Abstract
Throughout the year 2012 the most of European labour inspectorates which are SLIC members carried out a campaign on psychosocial risks at work. SLIC is the European Senior Labour Inspectors Committee. It started to meet in an informal way in 1982 to assist the European Commission in monitoring the enforcement of EU legislation on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) at the national level. The Commission Decision 95/319/EC provided this Committee a formal status “with a mandate to give its opinion to the Commission, either at the Commission’s request or on its own initiative, on all problems relating to the enforcement by the Member States of Community law on health and safety at work”.
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Notes
- 1.
The website is http://www.av.se/slic2012.
- 2.
“HSE, Topic inspection pack, work related stress, September 2009” available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/fod/inspect/stress.pdf.
- 3.
The guide isn’t available on the Internet. The document “L’approche des pouvoirs publics en matière de risques psychosociaux” can be found in http://www.travaillermieux.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/editopsya.pdf.
- 4.
The circular letter of the Italian Ministry of Employment about stress is available at: http://www.lavoro.gov.it/NR/rdonlyres/1C0B1EF9-60B8-489C-8667-9DFEA8D63F35/0/20101118_LC.pdf and the instructions for its correct management: http://www.ciip-consulta.it/attachement/documento.pdf.
- 5.
“Evaluation of risk assessment of mental job strain in control and advisory activities - Guidelines for the Inspectorates”, available in English at: http://www.av.se/dokument/inenglish/European_Work/Slic%202012/Austrian_tool.pdf.
- 6.
Guidelines of the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate on psychosocial risks, available at: http://www.empleo.gob.es/itss/web/Atencion_al_Ciudadano/Normativa_y_Documentacion/Documentacion/Documentacion_ITSS/001/Guia_psicosociales.pdf. A summary in English is available in: http://www.av.se/dokument/inenglish/European_Work/Slic%202012/GUIDELINES_LSSI_SPAIN.pdf.
- 7.
Belgium, Norway and Austria are States with specific legislation on psychosocial risks.
- 8.
This definition stated that “psychosocial factors at work refer to interactions between and among work environment, job content, work organization and workers’ capacities, needs, culture, personal extra-job considerations that may, through perceptions and experience, influence health, work performance and job satisfaction”.
- 9.
T. Cox and E. Rial-Gonzalez, ‘Work-related stress: the European picture’, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Magazine, No 5, 2002, pp. 4–6. http://osha.europa.eu/publications/magazine/5.
- 10.
Article 32/1 of the Act of 28 February 2014 supplementing the Law of 4 August 1996 on the wellbeing of workers in the performance of their work; and Article 2.3º of the Royal Decree of 10 April 2014 on the prevention of psychosocial risks at work.
- 11.
Guidelines or “Technical Criteria” of the Spanish Labour Inspectorate No 69/2009 and 87/2011 about violence and harassment and robbery risk at work, respectively.
- 12.
“HSE, Topic Inspection Pack …” pp. 5–6.
- 13.
“HSE, Topic inspection pack …” p. 5.
- 14.
Among others: “Prevalence and Mental Health Correlates of Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace. Results from a National Study”, Kathleen M. Rospenda, Judith A. Richman, and Candice A. Shannon (University of Illinois at Chicago) http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/24/5/819 and Management of psychosocial risks at work: An analysis of the findings of the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) European Risk Observatory Report (2012) https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/management-psychosocial-risks-esener.
- 15.
Classification taken from Eurofound website http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/industrialrelations/dictionary/definitions/restructuring.htm.
- 16.
The European debate about the impact of restructuring in workers’ health was opened by the project HIRES, the European Commission has elaborated a Green Paper on Restructuring and anticipation of change (2012) and the European Parliament approved the resolution of 15 January 2013 with recommendations to the Commission on information and consultation of workers, anticipation and management of restructuring. The paragraph 4 of the EP resolution states that “companies envisage the following employability measures insofar as they prove to be necessary or useful for limiting the impact of the operation”: (…) “monitoring, surveillance and counselling aimed to avoid or minimise the negative impact of the restructuring process on both the physical and psycho-social for both redundant workers, if any, and those staying” and “providing psycho-social assistance, where appropriate”.
- 17.
Sections 8.1 and 8.2 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act.
- 18.
In Denmark, the Danish Working Environment Authority (DWEA or Labour Inspectorate) together with the social partners and the National Research Centre for Working Environment have produced guidelines for companies on how to manage restructuring processes in order to minimize psychosocial problems.
- 19.
Among others, in Spain it can be looked up “Análisis cualitativo de la mortalidad por accidentes de trabajo en España 2005–2007” INSHT, where it can be seen that the defined material conditions in the workplace are only a recurrent cause in 45.46% of the studied accidents and that the most common and recurring cause of accidents (95.46%) lays in the organization of work. The INSHT report in 2009, using other parameters, concludes that the prevention management resources is a cause in 65.2% of the accidents, the work organization affects to 55.3% and individual factors are a cause in 35.2% of the accidents. Available at: http://www.oect.es/Observatorio/Contenidos/InformesPropios/Desarrollados/Ficheros/mortalidad2009.pdf.
