those based on technical 
changes exclusively4. 

This is also why the health and safety law envisages that employers should provide adequate 
OSH  training  to  their  workers  and  give  them  information  and  instructions  relevant  to  their 
workstation and tasks. 

Useful tools and references: 

-  “Luxembourg Declaration on Workplace Health Promotion in the European Union” sets out 
several  principles,  which  aim  at  preventing  ill-health  at  work  (including  work-related 
diseases,  accidents,  injuries,  occupational  diseases  and  stress)  and 
enhancing  health-promoting  potentials  and  well-being 
the 
workforce 
http://www.enwhp.org/fileadmin/rs-
dokumente/dateien/Luxembourg_Declaration.pdf 

in 

- 

-  OSH  Wiki: 
https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Prevention_and_control_strategies#cite_note-Machinesafety-20 

Prevention 

strategies 

control 

and 

- 

Figure 8. Source: OSH Wiki 

OSH  Wiki: 

- 
https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Organisational_measures_of_accident_prevention#cite_note-EU-
OSHA.2C_2011a-2 

Organisational 

measures 

accident 

of 

prevention: 

- OSH Wiki: Zero accident vision: https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Zero_accident_vision 

It is  particularly important  to  make  sure that your  workers get relevant OSH  information  in 
situations such as: 

- on recruitment; 

4 https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/reports/the-business-case-for-safety-and-
health-cost-benefit-analyses-of-interventions-in-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises 

14 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
- when they are transferred or change jobs;  

- when you introduce new technology or new equipment; 

- when the workplace risks change. 

Workers  with  particular  OSH  responsibilities  are  also  entitled  to  appropriate  training. 
Training  is  also  especially  important  for  young  workers  or  those  with  little  professional 
experience. Don't forget that team leaders, managers and supervisors also need OSH training. 

Make  sure  that  your  workers  have  opportunities  to  gain  sufficient  knowledge  and  refresh  it 
from time to time. Remind them also that they have the responsibility to protect their own and 
their colleagues' health and safety by following instructions given in the OSH training. 

As  with  other  OSH  measures,  it  is  important  that  you  involve  workers  and  their 
representatives in the design of training actions. This will make the training more relevant - as 
workers  know  best  how  the  work  is  performed  in  practice  -  and  also  more  successful  as 
workers will be more committed to following the training if they actively participated in its 
design. 

  How to set up OSH training 

Your  national  legislation  or  sector-specific  regulation  might  specify  some  particular 
obligations on the content of the training, but in general what is important is that workers are 
well aware of what they must and mustn't do in order to avoid accidents and ill-health.  

In general, it is up to you to decide how you want to achieve this goal.  

Once  again,  try  to  approach  this  obligation  using  common  sense.  It  is  in  your  interest  that 
workers know what they are doing: you do not need to organise training just for the sake of it, 
but you do need to provide sufficient support to your workers to prevent accidents and health 
problems.  

The  same  content  can  be  delivered  through  very  diverse  methods  -  each  with  different 
strengths  and  limitations.  As  a  general  rule,  the  more  active  the  participation,  the  better  the 
learning  effect.  Also  think  about  your  target  audience:  you need  to  consider  factors  such  as 
the age, experience, position and educational levels of the workers when selecting the content 
of the training, but also when deciding on the best method and form for the training. 

Think  about  the  timing  of  your  training,  for  example,  so  that  part-time  workers  or  those 
working different hours are not left out. 

Big  companies  might  run  comprehensive  training  programmes  with  external  consultants,  as 
might  companies  dealing  with  particularly  hazardous  substances  or  using  very  specialised 
equipment.  

For small companies with common hazards, simple awareness raising or information sessions 
might  be  sufficient  and  you  may  prefer  simple  methods  such  as  leaflets,  posters, 
communication through supervisors and mentors, discussions in teams.  

15 

 
 
Check out the websites of your national health and safety authorities and the EU-OSHA for 
ready-to-use  training  material.  A  good  example  is  the  Napo  animation  series  produced  by 
several European OSH actors in the NAPO Consortium.  

