Together with his workmates, Napo stars in a series of language-free films, which allow people of all backgrounds, cultures and ages to understand and identify with him. The films cover a wide variety of safety and health topics, for example:

• Work-related stress and pychosocial risks: Napo in….When stress strikes
• Slips and trips: Napo in…No laughing matter
• Occupational risks linked to use of chemicals: Danger: chemicals!

Before making use of Napo's films, please read the rights and permissions carefully.

These online resources are designed to help organisations use Napo films not only to raise awareness about health and safety topics but also to generate group discussions amongst their own staff and those in their supply chains. They are also suitable for use on vocational training courses.

The first series, titled ‘Understanding Musculoskeletal Disorders’, assists individuals and organisations to think about MSDs, such as back pain, upper limb disorders and repetitive strain injuries, in every aspect of a worker’s life. This type of reflection can help organisations develop complete solutions to reduce the impact of MSDs, and by this help them provide fulfilled working lives for individuals, their families and communities.

Napo also helps to introduce safety and health to primary school children. EU-OSHA devised an occupational safety and health online toolkit for teachers. Study packs are provided containing:

• Key messages and learning objectives
• Activity ideas and online resources
• Sample 45-minute lesson plans

After a successful pilot scheme, these lessons are being developed and expanded throughout Europe.

Council Regulation (EC) No 2062/94 of 18 July 1994 establishing a European Agency for Safety and Health at Work requires the establishment of a national focal point that is the competent national authority or a national institution designated by them.

The national focal point is obliged to take into account the point of view of social partners at national level in accordance with national legislation and/or practice.

Each focal point manages its own tripartite network comprising government bodies and representatives from worker and employer organisations. The national network reflects the situation in the Member State and is not set by EU-OSHA.

This network provides input to EU-OSHA’s work and the mechanism to disseminate products and information to national stakeholders. In addition, the focal points are active in the planning and implementation of EU-OSHA campaigns as well as nominating national experts to the Agency’s groups and seminars.

Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, as EEA countries, also have national focal points that participate fully in the EU-OSHA focal point network, and are treated in the same way as Member States. Switzerland, as an EFTA country, also participates in the EU-OSHA focal point network.

EU-OSHA also has national focal points from the region of the Western Balkans and Türkiye through a programme funded by the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). Currently the following countries participate: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244/99), Montenegro, Serbia, and Türkiye.

The purpose of this cooperation is to prepare these countries for a future full participation in EU-OSHA’s network and to contribute to the development of a risk prevention culture. The supported activities are mostly related to information exchange and OSH awareness-raising activities in line with the Healthy Workplaces Campaigns.

The toolkit will help to plan a campaign and decide on its:

• Messages
• Target audience
• Geographical distribution
• Budget, and more

But it’s not a set of strict rules to follow. Instead, the toolkit gives recommendations to choose from and adapt to suit each organisation and its individual circumstances.

The toolkit suggests resources that will help make a campaign a success, including tools for:

• Media communication
• Advertising
• Events

It offers tips and tricks and provides real-world examples of their use.

It is the employer’s responsibility to protect the safety and health of workers and they should pay particular attention to young workers. They must carry out a risk assessment before a young person starts work and put in place measures to protect them.

Young workers should be given appropriate work and provided with adequate training and supervision. Employers should promote a strong safety culture and involve young workers in safety matters. Special rules apply to young workers under the age of 18.

Council Directive 94/33/EC sets out the legal obligations for employers. These obligations are set out in regulations of each Member State. National safety and health organisations and trade unions are good sources of advice.

Read the factsheet for employers.

Young people have the right to ask questions, raise concerns and refuse to do work that is not safe.

At the same time, they have responsibilities to follow OSH policies and look after their own and colleagues’ safety.

If you are a young worker and you have a problem, the most important thing is to tell someone. Talk to your boss if you can. If you can’t, talk to your safety representative, occupational health staff or a parent, guardian or trusted colleague. National safety and health organisations and trade unions are good sources of advice.

• Ask if you are unsure about anything
• Know your rights and where to get help
• Understand the risks and what to do in an emergency
• Don’t undertake tasks without training — and follow procedures

Read the factsheet for young workers.

