Workforce diversity and risk assessment: Ensuring everyone is covered
The main aim of this report is to describe why and how risk assessment can and should
cover the whole workforce, and to increase awareness among those responsible for
and aff ected by health and safety at work – employers, employees, safety reps and
OSH practitioners – about the importance of assessing the risks of ALL workers. The
report is aimed mainly at those who are responsible for carrying out risk assessments
and/or are involved in the process.
:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
:
20.10.2009
Download the full publication as PDF
(1181Kb)
(1181Kb)
Available in:
[English]
Chapters in this Publication
Table of contents
List of figures
Foreword
Executive summary
This report highlights the need to carry out inclusive risk assessment; to take into account the diversity of the workforce when assessing and managing risks. Read more...1. Introduction
Workers are not exposed to the same risks and certain groups of workers are exposed to increased risks (or are subject to particular requirements). This report highlights the need to carry out inclusive risk assessment: to take into account the diversity of the workforce when assessing and managing risk. Read more...1.1 Legal background
The EU Framework Directive (89/391/EEC)5 clearly emphasises the need to carry out inclusive risk assessment: Read more...1.2 Aim of the report
The main aim of this report is to describe why and how risk assessment can and should cover the whole workforce and to increase awareness among those responsible for and aff ected by health and safety at work – employers, employees, safety reps, OSH practitioners – about the importance of assessing the risks of ALL the workers. The report is aimed mainly at those who are responsible for carrying out risk assessments and/or are involved in the process. Read more...1.3 Structure
This report is divided into two main parts, and presents: group of workers at increased risk; examples of good practice Read more...2. Group of workers at increased risk
This report focuses mainly on six different groups of workers (the list is not exhaustive): migrant workers, disabled workers, young and older workers respectively, women (gender issues) and temporary workers. Most of these groups have already been covered in agency publications. This chapter presents a brief summary of the main health and safety issues faced by these groups. Those interested in a specific group are advised to check the additional information provided at the end of each section. Read more...2.1 Migrant workers
In recent years, migration has become the main factor behind demographic growth in the EU. The Agency recently published a comprehensive literature survey on migrant workers in Europe. The survey underlines the various explanations given by the studies on the poor and/ or precarious position of migrant workers on the labour market: Read more...2.2 Young workers
Young workers have been prioritised for attention by the Agency and it has produced many publications on this group of workers, mainly in the framework of European Week 2005. The Agency’s risk observatory has produced a report entitled Young workers – Facts and fi gures12 that looks in detail at the OSH situation of young people Read more...2.3 Disabled workers
Disability covers both physical and mental impairments and covers all employees who might be hampered in work performance. This includes people with long-term or progressive conditions as well as people with more stable disorders. Read more...2.4 Gender sensitive approach to OSH
Continuous eff orts 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. Read more...2.5 Older workers
When considering the older person’s ability to work, it should be noted that the differences within the older population are greater than those between the older and younger groups, that chronological age is not an indicator of mental or physiological ageing, and that while older people experience a gradual decline in some abilities, they have compensatory strategies that can benefit from training. Read more...2.6 Temporary workers
In the current global environment the number of secure jobs is declining, to be replaced by a variety of more ‘flexible’ types of employment contract25 with characteristics such as temporary work, low power and control, lack of benefits and low income. Read more...3. Examples of good practice
3.1 Introduction
This section focuses on the prevention of risks to workers. It provides descriptions of fifteen examples of measures taken by companies or initiatives at national/sector level to integrate all types of workers into risk assessment and to prevent risks at the workplace level. The description of cases includes an analysis of some background information on the company/project, the aims and objectives of the action, an explanation of what was done, the results of the action, the problems faced, the success factors and some information about the transferability of the project. Read more...3.1.1 Matrix of cases
The matrix presents all the cases according to a number of different criteria (type of worker concerned, sector of activity, goal of the action, etc.). Read more...3.1.2 Short description of cases
3.2 Workplace adaptation
The cases in this section show examples of adaptation of working schedules, introduction of new equipment in order to make the work easier to carry out, and ergonomic measures taken to facilitate the employment of target groups. Read more...3.2.1 Productive ageing: shift plan reform at Polyfelt
3.2.2 Ergolab: the key to healthy and safe employment of people with disabilities
3.2.3 Reducing stress among female cleaners at a hospital
3.2.4 Promoting the integration of workers with disabilities at Ford
3.2.5 Ergonomic adaptation of offi ce and industrial workstations for disabled workers
3.2.6 Snapshot case: Integration of disabled workers in the recycling industry
3.2.7 Snapshot case: Belgian and Polish workers join forces for asbestos removal in the Brussels Finance Tower
3.3 Development of training and information
The cases in this section show examples of tailored training strategies, specific information packages and other strategies aimed at improving the health and safety of certain groups of workers, including temporary workers, migrant workers and other potentially vulnerable groups, in a variety of sectors. Read more...3.3.1 Preventing accidents to temporary workers at a paper mill
3.3.2 Diversity plan: How to bring comprehensible instructions to the work fl oor?
3.3.3 Tailored training strategies in OSH for young people with disabilities
3.3.4 Collaboration between agencies and employers to reduce accidents among temporary workers
3.3.5 Safe System of Work Plan for construction industry
3.3.6 Working safely in a multicultural food and drink industry
3.3.7 Snapshot case: Safety measures for contract workers, distributors and temporary workers
4. Conclusions
Occupational safety and health culture, or more briefly 'OSH culture', can be seen as a concept for exploring how informal organisational aspects influence OSH in a positive or negative way. The aim is to convey up-to-date information on this complex topic in a straightforward, condensed way, trying to build a bridge between research and practice. The main approaches and methods that exist to assess the safety culture in an organisation are presented and discussed. This review gives an overview and selection of useful tools and techniques from the EU domain and abroad.
Mental health promotion (MHP) includes all the actions that contribute to good mental health. Its primary aim is to focus on what maintains and improves our mental wellbeing. It is important to highlight that optimally effective MHP should include a combination of both risk management and health promotion. In this good practice report you can find information on how to integrate MHP into a comprehensive approach to enhancing and promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of employees at work. Several of the case studies are particularly interesting because of their innovative and creative approaches.
In 2009 and 2010, the Agency commissioned an update to its previous research on gender issues at work , which found that inequality both inside and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work. This summary provides a policy perspective and is meant to contribute to the task outlined by the European strategy on health and safety at work for EU-OSHA’s European Risk Observatory, “examining the specific challenges in terms of health and safety posed by the more extensive integration of women in the labour market”. It provides a statistical overview of the trends in employment and working conditions, hazard exposure and work-related accidents and health problems for women at work. It explores selected issues (combined exposures, occupational cancer, access to rehabilitation, women and informal work, and “emerging” female professions such as home care and domestic work). The research highlights the type of work carried out by women, issues faced by younger and older women, the growth of the service sector, violence and harassment, and increasingly diversified working time patterns as major risk factors.
Show more publications on
Workplace Health Promotion
&
Risk assessment
&
Young people
&
Gender
&
Ageing workers
&
Migrant Workers
- Upcoming Events
- Congress of German speaking Ergonomic Societies DE Kassel, 22.02.2012
- 13th Annual RSI DAYPlus 2012 CA Ontario, 29.02.2012
- New Challenges in the Prevention of Occupational Risk PT Porto, 01.03.2012
- PRAISE France seminar FR Paris, 07.03.2012
- European Conference on Occupational Diseases FR Paris, 15.03.2012
- Search
- Subscribe
- Free Newsletter
- Alert Service