Figure 9. Source: NAPO Consortium 

  Making OSH training a success 

EU-OSHA  has  identified  several  factors  which  can  contribute  to  the  success  of  your  OSH 
training:  

  Motivation  and  commitment  of  senior  staff  and  management  to  OSH, which  can 

include their presence at training sessions; 

  Providing training in the context of an effective overall safety management system 

to prevent workplace risks. Training alone is not effective in reducing risks; 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Using  peers,  including  more  experienced  young  workers,  and  older,  experienced 
workers as mentors. This provides a positive experience for new and more senior 
colleagues alike; 

  Using active, participatory learning methods, e.g. where people learn to recognise 

hazards and solve real work problems, in real workplaces; 

  Feeding  the  results  of  such  studies  back  into  the  real  workplace  risk  assessment 
and  prevention  process.  This  makes  the  exercise  meaningful  for  young  workers 
and is of value to employers; 

  Training  supervisors,  mentors  and 

trainers 

in 

their  role  and 

in  OSH; 

  Making  OSH  training  an  integral  part  of  lifelong  training  and  development.  By 

law, OSH should not only be a ‘one-off’ training at the start of work. 

Useful tools and references: 

  European  Network  Education  and  Training  in  Occupational  Safety  and  Health, 
ENETOSH  -  standards  for  selecting  suitable  trainers,  developing  harmonised  high 
level training content, and setting up a certification system. The standard  consists of 
the  following  four  parts:  i.  Training  the  trainer,  ii.  Basics  of  safety  and  health,  iii. 
Workplace  health  promotion,  iv.  OSH  management.  It  has  been  translated  into  10 
languages 
at 
http://www.enetosh.net/webcom/show_page.php/_c-134/_nr-5/_lkm-140/i.html 

the  ENETOSH  website 

obtained 

from 

and 

can 

be 

  Napo instruction animations -  https://www.napofilm.net/en/about-napo/the-napo-story 

Napo  is  the  hero  in  a  series  of  animated  films  that  introduce  important  workplace 
safety  and  health  topics  in  a  memorable,  light-hearted  way.  The  likeable  character 
symbolises  an  employee  who  could  be  working  in  any  industry  or  sector.  The  Napo 
films  are  produced  with  the  involvement  of  several  European  health  and  safety 
organisationsauthorities:  AUVA  
(UK); 
INAIL   (Italy);  INRS   (France);  SUVA   (Switzerland);  and  as  well  as  the  European 
Agency  for  Safety  and  Health  at  Work  (EU-OSHA).  They  are  free  to  use  in  OSH 
awareness-raising, training, education and communication activities.  

(Austria);  DGUV  

(Germany);  HSE  

6. Leadership and OSH culture 

No matter how exact your risk assessment is and how good your risk management measures 
are, to make it work on the ground, you and other managers in your company need to "walk 
the talk". You need to show your workers that you really believe in the importance of health 
and safety and that you are truly committed to following through your action plans.  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Health and safety culture 

Health  and  safety  culture  is  one  of  the  key  factors  when  it  comes  to  determining  the 
effectiveness of a safety system. It means seeing health and safety principles and objectives as 
core company values and integrating them into every day actions and decisions. 

Positive safety culture implies that you give a credible example for behaviours and values you 
are promoting. Daily pro-active supervision is as important as visible commitment to the high 
priority  of  safety  within  the  organisation.  It  goes  without  saying  that  you  yourself  need  to 
respect the rules. Your workers will see your actions and on this basis judge what behaviours 
are acceptable and which are not.  

Your  personal  impact  might  be  particularly  strong  in  a  small  company:  if  you  are  an 
owner/manager  of  a  workshop,  and  sometimes  working  alongside  workers,  your  decision 
whether  to  wear  protective  equipment,  for  example,  will  have  a  strong  influence  on  your 
workers' attitudes. 

Similarly, you have great opportunities to lead by example and reinforce the right behaviours 
as  a  middle  manager  or  team  leader  with  close  personal  contact  with  workers  and  an 
involvement in their daily work. 

