Denmark: new measures to bolster the ‘green smiley’ system that certifies a company’s healthy working environment

Following a scandal in 2016 that in particular adversely affected wind turbine producer Siemens Wind Power, the Danish government undertook measures to strengthen the reliability of the ‘green smiley’ (grøn smiley) system, which accredits a quality mark to a company’s working environment, which include more monitoring, better prevention as carried out by labor inspectors in terms of the psychological working environment, as well as better real-time information for labor inspectors on workplace accidents and occupational illness that occurs in certified companies (c.f. article No. 9707 and No. 9978). On 06 November 2017 the Danish Minister for Labor presented additional measures that especially strengthen the work of the labor inspectorate as carried out under the Danish Labor Environment Agency. These fresh provisions will come into effect on 01 July 2018.
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Four separate smileys. Going forward the Danish labor Inspectorate will be able to attribute four different smileys to member companies as a result of an assessment of their working environment and whether they comply with health and safety regulations:

  • Green smiley: indicating the company provides a good working environment
  • Yellow smiley: indicating that the company has received an immediate instruction to alter the working environment and has been given some time to become compliant
  • Red smi
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