Work Environment

Work environment legislation requires employers with more than ten employees to have a written work environment policy. The work environment policy must describe how working conditions should be in order to prevent ill-health and accidents at work and achieve a satisfactory work environment. The employer must also make it clear that victimisation is not accepted in the business.

Download Work Environment Policy for Lund University from the Rules and regulations page on the Staff pages

The work environment policy covers both employees and students at the university. The central safety committee is responsible for ensuring that the work environment policy is followed up in connection with the annual follow-up of the systematic work environment programme.

The Health and Safety Policy has a strong link to the Strategic Plan, and to the University's Equal Opportunities Plan. The work environment policy provides a university-wide intention regarding the work environment. Each individual activity at faculty level/equivalent, and department/section/equivalent, can usefully produce its own documents and procedures based on the university-wide work environment policy in order to further clarify the intention in each activity.

Support for managers

Download manager support: Implementation material (PPT-presentation 1 MB, new tab)

Content: 

• OSA – what is it?
• OSA – a part of SAM
• Investigate the organisational and social work environment
• OSA Survey – what is it?
  • Preparation, planning, and implementation of the survey
  • Working with the survey results
  • Follow-up of the OSA survey
• Risk assessment of the organisational and social work environment
• Study social safety round

OSA – what is it?

The organisational work environment is the result of how work is arranged, managed, communicated, and how decisions are made. The social work environment is how we interact with and are affected by the people around us, such as colleagues and managers.

The physical, organisational, and social factors of the work environment are interconnected. By viewing these as a whole, appropriate measures can be taken and the work environment improved. The Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations on organisational and social work environment are an important cornerstone in this work.

• Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations on OSA (Swedish Work Environment Authority)
• Introduction to OSA (PDF 764 kB, new tab)
• Watch the film "Organisational and Social Work Environment – An Introduction" (approx. 3 minutes long, new tab).
  • Swedish subtitles/English subtitles are available by selecting Settings/Captions. Note that the legal references in the film do not correspond with the regulatory structure that came into force on 1 January 2025. However, the rules themselves remain unchanged.

OSA – a part of SAM

Organisational and social work environment factors are important pieces in the work for a good work environment. The work with OSA is included in all steps of systematic work environment management (SAM). The steps are investigation, risk assessment, measures/action plan, and follow-up.

Read more about SAM at Lund University.

Investigate the Organisational and Social Work Environment

The organisational and social work environment should be investigated regularly, just like the physical work environment. Below, you as a manager will find additional information and support for conducting the OSA survey.

Contact your work environment coordinator or nearest local HR function for support.

OSA Survey – what is it?

The OSA survey is not a solution to a work environment problem in itself, but a tool to investigate the work environment. The survey is an opportunity to initiate discussions on how you as a manager, together with the employees, can improve your common work environment. Links to templates in PDF format, in Swedish and English, are available in the right column.

There are other tools to investigate and get an overview of how the work environment is perceived, such as development discussions, safety rounds, and incident reporting.

Preparation, planning, and implementation of the survey

Review the survey so that you know what it contains.

Plan together with the safety representative and work environment coordinator/personnel coordinator. Possibly appoint a working group to assist you in coordinating the implementation of the survey. Plan the following:

• Timing of the implementation.
• Information to the employees.
• Ensure that there is not too much time between completing the survey and reporting back.
• Prepare the distribution and cover letter for the survey. Seek support from the work environment coordinator/personnel coordinator.

The survey is administered via the SUNET Survey system, which Lund University has procured. See login in the right column.

Preparation together with the employees

• Review and define the terms used in the survey (e.g., "operation", "manager", "staff meetings") together with the employees, so that everyone uses the same definitions.
• Explain to the employees that the survey is filled in anonymously and that the results will not be presented if the number of respondents is fewer than 5 people.
• Explain the purpose of the OSA survey. Encourage the employees to provide concrete suggestions on how the work environment could be improved.
• Review the underlying legislation, for example by showing the presentation available above under the heading OSA – What is it.
• Describe how OSA is connected to systematic work environment management (SAM). The work with the organisational and social work environment is included in all steps of SAM (investigation, risk assessment, measures/action plan, follow-up). The OSA survey belongs to the Investigation step in SAM.
• Watch the video about OSA from Suntarbetsliv's website (approx. 2 minutes long, YouTube).
• Watch the video "Organisational and Social Work Environment – An Introduction" (approx. 3 minutes long, new tab). Swedish subtitles/English subtitles are available by selecting Settings/Captions. Note that the legal references in the film do not correspond with the regulatory structure that came into force on 1 January 2025. However, the rules themselves remain unchanged.