However,  the  role  of  chief  executive  officers  and  board  members  is  crucial  as  well.  The 
priority a company and senior managers  give to health and safety at work and the extent to 
which  managers  use  their  authority  to  promote  compliance  with  occupational  health  and 
safety policy and rules motivates workers to follow the standards set by management.  

The  United  Kingdom’s  HSE5  proposes  some  examples  on  how  managers  can  easily  and 
visibly show their commitment to occupational health and safety within their company:  

  Visit the  shop-floor to praise good occupational health and safety  approaches  and to 
address unsafe behaviour by encouraging changes and looking at the causes for failure 
to  follow  the  occupational  health  and  safety  rules.  These  visits  can  also  be  useful in 
providing opportunities for employees to raise any health and safety issues. 

  Regularly attend health and safety committee meetings. 

  Introduce the topic of occupational health and safety during team meetings. 

  Be  actively  involved  in  the  investigation  of  accidents,  near  misses,  incidents  and  ill 

health. 

  Mention health and safety to a wide range of audiences whenever possible. 

5 http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/ 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  Concentrate  in  an  equal  measure  on  good  and  bad  health  and  safety  news,  praising 
good  behaviour  and  news  and  taking  bad  news  as  an  opportunity  to  improve  the 
situation. 

  Encourage  employees  to  be  proactively  involved  in  the  setting  up  of  strategies, 

policies and measures on OSH. 

  Set long-term OSH goals and measure the OSH performance of your company. 

  Hold managers, supervisors and line management staff accountable for OSH.  

You can make OSH leadership more visible through internal codes of conduct or management 
charters, developed in cooperation with your workers, such as in the example below.  

Ten Platinum Rules for better Management6 

1. 

Remember you are working with people  

  Do not exhaust them 
  People are not machines 
  Treat them with dignity and respect 

2. 

Listen to and talk with your people  

  Be inclusive 
  Do it frequently 
  Value and develop people skills in supervisors and managers 

3. 

Fix things promptly  

  Do not let issues fester 
  Keep people informed of progress 

4. 

Make sure your paper work is worth having  

  Keep it current 
  Make sure it is meaningful 

5. 

Improve competency in OSH  

6 The Ten Platinum Rules from the mining sector in Australia contain general rules that they could be valid in 
any sector - https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/The_importance_of_good_leadership_in_occupational_safety_and_health 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
6. 

7. 

8. 

  Particularly at management level 

Encourage people to give you bad news 

Fix your workplace first 

Measure and monitor risks, that people are exposed to  

  Don not just react to incidents: fix things before they happen 
  Control risks at their source 

9. 

Keep checking that what you are doing is working effectively  

  Are you achieving what you think you are? 

10. 

Apply adequate resources in time and money 

  Worker participation 

Building  and  implementing  an  effective  OSH  culture  involves  not  only  managers,  but  also 
workers.  As  a  manager  you  do  not  have  all  the  solutions  to  all  health  and  safety  problems. 
Workers and their representatives have the detailed knowledge and experience of how the job 
is  done  and  how  it  affects  them.  For  this  reason,  workplaces  in  which  workers  actively 
contribute to health and safety often have a lower occupational risk level and accident rates. A 
recent  study  has  also  demonstrated  that  those  occupational  health  and  interventions  that 
closely involve workers are most profitable7. 

Worker participation on health and safety is a simple two-way process where employers and 
their workers/worker representatives:  

talk to one another; 
listen to each other’s concerns; 
look for and share views and information; 

 
 
 
  discuss issues in good time; 
  consider what everyone has to say; 
  make decisions together; 
 

trust and respect each other. 

You know that the law requires that workers participate, be informed, instructed, trained and 
consulted on health and safety. Full participation goes however beyond consultation - workers 
and their representatives are also involved in making decisions. 

