New European proposal on musculoskeletal disorders

There is no specific UK legislation to deal with the problem of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs or RSI); although general health and safety legislation applies (see Chapter 1). There are, however, regulations originating from European directives on display screen equipment (DSE) (see Chapter 7) and manual handling (see above).

In 2009 there was a proposal for a new Directive addressing all significant risk factors for work-related MSDs and repealing the previous two Directives. However, progress on this directive was delayed and the HSE recently reported that It now appears that the European Commission is actively considering producing a Council Recommendation rather than a new Directive. This would have no binding effect on Member States, although there would be an expectation that Member States would take action to apply its principles and content. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports that it is expecting the Commission to consult on a draft text with the aim of the Council adopting a final recommendation later this year, but this is still awaited.