Working with the survey results

Work with results – manager and safety representative

• Review the results together with the safety representative, or if you have an appointed working group to collaborate with. Feel free to use the document "Instructions for Reporting Results to the OSA Survey Sunet Survey" (available via link in the right column).
• Work environment coordinators, personnel coordinators, and occupational health services are also available for support and advice.
• To ensure anonymity, you cannot present the results if the respondents are fewer than five people. The results should then be described at a general level.
• Select the parts of the survey results that you particularly want to focus on, such as areas that are particularly important to improve or those that work well and need to be reinforced.
• Plan how the feedback will be conducted, for example at a department meeting/equivalent. Plan plenty of time for the meeting. Consider whether discussions should be held with the entire group of employees or in smaller groups.
• Prepare a presentation of the results and the subsequent discussion about the results. Use the PowerPoint template "Manager Support" (available via link in the right column) if you wish.
• The results should be recorded.

Work with results – manager and employees

• Review the results together with the employees.
• Follow all the steps in SAM, reflect together on which step you are currently in.
• Discuss all together, or in smaller groups.
• If you have not already done so, select parts of the survey results that you want to discuss and improve.
• Develop proposals for measures and document these in an action plan. Do not dismiss anything at the initial stage. Once you have written down your proposals for measures, you should evaluate, discuss, and prioritise the proposals. Use the risk and consequence assessment template available via link in the right column. 

Keep in mind: 

• Listen to what is said when you present the results. You should not solve the problems on the spot, but ensure that everyone has a say. The purpose is to raise issues and discuss them to jointly determine what needs to be done to maintain or achieve a good work environment.
• It is possible that issues may arise in the discussion with the group that are uncomfortable for one or more participants. Keep in mind to encourage employees to contact you afterwards about things that, for some reason, are not discussed during the group meeting.
• Individual cases should not be discussed in this forum.
• Remember that you can always turn to your work environment coordinator or nearest personnel coordinator for support in connection with the presentation.
• What feels most important? What should you start with? It is better to plan a few activities that you actually carry out than to develop a large number of activities that do not happen. Work on things that are realistic to change.
• The action plan should include measures, risk assessment, timing of implementation, who is responsible for the implementation of the measure, and when follow-up should take place. The action plan template is available via link in the right column.

Follow-up of the OSA Survey

The action plan you have written should be followed up together with the safety representative and the employees, for example in connection with a department meeting/equivalent. Schedule occasions for follow-up so that everyone knows when it will take place.

Planned measures should be checked, both whether the measures have been implemented and whether each measure has led to the desired result. If the planned measures have not been implemented, you as a manager should collaborate with the safety representative on this and document the reasons.

Use the template available via link in the right column.

Risk assessment of the organisational and social work environment

Risks in the organisational and social work environment should be assessed and addressed. The measures should be documented and followed up. Use the risk assessment template available in the right column.

Read more about risks in the work environment. Read more about the OSA game. 

Study social safety round

Students are not covered by the regulations on organisational and social work environment, but the students' work environment is included in the systematic work environment management as a whole. This means that you, as a manager of an operation involving students, need to investigate and assess all factors that may pose risks to the students' work environment.

Support for this work can be found on the webpage about Work Environment Investigation/Safety Round.

To the Occupational Health Services (OHS) you as a manager should turn for matters concerning work environment, rehabilitation, and work-related ill health.

The Occupational Health Services work towards healthy, well-functioning, and pleasant workplaces and are available to you as a manager.

The Occupational Health Services, as an independent resource, should offer you as a manager specialist expertise in occupational medicine, ergonomic load, and occupational psychology for work environment-related issues.

Costs

The Occupational Health Services are free of charge for employees and workplaces within Lund University. Costs associated with statutory medical examinations, ergonomic aids, and visits by non-employees are paid by the respective unit. In case of absence from a booked visit for reasons other than acute illness that is not cancelled by the day before, a cost will be charged to the respective cost centre.

Confidentiality

The staff of the Occupational Health Services work under confidentiality.

Contact

• Telephone: +46 46 222 32 80
• E mail: Foretagshalsovarden [at] fhv [dot] lu [dot] se (Foretagshalsovarden[at]fhv[dot]lu[dot]se)

All employees are entitled to reimbursement for the cost of simple and relatively inexpensive health-promoting activities. Employees may be reimbursed a maximum of twice per year.