Educators have an important role to play. If they can develop a good attitude to and understanding of risk prevention in young people from an early age, they will help to keep them safe for life.

Using the ever-popular Napo character, EU-OSHA has devised a series of occupational safety and health education toolkits for teachers, aimed at introducing health and safety topics to primary school children in an educational, yet fun and imaginative way using the Napo clips and creative activities.

Educators involved in organising vocational training or work experience placements should check safety and health arrangements with their employers.

Find out more about integrating safety and health into education.

Parents can support young people by making sure that they understand their rights and responsibilities. Parents can also help by talking to them about work and college and their safety and health.

Read the factsheet for parents.

There are differences that affect the risks that men and women face. Women:

• Work in specific sectors and specific types of work
• Balance dual responsibilities at work and home
• Are underrepresented at supervisor and management level
• Are physically different to men, although there is often more variation between women than between men and women, for example, in physical strength.
• Do jobs that are often wrongly assumed to be safe and easy

Often these differences are not recognised in safety and health practice. What’s more, workload and stress-related risks to women in the workplace are often underestimated. EU-OSHA aims to highlight these differences and help improve OSH in areas that affect women most.

A gender-sensitive approach to OSH means recognising and taking account of the differences between male and female workers.

Employers can:

• Aim to make work safer and easier for everyone
• Include gender issues in risk assessment
• Look at the real work done and avoid assumptions about who is at risk and why
• Offer flexibility in working hours
• Involve women in OSH decision-making

This approach is beneficial for all employees, not just women.

Read EU-OSHA's factsheets for employers on gender issues and risk assessment.

The key aim is to help ensure that gender-related issues are taken into account when policies and decisions are made in the workplace and at EU level. EU-OSHA actively researches risks and trends related to gender. This includes research focused on sectors where women work, such as cleaning, and on risks faced in particular by women. We also mainstream — or integrate — gender into other research areas.

We provide tools and advice to help employers identify and implement gender-sensitive risk assessment.

See also EU-OSHA's research into new risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work and discover good practice guides and tools for risk assessments.

Most work-related MSDs develop over time. There is usually no single cause of MSDs; various risk factors often work in combination, including physical and biomechanical factors, organisational and psychosocial factors, and individual factors.

Physical and biomechanical risk factors may include:

• Handling loads, especially when bending and twisting
• Repetitive or forceful movements
• Awkward and static postures
• Vibration, poor lighting or cold working environments
• Fast-paced work
• Prolonged sitting or standing in the same position

Organisational and psychosocial risk factors may include:

• High work demands and low autonomy
• Lack of breaks or opportunities to change working postures
• Working at high speed, including as a consequence of introducing new technologies
• Working long hours or on shifts
• Bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace
• Low job satisfaction

In general, all psychosocial and organisational factors (especially when combined with physical risks) that may lead to stress, fatigue, anxiety or other reactions, which in turn raise the risk of MSDs.

Individual risk factors may include:

• Prior medical history
• Physical capacity
• Lifestyle and habits (e.g. smoking, lack of exercise)

There is no single solution, and expert advice may occasionally be needed for unusual or serious problems. However, many solutions are straightforward and inexpensive, for example providing a trolley to assist with handling goods or changing the position of items on a desk.

To tackle MSDs, employers should use a combination of:

• Risk assessment: taking a holistic approach, assessing and addressing the full range of causes (see above). It is also important to consider those workers who may be at greater risk of suffering from MSDs. The priority is to eliminate risks but also to adapt work to workers.
• Employee participation: include workers and their representatives in discussions on possible problems and solutions.

Read more about preventing work-related MSDs.

After completing the risk assessment, a list of measures should be made in order of priority, and workers and their representatives involved in implementing them. Actions should focus on primary prevention, but also on measures to minimise the seriousness of any injury. It is important to ensure that all workers receive appropriate information, education and training on health and safety in the workplace, and know how to avoid specific hazards and risks.

