Brussels mulls rewards for companies improving work safety
21 Feb '07
3 min read
As part of the new strategy to tackle these negative trends, the EU executive aims to come up with an evaluation of how the existing health and safety directives are implemented at the national level as well as drawing up concrete practical guides for some areas.
Brussels is also considering new rules for dealing with sub-contracting as it is increasingly common that where several companies coexist at the same workplace "each employer tends to limit preventive measures to its own workers" whereas the commission suggests they should work together.
Finally, in a bid to boost awareness among European entrepreneurs - especially from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - the commission suggests they could be offered "direct or indirect economic incentives for prevention measures."
"Such incentives could include a possible reduction in social contributions or insurance premiums depending on the investment made in improving the working environment and/or reducing accidents" or "economic aid for the introduction of health and safety management schemes," according to Mr Spidla's paper.
For their part, SMEs have not shown any enthusiasm for new laws in the area saying that current health and safety legislation is sufficient and should be implemented properly rather than extended.
"Too many legislative obligations combined with ill conceived texts for small businesses do not facilitate their full and correct implementation at the workplace," the Brussels-based small business lobby, UEAPME, said in its position paper on the topic.
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