Learn more about health promotion on the Staff Pages

As a manager, you are responsible for ensuring that work adaptation and rehabilitation are carried out when any of your employees need it as a preventive measure to avoid ill health and absenteeism, as well as upon returning to work after a period of sickness absence.

The aim of Lund University's work environment efforts is to create an environment that is perceived as developing and stimulating, and to prevent our employees from being exposed to risks of work-related ill health and accidents at work. This aim is supported by current legislation through systematic work environment management. The area of work adaptation also has its basis in this legislation.

Work adaptation involves measures taken if necessary to prevent sickness absence or if an employee has suffered an injury or illness. The injury or illness may have occurred outside the workplace and affects the ability to perform work.

Rehabilitation is a collective term for measures of a medical, social, and work-oriented nature to restore functional capacity and ensure a good life. Work-oriented rehabilitation involves measures taken to facilitate the return to work after a period of sickness absence.

Support

Primarily, seek assistance from your HR partner. However, the Occupational Health Services are also available for advice and support.

Occupational Health Services:

• Telephone: +46 46 222 32 80
• E mail: Foretagshalsovarden [at] fhv [dot] lu [dot] se (Foretagshalsovarden[at]fhv[dot]lu[dot]se)

Lund University's guidelines regarding risk use and harmful use aim to create conditions for a work environment that is developing, stimulating, safe, and secure for everyone working at the university.

The guidelines state, among other things, that no one may be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at work or in connection with teaching, and that the use of alcohol, other drugs, or other risk use and harmful use outside the workplace or studies must not:

• Affect safety and well-being at work or in study contexts,
• Affect the employee's ability to perform their work,
• Damage the trust between the employee and Lund University,
• Damage Lund University's reputation.

Guidelines

Guidelines regarding hazardous and harmful substance use at Lund University (PDF 157 kB, new tab)

Support

Contact your HR partner at the faculty level or equivalent.

Contents of the page:

• About the IA system and reporting incidents
• Incidents
• Risk observation
• Occupational injury
• Serious accident or serious incident
• Roles in the IA system
• Security-related and radiation-related incidents
• Documentation/record keeping
• Investigation, measures and follow-up
• Work injury insurance
• Contact

In the event of ill-health or an accident at work or situations that could have led to ill-health or an accident for employees, you as a manager must deal with these incidents. The IA system supports you in your work of investigating and dealing with reported incidents.

About the IA system and reporting incidents

The IA system is the tool you as a manager should use in your work to investigate and manage reported incidents, such as near misses and occupational injuries.

When an employee reports an incident, you as a manager will receive a notification via the system. The safety representative in your organisation will also be notified.

As the person responsible for health and safety, you should liaise with your safety representative and may be supported by your faculty/correspondent's health and safety coordinator. In the right-hand column, there is a link to a training programme for those who want to know more about reporting and managing incidents in the IA system.

Read more about the IA system (iasystemet.se)

Log in to the IA system

It is important to report incidents to

• eliminate risks that could lead to occupational injuries or incidents
• eliminate the cause if something has happened so that similar events do not occur again
• ensure that the injured person is entitled to compensation in the event of an accident, travel accident or occupational disease
• obtain a good basis for reporting and statistics.

Students

Students use different reporting channels than employees.

Read more about accidents and incidents involving students (lu.se)

Incidents

An incident is an undesirable event that could have led to ill health or an accident. Reporting incidents is an important part of work environment management to identify risks in the organisation. Based on the reports, preventive measures can be taken both locally and across the university. It is therefore important that you as a manager encourage your employees to report, investigate the need for action and provide feedback to your employees.

An employee self-reports what has happened by logging into the IA system with their Lucat ID. A notification is sent to you as manager and to the safety representative.

Risk observation

A risk observation is a risk or a deficiency that could lead to an incident, illness or accident. It could be, for example, a blocked escape route, a misplaced chemical or an unclear instruction. It could also be related to recurrent stress and/or a perceived high workload.

An employee self-reports the observation by logging into the IA system with their Lucat ID. A notification is sent to you as a manager and to the safety representative.

Occupational injury

As a manager with responsibility for personnel, you are obliged under the Social Insurance Code to report occupational injuries suffered by employees to the Social Insurance Agency. The notification is made in consultation between the manager, the employee and the safety representative. Reporting to the Social Insurance Agency is done in the IA system, which you can read more about in the training linked in the right-hand column.

