"Workers have the right to a high level of protection of their health and safety at work.
Workers have the right to a working environment adapted to their professional needs and which enables them to prolong their participation in the labour market"..
Workers have the right to a working environment adapted to their professional needs and which enables them to prolong their participation in the labour market"..
EU Legislation on Occupational Safety and Health
The EU has developed a broad occupational safety and health acquis, including more than twenty legislative instruments covering chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial and sector-specific risks. This framework continues to evolve, especially in relation to carcinogens, asbestos, lead, diisocyanates, mental health and new forms of work.
Occupational safety and health in a changing world of work
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Protecting the health of workers is crucial, both for their well-being and for the functioning of society and for the continuity of economic and social activities. 23 EU legislative provisions are already in force now;
However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU has renewed its commitment to update the rules on safety and health at work. It adopted the EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027, which defines the key actions needed to improve the health and safety of workers in the coming years.
This new strategy focuses on three objectives:
Despite some progress, there are still thousands of fatal accidents and millions of non-fatal accidents. In addition, more than 200,000 workers die each year from work-related diseases.
The framework presented by the Commission will serve to reduce accidents and its actions will also help reduce healthcare costs and support businesses, including SMEs, to become more productive, competitive and sustainable.
However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU has renewed its commitment to update the rules on safety and health at work. It adopted the EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027, which defines the key actions needed to improve the health and safety of workers in the coming years.
This new strategy focuses on three objectives:
- managing change brought about by green, digital and demographic transitions as well as changes in the traditional work environment
- improve accident and disease prevention
- increase preparedness for any potential future crises.
Despite some progress, there are still thousands of fatal accidents and millions of non-fatal accidents. In addition, more than 200,000 workers die each year from work-related diseases.
The framework presented by the Commission will serve to reduce accidents and its actions will also help reduce healthcare costs and support businesses, including SMEs, to become more productive, competitive and sustainable.
Recent EU developments in occupational safety and health
EU occupational safety and health policy is no longer limited to traditional workplace accidents or exposure to physical risks. The framework is increasingly being updated to address carcinogens, hazardous substances, asbestos, psychosocial risks, digital work and new forms of employment. This makes occupational safety and health a central part of the wider EU agenda on fair working conditions, the green transition and labour-market transformation.
A key recent development concerns asbestos at work. The EU has amended its asbestos rules through Directive (EU) 2023/2668, strengthening the protection of workers exposed to asbestos and lowering occupational exposure limits. This is particularly relevant in the context of building renovation, energy efficiency and the EU’s renovation agenda, because older buildings may still contain asbestos and renovation workers can face significant health risks.
Another important update concerns lead and diisocyanates. With Directive (EU) 2024/869, the EU introduced stricter occupational exposure limits to better protect workers from substances that can seriously affect health. Lead exposure is linked to neurological, reproductive and developmental risks, while diisocyanates are associated with occupational asthma and respiratory diseases. These changes show that chemical safety remains a dynamic area of EU labour law.
At the same time, occupational safety and health is expanding towards mental health and psychosocial risks. Stress, burnout, work intensity, digital surveillance, remote work and algorithmic management are becoming more visible policy concerns. The future of OSH will therefore depend not only on preventing accidents and exposure to hazardous substances, but also on how work is organised, monitored and managed.
Finally, platform work and digital labour management are increasingly relevant for workplace safety. The new EU framework on platform work reinforces the need to consider algorithmic management, automated decisions and work organisation as factors that can affect workers’ health, security and dignity. For eEuropa, this is a useful angle: OSH should be presented as a living EU policy field, connecting traditional risk prevention with the challenges of digitalisation, demographic change, the green transition and new employment models.
EU occupational safety and health policy is no longer limited to traditional workplace accidents or exposure to physical risks. The framework is increasingly being updated to address carcinogens, hazardous substances, asbestos, psychosocial risks, digital work and new forms of employment. This makes occupational safety and health a central part of the wider EU agenda on fair working conditions, the green transition and labour-market transformation.
A key recent development concerns asbestos at work. The EU has amended its asbestos rules through Directive (EU) 2023/2668, strengthening the protection of workers exposed to asbestos and lowering occupational exposure limits. This is particularly relevant in the context of building renovation, energy efficiency and the EU’s renovation agenda, because older buildings may still contain asbestos and renovation workers can face significant health risks.