7 https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/reports/the-business-case-for-safety-and-
health-cost-benefit-analyses-of-interventions-in-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises 

20 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
Useful tools and references: 

  EU-OSHA: Management Leadership in OSH – a practical guide -   

https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/documents/en/publications/report
s/management-leadership-in-OSH_guide/hwc2012-
13_prac_guide_leadership.pdf 

  EU-OSHA:  Worker  participation  in  OSH  –  a 
practical guide - https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-
publications/publications/reports/workers-
participation-in-OSH_guide  

of 

  EU-OSHA:  Worker  participation  practices  –  a 
review 
studies: 
https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications
/documents/en/publications/literature_reviews/work
er-participation-practices-a-review-of-eu-osha-case-
studies/worker-participation-case-studies.pdf 

case 

Figure 10. Source: EU OSHA 

  Good practices at EU-OSHA website:  

https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/documents/en/publications/report
s/european-good-practice-awards-2012-
2013/HWC_Good_Practice_Award_Booklet_2013.pdf 

  Guide developed by the HSE: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg417.pdf 

  OSH  Wiki 

in  OSH: 
https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/The_importance_of_good_leadership_in_occupational_safety_
and_health 

importance 

leadership 

good 

The 

of 

– 

7. Three examples of risk management in practice 

Workplace  hazards  are  numerous  and  diverse.  For  some,  the  nature  of  the  risks  and  the 
measures that can be taken to reduce them are well understood, others are more complex and 
challenging for an employer to manage. Changes in the labour market and work organization 
mean that new risks emerge or some risks become more prevalent. In this section we will give 
you three examples of risk factors that occur in any workplace and that can be challenging to 
address. You will find here some tips and tools on how to manage them in practice.  

7.1. Work-related stress 

What it means at the workplace? 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stress at work may be related to: 

• 

job  content,  including  type  of  tasks,  contact  with  people  through  work  (such  as 
clients), changes in processes, restructuring and use of skills; 

•  work  intensity  and  job  autonomy,  including  aspects  of  workload,  work  pace  and 

control; 

•  working time arrangements and work–life balance; 

• 

• 

social environment, including interpersonal relationships at work and social support; 

job insecurity and career development.  

Stress  is  experienced  by  a  person  when  they  feel  that  there  is  an  imbalance  between  the 
demands  made  of  them  and  their  capacity  to  cope  with  those  demands.  Clearly,  a  worker 
under  stress  is  not  as  productive  and  creative  as  he  or  she  could  be  and  working  under 
prolonged stress may result in concentration problems, mistakes and negative behaviours. 

Stress  at  work  may  have  negative  psychological,  physical  and  social  impacts  and  result  in 
burnout, depression and in extreme cases even suicide.  

In addition to mental health problems, workers suffering from prolonged stress can go on to 
develop  serious  physical  health  problems  such  as  cardiovascular  disease  or  musculoskeletal 
problems. 

Figure 11. Source: EU-OSHA. Healthy Workplace Campaign 2014-2015 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What do you need to do as an employer? 

You  need  to  reflect  on  psychosocial  risks  and  measures  to  address  them  in  your  health  and 
safety risk assessment (see above for general information on conducting risk assessments).   

Look out for signs of work-related stress. These may be quite diverse: Figure 12 gives some 
examples of organisational and individual indicators of work-related stress. 

Here  are  some  ideas  of  what  questions  you  might  ask  yourself  in  your  risk  assessment  and 
what you could do to address some of the problems you might identify: 

 "Culture" 

Is there good open communication, support and mutual respect? Are views from workers and 
their representatives valued? 

 Demands 

Are  staff  overloaded  or  underloaded,  do  they  have  the  capabilities  and  capacities  for  their 
tasks? What about the physical (noise, vibration, ventilation, lighting etc.) and psychosocial 
(violence, bullying etc.) environments? 

 Control 

Do individuals have sufficient say in the 
way their work is carried out? 

 Relationships 

are 

relationships 

How 
between 
colleagues  and  between  colleagues  and 
managers?  What  about  relationships 
between managers and senior managers? 
Is  there  evidence  of  any  bullying  or 
harassment? 

 Change 

about 

their 
anxious 
Are  workers 
employment  status?  Are  they  confused 
by workplace changes and what it means 
for them and their colleagues?  

