Although the European Union in its Lisbon strategy is focusing to create employment through growth and jobs, it also tries to ensure that these new jobs are of a higher quality.
Healthy workplaces allow people to stay at work till their retirement and also allow people to have an active life after retirement. This is an important aspect of sustainability and contributes to increasing productivity and saving costs for ill health.
Occupational Health and Safety was and still is one of the most important and most advanced areas of EU social policy.
Community action in this area is not limited to legislation.
The European institutions carry out several activities providing information and guidance and promoting a safe and healthy working environment in cooperation with the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
However, legislation is the core aspect of Europe’s activities and is very much influencing the national conditions.
For that reason it is worthwhile for all actors dealing with this issue to have an idea of the structure and contents of the EU-legislation in the area of OHS.

• Improving the health of workers (the so called framework Directive 89/391)
• Communication on the practical implementation of directives on health and safety at work
• Community strategy on health and safety at work (2007-2012)
• European agency for health and safety at work
• European foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (EUROFOUND)
• European schedule of occupational diseases
• Organizing working time with a view to protecting the health and safety of workers

• Protection of self-employed workers
• Protection of temporary workers
• Protection of young people at work
• Protection of pregnant women, women who have recently given birth and women who are breastfeeding