The application of OSH legislation to small business: Meet the challenges, seize the

opportunities

Dublin 30th April 2013

Teresa MoitinhoHead of UnitDG EMPL Unit B3Health, Safety and Hygiene at work

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Setting the scene: application of OSH legislation to small business

Meet the challenges: Scope – legal contextApplication of OSH legislation : acknowledging special difficulties due to size-specific challenges, how to help small business to better implement

Seize the opportunities: Provide small business with efficient tools to make compliance with OSH legislation easier and more effective, achieving a better work environmentInvestment in OSH pays-off

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Small business - backbone of the EU economy

More than 20.7 million SMEs*, mainly microenterprises, in the EU, representing:

99.8% of all enterprises (92.2% microenterprises);67.4 % per cent of total employment;58.1 % of gross value added (GVA)

Key driver for economic growth, innovation, employment and social integration______________* Data for the non-financial business economy. EU SMEs in 2012: at the crossroads: Annual report on small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU, 2011/12, Ecorys for the European Commission, September 2012.

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SMEs and occupational health and safety – meet the challenges (I)

SMEs bear high costs related to negative OSH outcomes: In enterprises of 10 employees or fewer 6.9% of persons affected by one or more work-related health problem and 2.5% by an

accident at work*. Cost of work related accident and diseases estimated for the EU to be between 2.6% and 3.8% of GDP (source EU-OSHA).

Size-specific challenges :Difficulties in implementing OSH acquis related to

Lack of structures; Knowledge and resources to manage their working environment properly, including; Opportunities to use external expertise.

_____________________________________________* Eurostat, Labour Force Survey ad hoc module 2007 on work-related accidents, health problems and hazardous exposure.

______________* Data for the non-financial business economy. EU SMEs in 2012: at the crossroads: Annual report on small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU, 2011/12, Ecorys for the European Commission, September 2012.

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SMEs and occupational health and safety – meet the challenges (II)

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According to ESENER:

Lack of expertise and lack of technical support and guidance more often mentioned by small establishments than large as a major difficulty in dealing with OSH

Less access to some health and safety services in SMEs

Less developed procedures to deal with work-related stress, bullying or harassment or violence

Major difficulties in dealing with OSH, by establishment size (% establishments, EU-27)

* ESENER- European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks.

Knowledge-related barriers (lack of awareness, lack of expertise or the fact of not seeing the benefit) become more important as the company size decreases when considering the reasons for not developing an OSH management system

Major reasons for not having developed a documented policy, management system or action plan (% establishments, EU-27)*

SMEs and occupational health and safety – meet the challenges (III)

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Tailor-made solutions needed for practical implementation!

Effect on compliance –an example, risk assessment or similar measure by establishment size (%establishments, EU-27)

Risk assessment documentation by very small companies in low-risk activities

HLG recommendation - Study carried out by the consultancy firm "Europe Economics" for DG EMPL (following an open call for tender)

Main conclusions: The extent of compliance with RA increases with the size of the company.Achieving 100% compliance would require a significant increase in activity by LI, above all among micro-enterprises.The results of the modelling (should be treated with caution given the uncertainties involved) suggest that the net impact of an exemption of the obligation to document risk assessment in very small firms in low risk sectors would be relatively small, with the possibility that an exemption might lead to a negative net benefit (and possibly a substantial one). Documentation may increase the quality of risk assessments, help to communicate the results, induce firms to take more follow-up actions, and enable the results to be acted on further into the future.

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Why does it matter for the EU economy?From accidents at work via intangible outcomes to reduced benefits

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Injuredworkers

Loss ofhuman

resources

Demotivatedstaff

Absenteeism

Rotation

Quality loss

Recruitment& selection

costs

Lessproductivity

Unsatisfiedcustomers

Image loss

Less sales &diminished

market share

Lost time &other hidden

costs

Reduction of net benefits

Accidents at work

Seize the opportunities (I): Some tailor-made solutions

Create good practice guides adequate to end-user E.g. noise, vibration, work at height, construction, agriculture, small fishing

vessels, asbestos removal (in preparation Vehicle risks). Education and training Develop OHS skills and transferability between employers e.g. e-skills and training. Involve all – including trade associations to create risk assessment

database. Develop in framework of SSDC or/and at national level.

Why: Many risks are common, tool could be OiRAAdvantages: Work together Leads employers to a common high standard of operation. Best practices are shared. Can be updated regularly. Contributes to debate on health and safety at work.

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Seize the opportunities (II)Application of OSH and enforcement

Labour Inspection (LI) can help small business to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities: advisory role and informative role

Lis should accept tools (such as OiRA) made available to micro and SMEs

2013-2015 plan of work of the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee: "share OSH initiatives that help to foster a preventive culture in enterprises of all sizes, in particular in small organizations".

SLIC campaigns in the last years – focusing on companies up to 50 workers - have proved to be a valuable tools not only for improving enforcement, but also for raising awareness.

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Seize the opportunities (III): Integrating prevention into the business

The benefits related to H&S measures outweigh the costs incurred (the ratio of payoff to investment — ranges from 1.29 to 2.89 for investments in occupational safety and health)*.

Good prevention systems should be a key measured company objective: use reports, trends, incident analysis (including near miss).

Leadership: Prevention objectives come from highest level (Owner) and should be "visible and felt".

Workers are key to successful implementation.

*BenOSH Study

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Conclusion: meet the challenges and seize the opportunities

Involvement of all actors / effective application of OSH legislation SMEs and small enterprises form the backbone of the EU economy – the

application of OSH legislation in this category of enterprises is a condition for the success of OSH policy

Efficient and adequate tools to help SMEs and small enterprises in this regard

Investment in OSH brings benefits to enterprises, also to small enterprises

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Further information

• DG EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND INCLUSION• http://ec.europa.eu/social/home.jsp

• EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK• http://osha.europa.eu

• Thank you for your attention

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