 Role 

people 

Do 
(conflicting demands) or  role ambiguity  Figure 12. Source: EU-OSHA 

conflict 

suffer 

role 

23 

 
 
 
(lack of clarity)? 

 Support, training and individual factors 

Is  there  adequate  induction  for  new  recruits  and  staff  whose  jobs  have  changed?  Are  staff 
given social support? Is account taken of individual differences? 

There is clearly a business case for learning more about psychosocial factors, how they impact 
workers and what can be done to prevent or reduce the negative effects. Check the references 
box  at the  end  of  this  section,  in  particular  the  e-guide  developed  by the  EU-OSHA,  which 
has  a  specific  version  for  your  country.  Your  national  health  and  safety  authority  will  have 
other useful guides, checklists or tools. 

Useful tools and references: 

•  European  Commission,  Promoting  mental  health  in  the  workplace:  Guidance  to 
implementing a comprehensive approach. It introduces and provides guidance for employers, 
employees  and  other  stakeholders  on  the  management  of  mental  health  issues  in  the 
workplace. 

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=716&langId=en  

•  EU-OSHA,  Psychosocial  risks  and  stress  at  work.  This  website  includes  good  practice 
resources on this topic. 

https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/psychosocial-risks-and-stress 

• EU-OSHA, A practical e-Guide to managing psychosocial risks. This multi-lingual e-guide 
helps employers and people working in small and micro enterprises to deal with psychosocial 
risks.  It  has  30  national  versions,  each  including  references  to  the  national  legislation  and 
information on national resources and practical tools. 

http://hw2014.healthy-workplaces.eu/en/tools-and-resources/a-guide-to-psychosocial-risks 

EU-OSHA,  OSHwiki:  Psychosocial 
issues.  This  website 
provides  information  on  psychosocial  risks,  in  particular,  in  the 
context  of  changing  work  patterns,  as  well  as  from  the  sectoral 
perspective.  
https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Psychosocial_issues   

Good practices at EU-OSHA website: 
https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/documents/
healthy-workplaces-good-practice-awards2014-2015booklet.pdf 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7.2. Risks related to musculoskeletal disorders 

What it means at the workplace 

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common work-related problem in Europe and 
cost employers and Member States billions of euros. 

The two main groups of MSDs are back pain/injuries and work-related upper limb disorders 
(sometimes referred to as ‘repetitive strain injuries’). Lower limbs can also be affected. MSDs 
cover any damage or disorder of the joints or other tissues. Health problems range from minor 
aches and pains to more serious medical conditions requiring time off or medical treatment. In 
more chronic cases, they can even lead to disability and the need to give up work. 

MSDs  can  be  caused,  or  made  worse,  by  physical  (ergonomic,  biomechanical)  factors,  but 
also  psychosocial  factors  such  as  work  intensity,  high  demands,  low  variability,  lack  of 
control  over  the  work,  mental  workload,  and  carrying  high  levels  of  responsibility,  in 
particular when associated with physical factors.  

In addition, the characteristics of the working environment, including the work equipment and 
workstation  layout,  and  the  characteristic  of  the  object  handled,  have  an  influence  on  the 
development of these conditions. 

What do you need to do as an employer? 

Ergonomic  risks  occur virtually in every workplace.  They affect factory workers, drivers or 
farmers  but  also  people  working  in  services  and  office  workers.  You  cannot  completely 
eliminate the risks but the good news is that you can take cost-effective action to prevent or at 
least  minimise  some  MSDs8.  This  makes  sense,  as  recent  studies  show  that  certain 
investments to improve ergonomics/tackle MSDs at the workplace can trigger a high return on 
investment9. 

For workers who already have MSDs, the challenge is to maintain their employability, keep 
them working and, if necessary, reintegrate them into the workplace. 

