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The 2011 Löfstedt report recommended that self-employed workers whose work represented no potential risk of harm to others should be excluded from the scope of occupational health and safety legislation. This recommendation, accepted by the government, will come into application on 1 October 2015.
From then on, 1.7 million self-employed workers such as novelists, journalists, graphic designers, accountants, pastry makers, financial advisers and online vendors will no longer be covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. However, self-employed workers in high-risk sectors of activity (agriculture, construction, gas, railways, asbestos, GMOs, etc.) will not be exempted.
What is meant by “self-employed worker”?
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, the concept of “self-employed worker” means that the worker does not have an employment contract and works exclusively on their own account.
If a self-employed worker has chosen this status for tax reasons but employs other people, the Health and Safety at Work Act applies.
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