European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

The mission of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work is to provide industry with practical advice and assistance on workplace safety issues. One of its priorities is alerting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to the importance of occupational safety and health (OSH). Better working conditions add to employee satisfaction and contribute to greater company productivity and competitiveness.

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The Agency operates a 4-point programme:

1. information and awareness-building: case studies, surveys, reports
2. promoting best practice, including risk assessment procedures
3. harnessing the synergies of SME networks: trade organisations, craft associations, chambers of commerce, etc
4. funding specific work safety projects.

SME Funding Schemes

These identify key opportunities for safety enhancement and pinpoint relevant best practices. Open to individual companies as well as sector organisations, craft associations, trade unions and other professional bodies, they are a practical and indispensable way of developing OSH awareness and practice among SMEs.

These schemes represent an acknowledgement at European level of the distinctive problems faced by SMEs and are an attempt to demonstrate that a small business initiative can be of value and be cost-efficiently organised. 

The Agency called for proposals for hands-on projects which would organise training, engage in information and communication or promote good practice in the area of occupational health and safety in SMEs. Two types of projects are possible – national or transnational – and in all of these, the Agency encourages the participation of the social partners, workers and their representatives in OSH. The wealth and diversity of activities undertaken so far and their potential for transferability across countries, companies and sectors of economic activity have surpassed expectations. An independent evaluation of the first scheme alone concluded that some 500.000 SMEs in Europe benefited from the exercise. 


SME Assistance Schemes

The Agency also supports a wide range of national, regional and sectoral assistance schemes in the EU Member States. Eighteen of these schemes, ranging from industry-wide projects to highly focused initiatives, are featured in an Agency study.

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