8 For the activities implying the manual handling of load, the work with display screen equipment and the use of 
vibrating tools or equipments you should specifically refer to the provisions laid down in the Directives which 
cover these areas of activity. 
9 A cost-benefit ratio of up-to 6.2 was observed from case-studies in a recent publication: 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/reports/the-business-case-for-safety-and-
health-cost-benefit-analyses-of-interventions-in-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises 

25 

 
 
 
                                                            
Figure 13. Scenes from Napo in Lighten the Load - Napo Consortium 

In  your  risk  assessment,  look  out  for  different  types  of  risks,  taking  into  account  that  often 
they work in combination and that there are other factors, not work-related, that contribute to 
MSDs (e.g. individual physical activity patterns, obesity, stress in private life). 

Factors at work may include:  

  Physical factors, such as: 

 Use of force or localised pressure; 

 Repetitive or forceful movements; 

 Awkward or static working postures; 

When  assessing  such  physical  factors  it  is  also  important  to  look  at  their  duration,  as 
insufficient recovery time increases the risk of injury. 

  Work environment factors, such as: 

 vibration; 

 poor lighting, low temperature or humidity; 

 space constraints (insufficient room to carry out the activity or to carry it out safely); 

 characteristics of work surface and seating;  

 characteristics of the objects handled (size and shape (e.g. too large, bulky, unwieldy); 

 weight and weight distribution (e.g. too heavy, unstable, unpredictable); 

  nature  of  container,  tool  and  equipment  handles  (e.g.  difficult  to  grasp,  intrinsically 
harmful – e.g. sharp/hot). 

  Psychosocial factors, e.g.: 

 work intensity (working at high speed or working to tight deadlines);  

 lacking control over tasks of workload;  

 mental workload. 

26 

 
 
 
Once you have identified the principal risks, think about how to address them. Often, simple 
changes such as  encouraging  breaks, alternating tasks,  or some simple  physical exercise for 
those whose work is  mainly  sedentary  can  make  a  big difference. Make sure that you think 
about ergonomics upfront  – e.g. when purchasing new equipment or  redesigning your  work 
spaces. 

There are many practical ways to prevent or minimise MSDs: 

  Workplace layout:  

- adapt the position, height and 
layout to improve working 
postures 

- provide adjustable chairs, use 
platforms etc. 

- ensure good lighting, avoid 
reflections on screens. 

  Equipment:  

- make sure it is ergonomically 
designed and suitable for the 
task 

Figure 14. Example of a preventive action - Source: National Safety Council, 
Illinois, USA 

- favour lightweight tools, reduce the weight of items. 

  Workers:  

- improve risk awareness 

- provide training in good work methods 

- consider health monitoring, health promotion and actions towards reintegration of workers 
already suffering from MSDs.  

  Work organisation:  

- plan work to avoid repetitive work or prolonged work in poor postures.  

- introduce short frequent breaks in the more risky activities (not necessarily a rest) 

- rotate jobs or reallocate work. 

27 

 
 
 
 
Further references 

General information on MSDs is available on the EU-OSHA web page: 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/musculoskeletal-disorders    

Information and results from the EU-OSHA 2000 Campaign “Turn your back on 
musculoskeletal disorders”  : 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/musculoskeletal-disorders    

Information and results from the EU-OSHA 2007 Campaign “Lighten the load”  : 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/healthy-workplaces-campaigns/previous-healthy-workplaces-
campaigns  and https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-
publications/publications/factsheets/78/view   

See also relevant OSH Wiki articles: 
https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Category:Musculoskeletal_disorders  

7.3. Diversity-sensitive risk assessment 

7.3.1 Age-sensitive risk assessment 

What it means at the workplace 

Many  attributes,  such  as  interpersonal 
skills,  work  experience  and  expertise 
accumulate  with  age.  Older  workers 
among  of  your  most 
might  be 
knowledgeable  and  most  committed 
employees, therefore it is in your interest 
to  make  sure  that  they  can  fully  and 
actively  contribute  to  your  company's 

the  creativity  and 

activity.  Inter-generational  diversity  will 
boost 
innovative 
capacity  of  your  company  and  as  the 
population gets older, being able to attract,  retain and make  the most  of the talents of older 
workers will become increasingly important.  