An occupational injury report must be made in the event of

• occupational accident
• occupational disease due to, for example, psychologically stressful working conditions, strain or overload injury, noise injury or exposure to a hazardous substance leading to, for example, eczema or allergy
• travel accident (accident that occurs when travelling to and from the workplace).

An employee reports what has happened by logging into the IA system with their Lucat ID. A notification is sent to you as manager and to the safety representative.

Also encourage the employee to claim compensation from AFA insurance.

Read more about occupational injury insurance on the Staff pages. 

Serious accident or serious incident

According to the Work Environment Act, events that have led to

• death
• serious personal injury
• injuries affecting several employees at the same time
• incidents that could have led to serious personal injury

must be reported to the Swedish Work Environment Authority. The report must be made within 24 hours.

Examples of serious accidents are

• fracture of a bone in the body
• major damage to nerves, muscles or tendons
• damage to sensory organs, such as sight or hearing
• second and third degree burns
• events that have affected someone psychologically, such as shock in the event of threats of violence or a road traffic accident.

Examples of serious incidents are

• more severe cases of bullying, insults and harassment
• if someone has been exposed to harmful stress for a long time and reacted strongly to it
  threat of violence against a person
• if someone has fallen from a height of a few metres without being injured
  hanging loads or other things that have fallen near someone or where someone could have been
• stabbing or cutting injury by a needle or similar where it is known or strongly suspected that the patient's or the other person's blood is infected
• smoke, gas or chemical spills gas or chemical spillage without any worker being injured
  explosion in a room where there were no people at the time.

Report serious incidents to the Swedish Work Environment Authority

To report serious incidents to the Swedish Work Environment Authority, follow these steps:

1. Report the incident at www.anmalarbetsskada.se (link also available in the IA system).
2. Save the pdf receipt that is generated and upload it as an attachment to the case in the IA system.
3. Under the tab ‘Notifications’ in the IA system, select ‘Arbetsmiljöverket’ and tick the checkbox.

If you are unsure whether the incident is defined as serious or not, please consult your local health and safety coordinator or occupational health engineer.

Roles in the IA system

Different roles (e.g. reporter, manager and safety officer) have different authorisations in the IA system. You need to apply for authorisation via Lucat for all roles except reporter. Contact the health and safety coordinator at your faculty/equivalent if you are unsure which role you should apply for authorisation for or if you need information on how to apply.

Security and radiation incidents

Security incidents such as vandalism, burglary and theft must be reported in the KeyConcept system.

Read more about what to do if something happens (Staff pages)

All radiation-related incidents must be reported in the KeyConcept system.

Read more about radiation (in Swedish)

Documentation/record keeping

The IA system acts as a diary system for the events reported in the IA system. Documentation related to a case must be kept in the IA system.

Please note that the investigation carried out in connection with the investigation of victimisation must be registered in the diary system.

Read more on the page Record keeping and confidentiality (Offence and harassment)

Investigation, measures and follow-up

Investigation of occupational injuries and incidents should be carried out by you as a manager together with the person affected and the safety representative to investigate why it happened and what can be done to prevent something similar from happening again. It is important to try to get to the root causes of the incident and, based on that, decide on preventive measures. Those activities that cannot be addressed immediately should be included in an action plan and should be followed up by you as a manager. The IA system supports you in this.

In the IA system, you indicate whether the case is under investigation or not. Also describe how the case has been investigated. When the investigation is completed, it should be marked in the system. Usually, one or more measures need to be implemented, follow the instructions in the system for how to add measures. When the measures are ready, the checkbox for ready should be ticked. If no measures need to be implemented, this should be marked in the system.

At the bottom there is a follow-up of the measures and also the safety officer's follow-up. When the follow-up is done, the checkboxes for done should be ticked. Only when all the boxes have been ticked can the case as a whole be completed and closed, in the event list the case is then marked with a gold star.

Download the risk assessment and action plan template on the Forms and templates page.

Work injury insurance

As an employee you are insured through AFA insurance and as a student through Kammarkollegiet's personal injury insurance. You may also be entitled to compensation from Försäkringskassan. The employee/student applies for compensation in connection with an occupational injury.

