Businesses where managers and employers have completed good health, safety and environmental (HSE) training have fewer violations and safer working conditions, according to a new report from the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, based on over 51,000 inspections conducted over the past ten years.
HSE knowledge reduces risk
A safe working environment is about, among other things, using the right protective equipment and ensuring good routines that protect the health and safety of employees.
“Where we find inadequate HSE training, we often also find multiple violations of other parts of the Working Environment Act. This shows how important it is to have expertise in HSE work,” says Monica Seem, department director at the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.
Facts about the report
The report is based on 51,302 inspections carried out in the period 2014–2024 . It clearly shows that when employers, middle managers and safety representatives have received training in line with legal requirements, the company's working environment work functions better and meets the requirements of the Working Environment Act to a greater extent.
Small businesses struggle the most
In more than one in three inspections where the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority has investigated whether key personnel have had required HSE training, it is revealed that the training is either completely lacking or does not maintain a satisfactory level.
The results also show a clear difference between small and large businesses: Smaller businesses more often have inadequate training than larger organizations.
Experienced inspectors from the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority confirm this picture. They point out that lack of training by employers and middle managers is often closely linked to other violations of working environment regulations. In addition, the safety representative's training is highlighted as a crucial factor for a good working environment.
– The report shows how central HSE training is for all key roles in the business, and how much it means in preventing problems in the workplace, says Seem.
Recommendations for businesses
To ensure a safe and responsible working environment, all those who have key roles in HSE work – employers, middle managers, safety representatives and members of work environment committees – should have up-to-date and thorough training. The impact of HSE training is greatest when all these roles have completed the training and work together to improve the working environment.
– Our findings clearly show that businesses that do not prioritize HSE training are more likely to be found to have other types of violations – everything from poor work organization to problems with working hours and harassment. This underlines how important it is that key people are given the necessary expertise, so that together they can contribute to a safe and fully responsible working environment, concludes Seem.