Figure 15. Source: World Health Organisation - 10 Facts on 
ageing and the life course. 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Generally,  key  cognitive  skills  are  barely  affected  before  retirement  –  whereas  intelligence, 
knowledge, language and complex problem-solving skills are likely to increase until the age 
of  60.  There  can  be  some  decline  in  physical  and  sensory  capacities  and  where  accidents 
occur it may take older people longer to recover, but these changes don’t affect everyone in 
the same way.  

Figure 16. Source: EU-OSHA - The Healthy Workplaces for All Ages E-guide 

What do you need to do as an employer? 

You have the same responsibilities towards your older workers as towards other employees. 
There is no need to carry out a separate risk assessment for this group of employees and you 
should not make any assumptions purely based on age. Older workers are not a homogeneous 
group; there can be considerable differences between individuals of the same age because of 
differences in lifestyle, nutrition, fitness, genetic predispositions, educational level, etc.  

Furthermore, many age-related changes are more relevant in some professional activities than 
in others. For example, changes in balance and strength have an implication for fire-fighters 
and rescue personnel who work in extreme conditions, wearing heavy equipment and lifting 
and carrying people; a decreased ability to judge distances and the speed of moving objects 
has an implication for night-driving but does not affect office workers. 

In your diversity- and age-sensitive risk assessment it is important to: 

  Take  ageing  issues  seriously  and  have  a  positive  commitment.  Value  the  ageing 

workforce as an asset (and not as a problem).  

  Adapt work and preventive measures to workers.  

  Consider the needs of the ageing workforce at the design and planning stage. 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  Provide  adequate  training  to  workers.  Give  training  and  information  on  ageing  issues 
regarding  safety  and  health  risks  to  risk  assessors,  managers  and  supervisors,  safety 
representatives, etc.  

 

Inclusive  risk  assessment  should  take  a  participatory  approach,  involving  the  workers 
concerned and be based on an examination of the real work situation.  

  Good  practice  examples  of  inclusive  risk  assessment  feature  a  mixture  of  preventive 
measures  (adapting  the  work  to  the  individual,  adapting  to  technical  progress,  giving 
appropriate  instructions  to  workers,  providing  specific  training,  etc.).  The  adoption  of 
these interconnected measures is a key success factor.  

  Whenever your company makes changes to  the physical environment of the workplace, 
or buys new equipment, ensure that these are also suitable for the ageing workforce.  

Following  the  risk  assessment,  you  might  want  to  make  some  adjustments  to  match  the 
changing capacities and health status of workers. Measures should be based on objective risks 
and workers' capabilities, rather than on their age. These do not have to be complex or costly: 
changing  shift  patterns,  automating  routine  tasks,  rotating  tasks,  adjusting  lighting  or 
providing more adjustable workstations are some typical examples. Remember that good risk 
management measures will benefit all workers (regardless of age, gender or nationality).  

Furthermore, you can take a broader age-management approach, benefiting both your staff 
and your organisation. This is a holistic approach which includes the following key elements: 

Figure 17. Key elements of successful age management - 
Source: EU OSHA Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2016-2017 

There are many good practice resources available. Check the references box at the end of this 
section,  in  particular  the  e-guide  developed  by  the  EU-OSHA,  which  has  national  versions 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
from  all  Member  States.  Your  national  health  and  safety  authority  might  have  other  useful 
guides, checklists or tools. 

Further references 

  EU-OSHA,  OSH  management 

in 
ageing  workforce: 
This 
https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/osh-management-context-ageing-workforce. 
website  contains  good  practice  resources  on  this  topic,   including  the  results  of  the 
European Parliament Pilot project (information on policies, programmes and practices at 
the  EU  and  national  level)  https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/osh-management-context-
ageing-workforce/ep-osh-project   

context  of 

the 

an 

  EU-OSHA, The Healthy Workplaces for All Ages E-guide. This is a practical tool to help 
employers and workers manage OSH in the context of an ageing workforce. The E-guide 
has  31  national  versions  and  it  offers  simple  explanations  of  the  issues,  along  with 
practical examples of how to deal with risks relating to ageing and how to make sure that 
all  workers  stay  safe  and  healthy  in  the  long  term,  as  well  as  links  to  further  resources. 
https://healthy-workplaces.eu/en/healthy-workplaces-all-ages-e-guide  

