S1-14 – Health and safety metrics

🗂️ ESRS S1 Own workforce, page 14

The undertaking shall disclose information on the extent to which its own workforce is covered by its health and safety management system and the number of incidents associated with work-related injuries, ill health and fatalities of its own workforce. In addition, it shall disclose the number of fatalities as a result of work-related injuries and work-related ill health of other workers working on the undertaking’s sites.
The objective of this Disclosure Requirement is to allow an understanding of the coverage, quality and performance of the health and safety management system established to prevent work-related injuries.
The disclosure required by paragraph 86 shall include the following information, where applicable broken down between employees and non-employees in the undertaking’s own workforce:

(a) the percentage of people in its own workforce who are covered by the undertaking’s health and safety management system based on legal requirements and/or recognised standards or guidelines;

(b) the number of fatalities[1] as a result of work-related injuries and work-related ill health;

(d) with regard to the undertaking’s employees, the number of cases of recordable workrelated ill health, subject to legal restrictions on the collection of data; and

(e) with regard to the undertaking’s employees, the number of days lost to work-related injuries and fatalities from work-related accidents, work-related ill health and fatalities from ill health103.

The information for (b) shall also be reported for other workers working on the undertaking’s sites, such as value chain workers if they are working on the undertaking’s sites.

The undertaking may also disclose the information specified in points (d) and (e) of paragraph 88 with regard to non-employees.
In addition, the undertaking may include the following additional information on the health and safety coverage: the percentage of its own workers covered by a health and safety management system which is based on legal requirements and/or recognised standards or guidelines and which has been internally audited and/or audited or certified by an external party.

Application Requirements

AR 80. In relation to paragraph 88 (a), the percentage of its own workforce who are covered by the undertaking’s health and safety management system shall be disclosed on a head count basis rather than a full-time equivalent basis.

AR 81. With regard to paragraph 90, when the undertaking’s health and safety management system, or certain parts thereof, has been subject to an internal audit or external certification, the undertaking may state this fact, or absence thereof, and the underlying standards for such audits/certifications, as applicable.

AR 82. Fatalities may be reported separately for those resulting from work-related injuries and those resulting from work-related ill health.

Guidance on “work-related”

AR 83. Work-related injuries and work-related ill health arise from exposure to hazards at work. Notwithstanding, other types of incidents can occur that are not connected with the work itself. For example, the following incidents are generally not considered to be work-related, unless otherwise specified in applicable national legislation:

(a) a person in the workforce suffers a heart attack while at work that it is not connected with work;

(b) a person in the workforce driving to or from work is injured in a car accident (when driving is not part of the work and where the transport has not been organised by the undertaking); and

AR 84. With regard to travelling for work purposes, injuries and ill health that occur while a person is travelling are work-related if, at the time of the injury or ill health, the person was engaged in work activities “in the interest of the employer”. Examples of such activities include travelling to and from customer contacts; conducting job tasks; and entertaining or being entertained to transact, discuss, or promote business (at the direction of the employer). If the undertaking is responsible for the transport commuting, incidents occurred while commuting are considered to be work-related. Nonetheless, incidents which arise during travel, outside of the undertaking’s responsibility (i.e., regular commuting to and from work), may be reported separately provided that the undertaking has such data available across the undertaking.

AR 85. With regard to working from home, injuries and ill health that occur when working from home are work-related, if the injury or ill health occurs while the person is performing work from home; and the injury or ill health is directly related to the performance of work rather than the general home environment or setting.

AR 86. With regard to mental illness, it is considered to be work-related, if it has been notified voluntarily by the person concerned and it is supported by an opinion from a licensed healthcare professional with appropriate training and experience; and if such opinion states that the illness is work-related.

AR 87. Health issues resulting, for example, from smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and psychosocial factors unrelated to work are not considered work-related.

AR 88. Occupational diseases are not considered work-related injuries but are covered under workrelated ill health.

Guidance on computing the rate of work-related injuries

AR 89. In computing the rate of work-related injuries, the undertaking shall divide the respective number of cases by the number of total hours worked by people in its own workforce and multiplied by 1,000,000. Thereby, these rates represent the number of respective cases per one million hours worked. A rate based on 1,000,000 hours worked indicates the number of work-related injuries per 500 full time people in the workforce over a 1-year timeframe. For comparability purposes a rate based on 1,000,000 hours worked shall be used also for undertakings with less than 500 people in the workforce.

AR 90. If the undertaking cannot directly calculate the number of hours worked, it may estimate this on the basis of normal or standard hours of work, taking into account entitlements to periods of paid leave of absence from work (for example, paid vacations, paid sick leave, public holidays) and explain this in its disclosures.

AR 91. An undertaking shall include fatalities as a result of work-related injury in the calculation of the number and rate of recordable work-related injuries.

Guidance on recordable work-related ill health

AR 92. Work-related ill health can include acute, recurring, and chronic health problems caused or aggravated by work conditions or practices. These include musculoskeletal disorders, skin and respiratory diseases, malignant cancers, diseases caused by physical agents (for example, noise-induced hearing loss, vibration-caused diseases), and mental illnesses (for example, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder). For the purpose of the required disclosures, the undertaking shall, at a minimum, include in its disclosure those cases outlined in the ILO List of Occupational Diseases.

AR 93. In the context of this Standard, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are covered under workrelated ill health (and not injuries).

AR 94. The cases to be disclosed in paragraph 88(d) relate to cases of work-related ill health notified to the undertaking or identified by the undertaking through medical surveillance, during the reporting period. The undertaking might be notified of cases of work-related ill health through reports by affected people, compensation agencies, or healthcare professionals. The disclosure may include cases of work-related ill health that were detected during the reporting period among people who were formerly in the undertaking’s workforce.

Guidance on the number of days lost

AR 95. The undertaking shall count the number of days lost such that the first full day and last day of absence shall be included. Calendar days should be considered for the calculation, thus days on which the affected individual is not scheduled for work (for example, weekends, public holidays) will count as lost days.