A new guide has been published to help workplaces facilitate the application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release 24 October 2024  

The Occupational Safety and Health Act applies to almost all situations in which work is carried out, which is why a free and easy-to-read guide is needed. Even occupational safety experts have sometimes found it difficult to interpret the provisions.  

The guide provides instructions and practical advice

The new guide will be published in parts, and the content will be updated as necessary. The first part of the guide covers four key sections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Workplaces will especially benefit from the parts that explain the sections in a way that is easy to understand. 

The guide also provides practical application advice on each topic. In addition, the guide includes links to further resources.
 
“The practical instructions clarify the fundamental purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The instructions help workplaces implement measures to develop occupational safety,” says Tommi Alanko, Director of the Occupational Safety Unit at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
 
“I hope that workplaces will welcome the guide as an information bank for occupational safety that is also a useful tool for further resources. The guide benefits all occupational safety experts and occupational safety organisations,” Alanko points out. 

The guide is compiled through knowledge work

The guide to the application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act has been prepared by experts from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The guide is based on a guidebook that was previously used at many workplaces. However, the guidebook was not available for free, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act has been updated after the guidebook was published, making its contents outdated.
 
“We have also consulted work life experts. Comments on the guide’s instructions were requested from a stakeholder panel that also helped us come up with good practices. They benefit numerous workplaces,” Alanko says.
 
The guide will be updated a few sections at a time, but the pages already published on the key sections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act provide clarity on many matters that are important for workplaces. 

The first published pages cover four sections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. These sections go over the employer’s general duty to exercise care, the analysis and assessment of hazards at work, the instruction and guidance to be provided for employees and the employer’s substitute.

“It is important to ensure that all fundamental aspects of occupational safety are properly implemented in workplaces. These aspects also help to reduce and manage psychosocial stress factors,” Alanko says. 

The guide has been prepared as part of Finland’s Sustainable Growth Programme.

Read the guide to the application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

The guide to the application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (in Finnish)

Further information

• Tommi Alanko, Director of the Occupational Safety Unit, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, tel. +358 (0)40 719 2521, tommi.alanko@ttl.fi