The European Good Practice Awards 2008
To accompany the European Campaign, the European Agency invites nominations for this year’s European Good Practice Awards.
What are the awards?
The awards aim to demonstrate, by example, the benefits of following good safety and health practices to all. European employers and workers, and to intermediaries including the social partners, OSH professionals and practitioners, and others providing assistance and information at workplace level.
Those selected will be recognised for their role in improving working conditions in Europe. In addition:
- a representative of the selected enterprises/organisations will be invited to the European Awards Ceremony in Spring 2009, and
- the examples will be presented in an Agency booklet to be widely distributed across Europe and on the European Agency’s website.
What types of good practice can be entered?
The European campaign 2008-09 aims to promote an integrated management approach to risk assessment.
Good practice examples are implemented solutions - not theoretical or hypothetical – to promote the effective management of occupational safety and health risks in the workplace. So, applicants should provide clear evidence of what was done in practice to achieve effective, pragmatic risk management.
The intervention should therefore show good management practice to:
- improve working conditions in general,
- be effective in promoting health, safety and efficiency,
- focus on eliminating or preventing risks at source,
- achieve an identifiable and permanent benefit,
- meet the relevant legislative requirements of the Member State in which it has been implemented and preferably go beyond those minimum standards,
- include a participatory approach between employers and workers,
- have the full support of senior management, and
- be clearly identifiable as the action that caused the reduction in risk.
What should the examples demonstrate?
The good practice examples should be recent or not widely publicised and demonstrate, where appropriate:
- relevance to the theme of risk assessment,
- interventions aimed at the workplace,
- risks eliminated or tackled at source,
- risk assessment carried out in-house by the employer, or by an employee designated by the employer,
- effective, pragmatic risk management,
- successful implementation,
- real improvements,
- effective participation and involvement of the workforce, and their representatives,
- account taken of the diversity of the workforce,
- sustainability over time,
- going beyond simple compliance with all relevant legislative requirements, and possibility of transfer to other workplaces, including those in other Member States and to SMEs.
Good practice examples should not have been developed solely for commercial profit. This particularly relates to products, tools or services that are or could be marketed. Examples focused on the individual, such as training, should also demonstrate how they are part of a wider risk-management approach.
Who can take part?
Good practice examples will be accepted from enterprises or organisations including:
- enterprises and organisations, SMEs are particularly welcome,
- training providers and the education community,
- employer organisations, trade associations, trade unions, and non-governmental organisations, and
- regional or local occupational health and safety prevention services, insurance services, and other intermediary organisations.
How to apply
To apply for the European Good Practice Awards 2008 please contact HSE International Unit by email at: uk.focalpoint@hse.gsi.gov.uk.
Closing date
The closing date for UK applicants is 15 September 2008. Applications must be received in full and electronically by this date.