• As a manager, you can find the information given to employees regarding occupational injury insurance here (Staff pages)
• As a manager, you can find the information given to students regarding occupational injury insurance here (lu.se/student)

Contact

Occupational Health Service: foretagshalsovarden [at] fhv [dot] lu [dot] se (foretagshalsovarden[at]fhv[dot]lu[dot]se)

Hatred, threats, and violence should be managed within the systematic work environment management (SAM), just like any other work environment risks. Both employees and students are included in this work.

Prevent risks

As a manager, or as someone responsible for students' work environment, you are responsible for preventing risks related to hatred, threats, and violence in the organisation.

One way to start this work is to watch the university's recorded lecture on hatred, threats, and violence (see link in the right column) together with the employees and the workplace safety representative/student safety representative.

Assess the risks

After watching the recorded lecture, you should investigate the risks in your specific organisation and assess them. To support this work, there is a checklist (see right column).

Document your findings in the risk assessment template.

Follow up

Remember to follow up on the measures you have agreed upon to ensure they have had the intended effect.

On this page, you will find information and support for managers regarding crisis support.

Content: 

• Providing employees with support in a crisis
• Consultation for managers
• Crisis situations related to harassment and discrimination
• Crisis situations related to data and information

Providing employees with support in a crisis

As the manager of the affected employee, you should offer support as soon as possible. The support can be someone to talk to about their situation. The support may be needed for an extended period and should, if possible, provide continuity, for example, by being given by the same person. Presence is a key word for effective crisis support. For the affected person, it is very important to be taken seriously – to be seen, heard, and respected.

It is important for you as a manager not to end the support for the affected person too early. It can take a long time to process what has happened. People react differently to the same event.

Examples of crisis situations related to the workplace:

• Accidents
• Severe illness
• Death
• Staff reductions
• Fire
• Assault
• Cyberattacks
• Theft
• Harassment

Examples of situations outside work that can lead to an employee being in crisis:

• Illness or death of a relative
• Changes in family situation
• Substance abuse
• Crime
• Accidents

Consultation for managers

As a manager, you can receive support and advice from Occupational Health Services when it comes to providing employees with support in a crisis.

Read more about Occupational Health Services' consultation for managers.

You can also contact the joint security function for further advice.

Contact details for the university's security function.

Crisis situations related to harassment or discrimination

If the crisis situation involves harassment or discrimination, contact your nearest HR function, SFAD* coordinator, or the nearest support for the education provider at your faculty or equivalent. Together, you can receive additional support from the SFAD team.

Read more about how you as a manager can handle cases of abusive treatment and harassment.

Crisis situations related to data and information

If the crisis situation is related to data and information, for example, in the event of a major cyberattack, you as a manager can receive support and advice from the CISO (information security function).

Here you will find contact details for the CISO and can read more about information security.

*SFAD stands for systematic preventive work against discrimination.

Each faculty/equivalent has at least one health and safety coordinator to support you as a manager in health and safety issues.

Sometimes you may need support from an external party to move forward on an issue concerning your work environment. Here you as a manager can find guidance on which consultancy services are procured in the work environment area.

As a manager, you have the opportunity to use the university's procured consultants for the following services in the work environment area, if necessary:

• Lighting/synergonomics
• Noise/acoustics
• Glasses (monitor and safety glasses)
• Chemical work environment risks
• Indoor climate/ventilation
• Vibration
• Crisis support in an emergency
• Organisational and social work environment investigations and work environment initiatives
• Counselling support
• Adaptation and rehabilitation services for addiction problems
• Investigation of work capacity
• Investigation of victimisation, harassment and sexual harassment

You choose the supplier based on current needs, situation and applicable procurement. The cost of the assignment is charged to your organisation. Contact your nearest HR function for advice before placing the order.

Information and contact details for suppliers can be found in the Lupin contract catalogue under the Contracts tab. If you are missing information in any contract area in the catalogue, contact your organisation's HR partner.

Log in to Lupin

Lund University's SAM team provides support in systematic work environment management to managers, safety representatives, student safety representatives, work environment coordinators and others. The team includes experts in work environment, fire protection, chemical management, radiation protection, safety and occupational health care.

Support includes training, counselling, advice and coordination. Examples of activities include: risk and impact assessment for chemical management, expert support for safety rounds or workshops on organisational and social work environment (OSA).

Watch the video about the work environment and the SAM team

In the video, Vice-Rector Jimmie Kristensson and HR Director Marie Härstedt talk about the work environment and the SAM team (opens in new tab).

For subtitles, select Settings > Caption Swedish or English.