7.3.2 Gender-sensitive risk assessment 

What it means at the workplace 

There are substantial differences in the working lives of women and men and this affects their 
occupational  safety  and  health.  Continuous  efforts  are  needed  to  improve  the  working 
conditions  of  both  women  and  men.  However,  taking  a  ‘gender-neutral’  approach  to  risk 
assessment and prevention can result in risks to female workers being underestimated or even 
ignored altogether.  

When we think about hazards at work, we are more likely to think of men working in high 
accident risk areas such as a building site or a fishing vessel than of women working in health 
and  social  care  or  in  new  areas  such  as  call  centres.  A  careful  examination  of  real  work 
circumstances shows that both women and men can face significant risks at work. In addition, 
making jobs easier for women will make them easier for men too. So it is important to include 
gender issues in workplace risk assessments.  

What do you need to do as an employer? 

You  have  the  same  responsibilities  irrespective  of  the  gender  of  your  workers.  There  is  no 
need to carry out a separate risk assessment for a specific gender and it's important that you 
do not make any assumptions purely based on gender. However, you should be aware of the 
gender perspective, which is more relevant in some professional activities than in others.  

Did you know that women tend to suffer more from pain in the upper back and upper limbs as 
a result of repetitive work in both manufacturing and office work, which is accentuated during 
pregnancy? They also often have jobs which require prolonged standing; while men tend to 
suffer more from lower-back pain from exerting high force at work. Men and women continue 

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to  be  exposed  differently.  For  example,  42%  of  men  workers  and  only  24%  of  women 
workers,  carry  heavy  loads.  In  contrast,  13%  of  women,  but  only  5%  of  men,  lift  or  move 
people as part of their work.  

In  your  diversity- and gender-sensitive risk  assessment it is important to include gender by, 
for example: 

 

looking at the real jobs being done and the real work context; 

  not making assumptions about exposure based purely on job description or title; 

  being  careful  about  gender  bias  in  prioritising  risks  according  to  high,  medium  and 

low; 

 

involving  female  workers  in  risk  assessment.  Consider  using  health  circles  and  risk 
mapping  methods.  Participative  ergonomics  and  stress  interventions  can  offer  some 
methods; 

  making  sure  those  doing  the  assessments  have  sufficient  information  and  training 

about gender issues in occupational safety and health; 

  making sure instruments and tools used for assessment include issues relevant to both 

male and female workers. If they do not, adapt them; 

 

informing  any  external  assessors  that  they  should  take  a  gender-sensitive  approach, 
and checking that they are able to do this;  

  paying attention to gender issues when the OSH implications of any changes planned 

in the workplace are looked at. 

For example, for stress include: 

  home–work interface, and both men’s and women’s work schedules; 

  career development; 

  harassment; 

  emotional ‘stressors’; 

  unplanned interruptions and doing several tasks at once. 

Check  the  box  below  for  some  references  and  consult  your  national  health  and  safety 
authority which might have other useful guides, checklists or tools. 

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Further references 

  EU-OSHA, Report - Gender issues in safety and health at work. The report highlights the 
dual  importance  of  considering  gender  in  risk  prevention  and  including  occupational 
safety  and  health  in  gender  equality  employment  activities.  Cooperation  between  these 
two policy areas is crucial, from the European level, down to the workplace, to promote 
improved  workplace  risk  prevention  for  both.  https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-
publications/publications/reports/209/view 

  EU-OSHA,  Factsheet  43  -  Including  gender  issues  in  risk  assessment.  The  factsheet 
stresses the need to continuously deploy efforts to improve the working conditions of both 
women  and  men.  It  contains  a  table  giving  indications  on  different  work  areas  and  risk 
factors  useful  for  gender  sensitive  risk  assessment.  https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-
publications/publications/factsheets/43 

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