Measures may cover the following areas:

• Workplace layout: adapt the layout to improve working postures
• Equipment: make sure it is ergonomically designed and suitable for tasks
• Tasks: change working methods or tools
• Management: plan work to avoid repetitive or prolonged work in poor postures. Plan rest breaks, rotate jobs or reallocate work
• Organisational factors: develop an MSD policy to improve work organisation and psychosocial environment in the workplace and promote musculoskeletal health

Prevention actions should also take into account technological changes in equipment and digitalisation of working processes and related changes of ways to organise work.

Health monitoring, health promotion and rehabilitation and reintegration of workers already suffering from MSDs also need to be considered in the management approach to MSDs.

EU-OSHA carried out a multi-annual OSH overview project on work-related MSDs. The aim was to investigate the issues associated with work-related MSDs, improve our understanding of this topic and identify effective ways of dealing with work-related MSDs. The project also looked into policies and workplace measures to help prevent work-related MSDs and manage chronic MSDs, including supporting workers’ return to work and rehabilitation. The OSH overview project addresses the needs of policy-makers and researchers and complements the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2020-2022.

European directives, EU occupational safety and health strategies, regulations of Member States and good practice guidelines already recognise the importance of preventing MSDs.

Work-related MSD risks fall within the scope of the OSH Framework Directive, which aims to protect workers from work-related risks in general and establishes the employer’s responsibility for ensuring workplace safety and health. Some MSD-related risks are tackled by specific directives, notably the Manual Handling Directive, the Display Screen Equipment Directive and the Vibration Directive. The Use of Work Equipment Directive addresses the positions adopted by workers when using work equipment and makes clear that employers must consider ergonomic principles to comply with minimum OSH requirements.

EU-OSHA monitors the incidence, causes and prevention of MSDs. EU-OSHA also supports the sharing of good practices.

The first phase of the project revealed the extent of the OSH challenges faced by MSEs across Europe and some of the factors that contribute to poor OSH management in these enterprises. The literature review Contexts and arrangements for occupational safety and health in micro and small enterprises in the EU points to a ‘general and multifaceted lack of resources’, causing a substantial proportion of MSEs to pursue ‘low road’ business strategies. The key characteristics of such companies are a weak economic position; concerns about economic survival; lack of investment in OSH; limited knowledge, awareness and competence on the part of owner-managers; and attitudes and priorities that do not favour OSH.

The workplace perspective

OSH attitudes and practices in MSEs were explored through 360 in-depth interviews with both workers and owner-managers. Some of the frequently observed attitudes included a strongly reactive approach to OSH; the perception that ‘common sense’ is a sufficient OSH measure and the belief that risks are ‘part of the job’. However, examples of good practices were also found.

Read the report Safety and health in micro and small enterprises in the EU: the view from the workplace.

Are there good practices we can build on?

There are a variety of examples from across Europe of successful OSH policies, strategies and tools that target OSH in MSEs. Over 40 such interventions are described in depth in Safety and health in micro and small enterprises in the EU: from policy to practice — description of good examples.

The good examples were explored further to determine ‘what works, for whom and in what circumstances’, including their wide-ranging potential for positive impact and transferability.

Read the report From policy to practice: policies, strategies, programmes and actions supporting OSH in micro and small enterprises, which also explores the experiences of OSH intermediaries that work with MSEs.

How can we ensure that OSH policies and interventions reach MSEs?

The overall findings of the project have been analysed to provide evidence-based recommendations for the development of more effective policy programmes and interventions aimed at improving OSH in MSEs. Safety and health in micro and small enterprises in the EU: Final report from the 3-year SESAME project points to the importance of:

• engaging all key regulatory actors;
• strengthening regulatory inspections;
• offering sustainable, easily applicable and transferable solutions;
• the better integration of OSH into sector-specific education systems;
• the involvement of trade unions and employers’ organisations in the development of policies that can reach MSEs;
• better supply chain arrangements.

Proper risk assessment is the key to healthy workplaces. But carrying out risk assessments can be quite challenging, particularly for MSEs, which may lack the resources or know-how to do so effectively.

EU-OSHA’s Online interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) platform aims to overcome this. OiRA is the first EU-level initiative aimed at encouraging MSEs (mainly via Member States and social partners at the EU and Member State levels) to assess their risks.

To learn more about occupational risk assessment in MSEs, see this related OSHwiki article.