Work environment management must be systematic. That means it is planned, recurring and clear. It is not enough to act when something has happened. The requirements are in the Work Environment Act, chapter 3, section 2 a, and in AFS 2023:1.
The requirements of the law
The employer must systematically plan, direct and monitor the business so that the work environment meets the requirements for a good work environment. The employer must investigate work injuries, continuously examine the risks and take the measures that are needed. Measures that cannot be taken immediately must be scheduled.
Part of the daily operations
Under section 5, work environment management must be carried out as part of the daily operations. It covers all the physical, organisational and social conditions that matter for the work environment. Work environment issues must be handled in the same way as production, finances and quality. This applies both during ordinary operations and when the business changes.
The work covers the whole business. This also applies when the work takes place at several locations, is mobile or is done remotely, for example in the employee's home. It also applies to risks that affect only one person or a few people.
Participation
The employer must give employees and safety representatives the opportunity to take part in systematic work environment management (section 6). You decide together how the cooperation will work. The employer always keeps the responsibility.
Work environment policy
There must be a work environment policy describing what the work environment should be like in the business (section 7). It must be clear and concrete so that it can be followed up. The policy must be in writing if there are ten or more employees. With fewer than ten it must still exist, but it need not be written down.
Procedures
There must be procedures describing how work environment management is carried out (section 8). The procedure must show:
- when and how the work environment management is to be carried out
- who is to see that it is carried out
- who is to take part
The procedures must be in writing with ten or more employees. They must be kept up to date and be known to everyone concerned. Often they can be combined with the procedures that already exist in the business.
The limit of ten employees
Many requirements in the regulations only become written requirements at ten or more employees: policy, procedures, allocation of tasks, goals for the organisational and social work environment, and documentation of the annual follow-up. Risk assessments must always be documented in writing, whatever the size.
An everyday example
In a small company with six employees the policy does not have to be written down. The owner writes down half a page anyway: that nobody should be hurt or become ill because of the job, that everyone should be able to speak up and that risks are taken seriously. She goes through it with the staff once a year. When the company grows to ten people, the policy, the procedures and the allocation of tasks become written requirements. By then she already has a good foundation to build on.
The safety round as a habit
Many workplaces use safety rounds to examine the work environment. The manager and the safety representative or another representative then go through the premises and talk to the staff. What is found is written down and goes into the action plan. A safety round is a way of working, not a requirement in itself, but it fits well with the requirement for regular examination.
What you still have to do yourself
A ready-made document is not enough. The policy and procedures must be adapted to your business and used every day. You also need to make sure that the people concerned know them.