- 20.
Pointed out by the Article 2.1 of the Agreement nº81 OIT, an instrument ratified by all the countries that belong to the European Union and that constitutes their only common standard relating to inspections roles and competences.
- 21.
The complete report in English can be downloaded in: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/esener1_osh_management.
- 22.
ESENER Report, pp. 26 and 44.
- 23.
ESENER Report, pp. 53 and 57.
- 24.
This judgment literally points out: (12) It must be noted, at the outset, that it follows both from the purpose of the directive, which, according to the 15th recital, applies to all risks , and from the wording of Article 6(3)(a) thereof, that employers are obliged to evaluate all risks to the safety and health of workers. (13) It should also be noted that the occupational risks which are to be evaluated by employers are not fixed once and for all, but are continually changing in relation, particularly, to the progressive development of working conditions and scientific research concerning such risks.
- 25.
An interesting study about the factors that affect the application of the laws is the one offered by the Justice Ministry of the Netherlands (Table of Eleven, a versatile tool) http://www.sam.gov.lv/images/modules/items/PDF/item_618_NL_The_table_of_Eleven.pdf. The first premise to the fulfilment is the knowledge and clarity of the legal standards.
- 26.
“Stress Management Standards” can be found in http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards.
- 27.
“Procedures for addressing bullying at the workplace” which can be found in http://www.lrc.ie/documents/publications/codes/6Bullying.pdf, the Code of practice for employers and employees on the prevention and resolution of bullying at work which can be found in http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Occupational_Health/CoP_Bullying.pdf and the Code of practice on sexual harassment and harassment at work which can be found in http://www.equality.ie/Files/Code%20of%20Practice%20on%20Sexual%20Harassment%20and%20Harassment.pdf.
- 28.
ESENER. Summary of the four reports of secondary analysis, p. 8 http://osha.europa.eu/es/publications/reports/esenersumma.
- 29.
A good example are the guidelines for violence and harassment prevention in the workplace (“Preventing workplace harassment and violence”) agreed by employers and unions in the United Kingdom (available at http://www.workplaceharassment.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/HRE_100_Guidance_report.pdf). In France, the agreement about stress adds its own contents to the European agreement (available at http://www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/publications/bocc/pdf/2009/0002/CCO_20090002_0002_0020.pdf).
- 30.
Journal of the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security nº 98.
- 31.
Figure nº 31 in the ESENER report, p. 47.
- 32.
ESENER Summary of the four reports of secondary analysis, p. 8.
- 33.
Green Paper of the European Commission “Improving the Mental Health of the population. Towards the European strategy of mental health for the European Union”, p. 4 and appendix I. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/green_paper/mental_gp_en.pdf.
- 34.
The surveys made to the EU workforce 2007 reveal that 27.9% (around 55.6 million) of the employees stated that they underwent exposures that affected their mental health and around 14% of the people with health problems related to the workplace suffer from stress, depression or anxiety as a main health disorder (ESENER, Summary of the four reports of secondary analysis, p. 12).
- 35.
The details of this parliamentary debate can be followed in http://www.senat.fr/dossier-legislatif/s95960391.html.
- 36.
ESENER Report p. 59.
- 37.
Guide for the Inspectors by the European campaign, available in: http://www.av.se/dokument/inenglish/European_Work/Slic%202012/English_1.pdf and the validation list of stress in the workplace, available at: http://www.av.se/dokument/inenglish/European_Work/Slic%202012/English_11.pdf.
- 38.
Evaluation of risk assessment of mental job strain … p. 7.
- 39.
Acting guide of ITSS … pp. 20 and 21.
- 40.
The Austrian inspection guide offers a general approach of the management from the employee’s health point of view, physical and mental. The guide focus on the stress prevention and the stress risk factors management, including physical agents as the noise, lighting, lack of space, atmosphere, safe team work,…, with a special mention of the dimensions and categories of the mental load.
- 41.
So is shown in the general guide of the European campaign p. 4 (http://www.av.se/dokument/inenglish/European_Work/Slic%202012/Spanish_1.pdf) and in the document about the basic questions of the campaign http://www.av.se/dokument/inenglish/European_Work/Slic%202012/Spanish_5.pdf. The Spanish inspection guide divides the inspection in two phases, a first one to check that the psychosocial risks evaluation has been carried out and a second one to examine the evaluation (p. 20).
- 42.
- 43.
Topic Inspection pack … p. 17.
- 44.
Guide of the ITSS … pp. 22 and 23 and Stress lavoro correlato. Indicazioni per la corretta gestione …pp. 20 and 21.
- 45.
Topic Inspection pack … pp. 11–16.
- 46.
Stress lavoro correlato. Indicazioni per la corretta gestione … p. 1.
- 47.
Stratégie Sobane et méthode de dépistage DEPARIS, p. 48 http://www.emploi.belgique.be/publicationDefault.aspx?id=4212.
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Velázquez, M. (2017). Comparative Study of the Psychosocial Risks Prevention Enforcement by the European Labour Inspectorates. In: Lerouge, L. (eds) Psychosocial Risks in Labour and Social Security Law. Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63065-6_3
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