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The 1989 Directive on the protection of health and safety at work (89/391/EEC) lays down basic principles for all sectors of activity – in particular the general responsibilities of employers for the safety and health of their workers.
Current EU policy is outlined in the 2007-12 strategy on health and safety at work.
Specific EU rules also apply in the following areas:
- Minimum health and safety requirements for the workplace: Directive 89/654/EEC
- Temporary and mobile work sites: Directive 92/57/EEC (applies to all sectors of activity except drilling and extraction in the extractive industries).
- Extractive industries:
- boreholes - onshore and offshore: Directive 92/91/EEC
- Surface and underground extraction and/or prospecting: Directive 92/104/EEC
- Protective devices and systems in potentially explosive atmospheres: Directive 94/9/EC
- Health and safety at sea:
- work aboard fishing vessels Directive 93/103/EC
- onboard medics, information, medical supplies / antidotes Directive 92/29/EEC
- Provision of appropriate equipment: Directive 89/655/EEC (updated by Directive 95/63/EC).
- Minimum requirements for working at height (ladders, etc): Directive 2001/45/EC.
- Personal protective equipment:
- assessment, selection and correct use: Directive 89/656/EEC
- conditions for placing on the market: Directive 89/686/EEC
- Manual handling of loads involving risk: Directive 90/269/EEC
- Display screens: computer screens used at work: Directive 90/270/EEC
- Health and safety signs at work: Directive 92/58/EEC
- Pregnant /recently given birth / breastfeeding: Directive 92/85/EEC
See also: Guidelines for assessing chemical, physical, biological risks(2000) - Fixed-Term and Temporary agency workers: Directive 91/383/EEC
See also: Labour Law – Working Conditions - Young People: Directive 94/33/EC
See also: Labour Law – Working Conditions - Self-Employed Workers: Council Recommendation 2003/134/EC
- Amending Directive 2004/40/EC on minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields)
- Risk of explosive atmospheres: Directive 1999/92/EC
See also: Workplaces - Equipment and protective systems used in potentially explosive atmospheres. -
Exposure to mechanical vibration: Directive 2002/44/EC
- Exposure to noise: Directive 2003/10/EC
See also: Directive 89/656/EEC (personal protective equipment) on the use of individual hearing protectors. - Electromagnetic fields: Directive 2004/40/EC
- Exposure to artificial optical radiation: Directive 2006/25/EC
- Dangers from ionising radiation: Directive 96/29/Euratom
- Minimum requirements applicable to all hazardous chemical agents that are or may be present in EU workplaces: Directive 98/24/EC
- Study report: The impact of the adoption in the workplace of national measures implementing Directive 98/24/EC on Chemical Agents
- Protection from risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work: Directive 2004/37/EC.
- Study report: Health, socio-economic and environmental aspects of possible amendments to Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens at work
- Protection of workers from exposure to asbestos fibres: Directive 83/477/EEC
- Protection of workers from exposure to biological agents at work: Directive 2000/54/EC
Preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs):
Specific aspects of the ergonomic risks which are potentially linked to the occurrence of WRMSDs, include
- vibration: Directive 2002/44/EC
- manual handling of loads: Directive 90/269/EEC
- work with display screen equipment: Directive 90/270/EEC
Preventing ergonomic risks:
- use of work equipment: Directive 89/655/EEC
- minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace: Directive 89/654/EEC
- several directives regulating machinery, such as Directive 98/37/EC
- European Schedule of occupational diseases Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC
Socio-economics costs of accidents at work and work-related ill health:
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Related Documents
- Report on the current situation in relation to occupational diseases'systems in EU Member States and EFTA/EEA countries, in particular relative to Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC concerning the European Schedule of Occupational Diseases and gathering of data on relevant related aspects
- Practical guidelines for the information and training of workers involved with asbestos removal or maintenance work
- Health, socio-economic and environmental aspects of possible amendments to the EU Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens at work
- Health, socio-economic and environmental aspects of possible amendments to the EU Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens at work - Health, socio-economic and environmental aspects of possible amendments to the EU Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens at work - Executive summary report
- Contract to analyse and evaluate the impact of the practical implementation in the workplace of national measures implementing Directive 98/24/EC on Chemical Agents - Final Report - August 2010
