The Norwegian Labor Inspectorate must carry out inspections of Nav offices throughout the country. One of the topics to be explored is how the office works to counter violence and threats.
In the coming months, the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate will carry out inspections in all counties, both in large and small municipalities. Inspections will be carried out until the summer of 2023. In total, more than a third of the 260 Nav offices in Norway will be inspected.
– We know the challenges many Nav employees face as they encounter many desperate customers. They are exposed to violence and threats in their work. They must deal with petitioners' emotions and descriptions of their difficult situations, while behaving professionally and suppressing their own emotions. The aim of our inspections is to contribute to improving conditions employees' work – says director Trude Vollheim from the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate.
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Known risks and challenges
Work-related mental disorders and musculoskeletal disorders are the leading causes of sickness absence and resignation from working life. They are also a priority area for the Norwegian Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
High emotional demands, violence and threats, unwanted sexual attention, reorganization, role conflict, and unbalanced effort and recognition are examples of work conditions that can contribute to problems. These are the risk factors to which they are exposed Nav employees, who work directly with users.
The inspection revealed shortcomings
Inspections following a tragic incident last year at Nav's Årstad office in Bergen, in which one employee was killed and one seriously injured, revealed deficiencies in preventive, environmental and safety practices at the office.
After the accident, the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate carried out inspections at both the state doctor, the municipal employer, as well as Nav Vestland and the municipality of Bergen. The inspection showed, among others, weaknesses in mapping and risk assessment. Also shortcomings in the involvement of the safety ombudsman and insufficient coordination of health and safety work at both employers. This resulted in a total of twelve orders from the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate.
In addition to carrying out inspections, the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Authority worked on the Nav. For example, in 2019 and 2020, we held a nationwide advisory meeting for managers and security representatives at the Nav office. The theme was counteracting violence and threats.
As part of the audit, we conduct a dialogue
When the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate conducts inspections at local Nav offices, we check how both the government and the municipal employer meet their responsibility to provide a fully safe working environment for their employees. As part of the inspection, we conduct a dialogue with employers and security agents of both the state police and municipal employees.
We put emphasis on preventive work
The Norwegian Labor Inspectorate checks how employers systematically work to prevent work-related mental health and musculoskeletal problems.
Inspection topics include how they organize their work, mapping and assessing psychosocial and organizational factors. Also how they implement measures that can prevent psychological problems, musculoskeletal problems and violence and threats. We emphasize the importance of the employer's cooperation with the health and safety ombudsman, a representative of trade unions and the occupational medicine service.
It is also important to look at how the two employers coordinate health, environment and safety work and whether they have agreed on which employer is responsible for coordinating.
– We want to contribute to Nav systematically working with prevention. This is the only way they can reduce the risk that employees in local Nav offices will have work-related mental and physical health problems, says Trude Vollheim.
See the inspection video
The NAV office in Tønsberg has just been inspected. They are held in modern premises and they worked a lot with security. NAV Tønsberg manager Per Henning Johannesen demonstrates one of the two additional secure rooms they use. See the inspection video
Photo: still from video/Arbeidstilsynet
Source: arbeidstilsynet
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