Health at work in Europe: each country has its own strategy. But the challenges are the same
The occupational risk and health management at work have no boundaries. Each European country has developed its own national strategy, with different priorities, tools and approaches. However, when looking at data, the challenges are surprisingly similar: fatal accidents, mental health, climate risk, absences by disease.
We have analysed the plans of five large European countries. That’s what they tell us.
: Italy: National Strategy 2026-2030: Vision Zeror
Italy has adopted a National Strategy for Health and Safety at Work 2026-2030 based on the Vision Zero principle: every accident is preventable. The goal is ambitious, drastically reduce accidents and deaths at work through structured prevention, vigilance and advanced organizational culture.
The strategy integrates with the Strategic Framework of the European Union 2021-2027 and connects to the new National Plan of Prevention 2026-2031. One of the most significant innovations: developing safety training programs that already start from school, transforming prevention into a shared and identity value.
Given the fact that SMEs represent more than 90% of the Italian production fabric, the plan provides specific support and simplification to facilitate their adaptation.
: France : PST 2026-2030 : total protection
France has just launched its Health Plan on Work 2026-2030 — the fifth in twenty years. The 5 priorities are clear: reduce mortal accidents (824 dead in 2024), better protect women (increased accidents of 26% in 20 years), manage the warm risk linked to climate change, reduce absences by disease and make mental health the great national cause.
The French model is one of the most prescribed in Europe. The DUERP, Single Document of Evaluation of Professional Risks, is mandatory for each employer from the first employee, must explicitly cover psychosocial risks and must be preserved for 40 years.
‘ United Kingdom HSE Strategy 2022-2032 : mental health at the top of the agenda
The United Kingdom operates through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with a ten-year strategy “Protecting People and Places 2022-2032”. Data 2024-2025 are eloquent: 9 million workers have stated that they suffer from occupational health problems. Stress, depression and anxiety are the first cause of occupational disease with 964,000 cases — increasing compared to 776,000 in the previous year.
The economic cost of occupational accidents and diseases has reached £22.9 billion. The British Government has announced a modernization of the guidelines on health and safety at work, with particular attention to the prevention of sexual harassment at work — now subject to a specific legal obligation.
della Spain : 2026, year of occupational safety
Spain announced that 2026 will be the year of safety and health at work — on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Law 31/1995 on the prevention of occupational risks. One of the most significant innovations: since 2025, burn-out is formally recognized as a professional risk requiring specific evaluation and management.
Each Spanish employer is obliged to produce a written protocol on digital disconnection — setting clear limits on availability outside working hours. Labour inspectors (ITSS) specifically target companies without this document.
del Germany : GDA 2019-2025 : prevention through risk assessment
Germany operates through a single system in Europe: the dual model of occupational safety. On the one hand, the state through federal laws. On the other hand, the DGUV, Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, the confederation of German accident insurance institutions, with a specific preventive mandate.
The strategic objective of the third GDA, Gemeinsame Deutsche Arbeitsschutzstrategie, for the period 2019-2025 is to make work safe and healthy through risk assessment prevention.
A distinctive feature of the German model: climate change poses a number of risks for workers. To find answers to the challenges of climate change, safety and health at work need valid and applied research. DGUV has made climate risk a research priority, with a more scientific and less regulatory approach than the French model.
In Germany, safety and health at work are regulated by a dual system. This means that, in addition to the State, German accident insurance institutions are also responsible for safety and health at work. This dual structure creates a much more capillary control network than other European countries
‘ Netherlands : Europe’s strongest preventive model
The Netherlands has developed one of Europe’s most advanced occupational risk prevention systems. The distinctive point: Dutch employers are obliged to continue paying at least 70% of the salary for the first two years of illness. This creates a very powerful financial incentive for preventive investment, without direct equivalents in other European countries.
In 2024, the Dutch Labour Inspectorate conducted over 20,000 workplace inspections, adopting coercive measures in 35% of cases. The inspections take place proactively, without a prior accident to justify them.
What the European comparison tells us
Five countries, five approaches. But three common challenges emerge everywhere:
1. Mental health is the new frontier of occupational risk. Dal burn-out recognised as a professional disease in Spain, at 964,000 cases of stress and anxiety in the UK, at the great French national cause — every European country is facing the same emergency.
2. Climate risk enters prevention plans. France explicitly integrates it into PST 2026-2030. EU-OSHA publishes climate scenarios for health and safety at work in Europe until 2050. Warm is no longer a seasonal risk — it is a structural risk.
3. SMEs remain the most vulnerable point.In Italy with 90% of the production fabric, Spain or the Netherlands — small and medium-sized enterprises are those with less resources to adapt. Each national plan provides specific measures to support them.
Conclusion
Health at work is not a local theme. It is a shared European priority — with different national strategies, but identical challenges.
Knowing what other countries do is not an academic exercise. It is a concrete learning opportunity. Best practices have no boundaries.
Sources: Gouvernement français, PST 2026-2030 (2024) — EB Security, National Strategy 2026-2030 for Health and Safety at Work (February 2026) — HSE, Annual Statistics 2024/25 (2025) — Eurogip, EU-OSHA 2025-2027 Programme (2024) — Arinite, Health and Safety Compliance Europe (2026) — EU-OS25, OSH Pulse