Another important update concerns lead and diisocyanates. With Directive (EU) 2024/869, the EU introduced stricter occupational exposure limits to better protect workers from substances that can seriously affect health. Lead exposure is linked to neurological, reproductive and developmental risks, while diisocyanates are associated with occupational asthma and respiratory diseases. These changes show that chemical safety remains a dynamic area of EU labour law.
At the same time, occupational safety and health is expanding towards mental health and psychosocial risks. Stress, burnout, work intensity, digital surveillance, remote work and algorithmic management are becoming more visible policy concerns. The future of OSH will therefore depend not only on preventing accidents and exposure to hazardous substances, but also on how work is organised, monitored and managed.
Finally, platform work and digital labour management are increasingly relevant for workplace safety. The new EU framework on platform work reinforces the need to consider algorithmic management, automated decisions and work organisation as factors that can affect workers’ health, security and dignity. For eEuropa, this is a useful angle: OSH should be presented as a living EU policy field, connecting traditional risk prevention with the challenges of digitalisation, demographic change, the green transition and new employment models.
Three key objectives: change, prevention and preparedness
The strategic framework focuses on three key objectives for the coming years:
The actions in the strategic framework will be implemented through:
The Commission also calls on Member States to update their national occupational safety and health strategies to ensure that the new measures reach the workplace. Beyond EU borders, the Commission will also continue playing a leading role in promoting high occupational safety and health standards globally.
The strategic framework focuses on three key objectives for the coming years:
- Anticipating and managing change in the new world of work: To ensure safe and healthy workplaces during the digital, green and demographic transitions, the Commission will review the Workplaces Directive and the Display Screen Equipment Directive and update protective limits on asbestos and lead. It will prepare an EU-level initiative related to mental health at work that assesses emerging issues related to workers' mental health and puts forward guidance for action.
- Improving prevention of work-related diseases and accidents:This strategic framework will promote a ‘vision zero' approach to eliminate work-related deaths in the EU. The Commission will also update EU rules on hazardous chemicals to combat cancer, reproductive, and respiratory diseases.
- Increasing preparedness for possible future health threats:Drawing lessons from the current pandemic, the Commission will develop emergency procedures and guidance for the rapid deployment, implementation and monitoring of measures in potential future health crises, in close cooperation with public-health actors.
The actions in the strategic framework will be implemented through:
- strong social dialogue,
- a strengthened evidence based policy-making,
- improved enforcement and monitoring of existing EU legislation
- awareness-raising
- mobilising funding to invest into occupational safety and health, including from EU funds like the Recovery and Resilience Facility and Cohesion policy funds
The Commission also calls on Member States to update their national occupational safety and health strategies to ensure that the new measures reach the workplace. Beyond EU borders, the Commission will also continue playing a leading role in promoting high occupational safety and health standards globally.
Areas of activity
A wide variety of EU measures in the field of safety and health at work have been adopted on the basis of Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The following sections provide for different OSH areas, an overview of EU legislation, its evaluation, main policies, documents as well as guidelines and activities put in place to support the implementation of measures to improve health and safety in the EU.
A wide variety of EU measures in the field of safety and health at work have been adopted on the basis of Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The following sections provide for different OSH areas, an overview of EU legislation, its evaluation, main policies, documents as well as guidelines and activities put in place to support the implementation of measures to improve health and safety in the EU.
eBriefing PaaS · EU Occupational Safety And Health
Need a constantly updated European picture of Occupational Safety And Health policies?
eEuropa can prepare a tailored eBriefing PaaS: a policy-as-a-service document that is kept constantly updated for one year, or for as long as your organisation needs. It provides a structured European overview of EU rules, strategies and initiatives on occupational safety and health, workplace risk prevention, asbestos, hazardous substances, carcinogens, lead and diisocyanates, psychosocial risks, mental health at work, digital work, platform work, algorithmic management and workplace data protection.
The service can support policy monitoring, institutional analysis, stakeholder briefings, compliance strategy and regulatory intelligence, including an assessment of how the European OSH framework may evolve in response to the green transition, digitalisation, new forms of work and emerging workplace risks.
