The Work Environment Act - with commentary as worded on 15th February 2010

Contents

Amendments to the work Environment Act since 1978
Chapter 1. Purpose and Scope of the Act
Chapter 2. The State of the Working Environment
Chapter 3. General Obligations
Chapter 4. Statutory Powers
Chapter 5. Minors
Chapter 6. Co-operation between Employers and Employees etc.
Chapter 7. Supervision
Chapter 8. Penalties
Chapter 9. Appeals
Interim Provisions
The Work Environment Ordinance

Legislation on the Working Environment 

The Work Environment Act, passed by the Parliament in 1977, came into force on 1st July 1978. It has been amended several times since then, and this book contains the wording which applies from 1st January 2009. Each Chapter of the Act is accompanied by a commentary.

The Government has issued a Work Environment Ordinance containing certain supplementary rules. This is also reproduced in the present book, but with the commentary incorporated in the comments on the Act.

The Work Environment Act defines the framework for Provisions issued by the Work Environment Authority. These Provisions contain more detailed stipulations and obligations with reference to the working environment. For example, they may concern risks of particular kinds, mental stress and physical loads, dangerous substances or machinery. The Provisions are worked out in collaboration with the labour market parties

Amendments to the Work Environment Act since 1978

In 1980
the rules of Chap. 7, Sections 13 and 14, concerning confidentiality for safety delegates and safety committee members, were amended.

Naval vessels were brought within the scope of the Work Environment Act, but under the supervision of the National Maritime Administration.

In 1982
the Chapter on working hours was repealed. The National Board of Occupational Safety and Health was empowered, in Chap. 5, Section 5, to issue Provisions concerning the duration and disposition of working hours for minors.

In 1985
rules were introduced on occupational health services and on job adaptation and rehabilitation activities, viz in Chap. 3, Section 2, Chap. 6, Section 9 and Chap. 7, Section 13.

In 1986
Chap. 7, Section 2, concerning municipal supervision of the working environment at certain small worksites was repealed.

In 1987 
certain adjustments of wording were made with reference to the Planning and Building Act. 

In 1988 
the term “service on board ship” (skeppstjänst) in Chap. 1, Section 4, was altered to “ship work” (fartygsarbete).

In 1989 
the rules of confidentiality in Chap. 7, Section 13, were amended in such a way that safety delegates and safety committee members are unimpeded from discussing work environment issues with experts in their central organisation.

The stipulation, in Chap. 6, Section 2, of permission from the Labour Inspectorate to appoint a regional safety delegate was repealed.

In 1990 
the scope of the Work Environment Act was enlarged so as to include pupils at all levels of the school system. Rules concerning pupils’ safety delegates were added to Chap. 6, Sections 17 and 18. 

The Act also became applicable to young persons who are self-employed or employed in family undertakings. Furthermore, a 13-year age limit was introduced for employment, with very limited exceptions.

In 1991 
the purpose of the Work Environment Act was stated in Chap. 1, Section 1. 

Requirements concerning individual adjustment of working conditions were introduced in Chap. 2, Section 1 and Chap. 3, Section 3. The right of employees to participate in processes of change at work was defined more closely and organisational and psychological factors of the working environment were highlighted.

A new Section, Chap. 3, Section 2 a, was added concerning internal control by the employer and job adaptation and rehabilitation.

Chap. 3, Section 4 indicated the duty of employees to participate in the management of the working environment.

The rules of Chap. 3, Sections 8 and 9 concerning instructions for use and labelling were expanded to include all types of product information concerning technical devices and dangerous substances. Requirements concerning packaging were added in Chap. 3, Section 10.

Chap. 3, Section 13 (now Section 14) was made to include work environment liability for developers and planners with regard to buildings and facilities.

Chap. 4 gave the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health wider opportunities for demanding inspection and approval of technical devices and dangerous substances. The Board also became more widely empowered to issue general provisions on the nature of the working environment and on general obligations with regard to the working environment. 

Chap. 6, Section 4 empowers safety delegates to take part in the planning of work organisation and the framing of action plans and to monitor internal control by the employer. Chap. 6, Section 6 a empowered them to demand intervention by the employer and the Labour Inspectorate. The status of the safety committee in practical work environment policy was more closely defined in Chap. 6, Section 9.

Under Chap. 7, Section 4, a person who has sold a technical device or a dangerous substance can be ordered by the supervisory authority to supply information accordingly. 

Chap. 7. Section 6 empowered the Labour Inspectorate to impose co-ordinating responsibility for construction work on the developer as well.

Chap. 7, Section 9 (now Section 8) empowered the Labour Inspectorate to require a person providing facilities, land or space below ground to investigate safety conditions there.

In 1992 
certain amendments were made to Chap. 3, Section 8 and Chap. 4, Sections 1-3, with a view to bringing the Work Environment Act into line with the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA).

In 1994 
various amendments were made to the “purpose provision” in Chap. 1, Section 1, parts of which were transferred to Chap. 2. Chap. 3 was now made to include a stipulation indicating the connection with Chap. 2.

In Chap. 3, Section 2 a, the word “ensure” was replaced by “lead to”.

