Safety of work place: economic incentives
Newly published research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) shows that the economic incentive schemes that encourage businesses to invest in risk prevention are a cost-effective solution in terms of cost governments looking to reduce the number of accidents and occupational diseases. The EU-OSHA report on economic incentives was presented during a conference of the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) of health, labor and social responsibility held in Rome on 29 September 2010.
Many EU Member States already offer various types of financial incentives to companies that invest in the safety of their employees. The incentives include reductions in insurance premiums, grants and government subsidies, tax breaks and preferential terms for bank loans for virtuous deeds.
Three of the fourteen case studies included in the project have provided sufficient data to conduct an analysis of costs and benefits. From all three showed a positive return of between 1.01 and 4.81 euro profit for every euro invested. The quantitative criteria related injury rates, sick leave and the general improvement of working conditions.
For example, an incentive scheme introduced in Germany in butchery sector in 2002 led to a 28% decrease in serious injuries over the next six years compared with a fall of 16% in the industry. Overall this means that there were about 1,000 fewer accidents each year in businesses that have benefited from the incentives.
According to EU-OSHA Director Jukka Takala, "the project on economic incentives has already encouraged several EU Member States to obtain mutual learning and exchange of best practices in the definition of incentive schemes. Overall, the report shows that economic incentives can be effective in all Member States, regardless of the large differences in terms of social security systems and accident insurance. "
As a result of the project, the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work Italian (INAIL) has created a new incentive scheme that takes into account the experiences and best practices of other countries and, therefore, is based on the best knowledge available internationally. With a budget of over 60 million euro, the regime INAIL is particularly aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises and, according to experts' estimates, could result in a measurable benefit of 180 million euro at the social level.
The new EU-OSHA report reflects a growing interest in economic incentives as a means to motivate organizations to invest in health and safety in the workplace. It is increasingly recognized that the application of standards is not in itself sufficient if the EU is to meet its target of a 25% reduction of accidents at work, set in the EU strategy for health and safety at working.
The EU-OSHA report includes a review of existing research on economic incentives, a description of the policies of the various EU Member States in the field of incentive schemes and a collection of case studies that illustrate how incentives were used in several European countries and in a wide variety of industries. The report evaluates the effectiveness of various incentive schemes and identifies some of the factors of success.
03/10/2010
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Translated via software
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Source:
Italian version of CercaGeometra.it