Plan Organisation, roles and responsibility relating to the work environment

Wor organization and responsibility
Plan

1. 
   Organisation, roles and responsibility relating to the work environment
   
2. 
   Wor organization and responsibility
   

Responsibility for the work environment is governed by the Swedish Work Environment Act (1977:1160). The purpose of this Act is to prevent occupational illness and accidents and to otherwise ensure a good work environment

Organisation
In the current decision-making and delegation scheme, the Vice-Chancellor has delegated work environment tasks to the Heads of Department. Each Head of Department shall therefore fulfil the duties of an employer within their area of responsibility and in accordance with the Swedish Work Environment Act and its provisions. The Vice-Chancellor has also assigned decision-making authority to the Heads of Department as required by these duties. Duties relating to the work environment can and should be delegated to those persons (e.g. managers/leaders) who in practice are in a position to maintain an overview of and deal with activities from an organisational and economic perspective.
Work environment groups
Each Department (or equivalent) has a work environment group that works with local work environment issues. The work environment group is a resource for the Head of Department and is made up of representatives from the different areas of activity, including both employees and employers, and the safety representative/student safety representative and equal opportunities representatives. The tasks of the work environment group are e.g. to initiate and monitor safety inspections, provide a link between the Department and the Work Environment Committee, between the Department and the occupational healthcare service and between the Department and Student Health Center. The work environment group also carries out annual monitoring of the Department’s SAM (systematic work environment management).
Responsibility
The Head of Department as an employer shall ensure within his/her area that the requirements and intentions in the Swedish Work Environment Act with provisions and instructions are met, and shall ensure compliance with local work environment agreements and KI’s Work environment and health guidelines
The Swedish Work Environment Act applies to all persons at Karolinska Institutet, irrespective of whether they are a student or an employee. Scholars are in education and are therefore governed by the Act. Certain parts of the work environment responsibility are specified below.
Employers and employees shall cooperate (chapter 6 of the Act) in order to provide a good work environment. This is provided for with the work environment groups at the Departments and with the Work Environment Committee at KI. The Departments have safety representatives. The activities of the safety representatives are coordinated by the main safety representative.
The importance of a good work environment is particularly highlighted in chapter 8 of the Act, Sanctions. This chapter governs sanctions, fines or imprisonment for failure to comply with the Act.