Under Chap. 3, Section 6, it became the duty of all persons carrying on activity at a common worksite to ensure that no person working there was exposed to ill-health or accident. In addition, co-ordinating responsibility was now defined more closely. 

Chap. 3, Section 12 was made to include liability for the person controlling a worksite and for the person engaging rented labour.

In Chap. 4, Section 8, the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health was empowered to demand the compilation of documents by others besides employers. The Board was also empowered, under Chap. 4, Section 10, to extend the applicability of the Work Environment Act to one-man and family undertakings.

Chap. 6, Section 10 entitled the safety delegate to gain admittance to workplaces controlled by an employer other than his own.

Chap. 7, Section 11 was made to include the power of requiring warning information or the recall of goods delivered.

In Chap. 8, Section 5, the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health was empowered to impose sanction charges for breaches of certain Provisions. In fields where sanction charges may be introduced, the penalty was commuted to fines. Prison remains an option, however, for breaches of prohibitions or injunctions.

In 1995
the wording of Chap. 1, Section 3, point 3 was brought into line with the new Total Defence Duty Act.

In addition, the rule of Chap. 1, Section 4, point 2 concerning work in the employer’s household was amended in such a way that only employees aged 18 or over are excluded from the scope of the Work Environment Act.

The rules of appeal in Chap. 9, Section 2 were amended in such a way that decisions by the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health were to be appealed to a county administrative court and not, as previously, to the Government in matters concerning the safety liability of manufacturers and suppliers.

In 1997 
the reference to the Tax Collection Act in Chap. 8, Section 8 was replaced with a reference to the Delay Charges Act.

In 1999 
the stipulation in Chap. 3, Section 2 concerning occupational health services was replaced with a new Section 2b, under which the employer is responsible for the existence of the occupational health services which working conditions demand. A definition of “occupational health services” was introduced at the same time.

In 2001
the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health and the Labour Inspectorate merged to form a single authority, the Work Environment Authority and the new name incorporated in the statutory text. 

Chap. 9 was amended in such a way that most appeals against decisions by the Authority are addressed to the Government. Some, however, are addressed to the county administrative court instead. 

In 2002
certain stipulations in the EU framework directive on health and safety were transposed more clearly to Swedish law. In addition, the Work Environment Authority was empowered to demand prior inspection of work processes, working methods and installations by a third party agency.

In 2003
the scope of the Work Environment Act was enlarged so as also to include work on board ship. The same work environment rules therefore now apply to work on board ship as for work on shore. There are, however, certain work environment provisions peculiar to work on board ship have been retained in the Maritime Safety Act. Supervision of the work environment on board ship continues to be exercised by the Swedish Maritime Administration. As a consequence of this change of implementation, several amendments have had to be made to both the Work Environment Act and the Work Environment Ordinance.

Vibrations are now included among the aspects of occupational hygiene referred to in Chap. 2, Section 4.

In 2004
two sections were amended on account of a new Product Safety Act.

In 2005
an addition was made to Chap. 2, Section 10, to the effect that provisions exist concerning working hours for certain kinds of road transport work. Those provisions are contained in the Working Hours (Certain Road Transport Work) Act (2005:395).

In 2008
The Act was adapted to the EU’s chemical legislation Reach and the EU’s new machine directive. The implementation of the machine directive makes it possible for the Work Environment Authority to also intervene when there is only incorrectly-marked machinery.

The rules in the appeal in Chapter 9 Section 2 were changed so that the appeal by the department’s decision is made by the county administrative court instead of the Government.

The Work Environment Act was also made applicable for work in the employer’s household.

The Act was also made clear so that it explicitly inferred that the requirement on product information about technical devices includes requirements on directions for assembly.

In 2009
The Act was adapted primarily to better implement the EC’s building site directive 92/57/EEC. This mainly occurred through the following: The responsibility, in accordance with the previous Chapter 3 Section 7 and Section 14 for the person who orders to execute building or construction work (the landlord), was partly grouped with other contents in Chapter 3 Section 6. It is thereby stipulated that the landlord already at the time of planning shall take into account work environment viewpoints as well as appoint a suitable building work environment co-ordinator partly for planning and projecting and partly for the execution of the work. The landlord can appoint him/herself as the building work environment co-ordinator. Even if someone else has been nominated as building work environment co-ordinator the landlord is not released from the responsibility of ensuring that the commission is executed. The landlord’s work environment  responsibility can however through a written agreement be transferred to an independent employee if the prerequisites in Chapter 3 Section 7 c are fulfilled – in principle to a turnkey or general contractor but only if the person actually takes over a commission which is equivalent to the responsibility. For consumer contracts in accordance with the Consumer Services Act (1985:716) another liability distribution was considered. In this case a transfer of the responsibility occurs from the landlord to the employee if nothing else has been agreed to, presupposed that the employee has an independent agreement which is not divided between several employees.

The rules imply that the new object of responsibility is created as the Work Environment Authority has the right to notify orders and prohibition against, sometimes simultaneously.

Through the amendment in Chapter 4 Section 8 certain obligations concerning preliminary application, the work environment plan and other documentation are directly regulated in the Act. These obligations further regulated through authority regulations and aboved-named Chapter 4 Section 8 amended to explicitly include authorisation.