A review of methods used across Europe to estimate work-related accidents and illnesses among the self-employed

The overall proportion of self-employed workers is stable in Europe, however there has been a marked growth over recent years in the number of self-employed working in the services and construction sectors. The level of self-employment in high risk sectors such as agriculture and construction means that the capturing of accurate OSH data for this group becomes ever more important. Currently, such information is available at European level from surveys of workers, such as Eurofound’s European working conditions survey (EWCS) and the LFS (2007 ad-hoc module on accidents at work and work-related health problems) and from accident registers (ESAW). Although national differences in definitions, reporting rates and systems render comparative data analysis difficult, there is scope for improving the quality of monitoring of OSH for self-employed through the sharing of knowledge about current practices across Europe. This report describes monitoring systems currently in use and highlights any recent initiatives designed to improve the monitoring of OSH with respect to self-employed in ten selected Member States (Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, The Netherlands and Poland).