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 has reported that the European Commission is now 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. There is currently no agreement on this proposal by the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH). The ACSH helps the European Commission in preparing and administering decisions in the area of health and safety at work. The European Commission has also confirmed through its Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme, that there will be no legal decisions on ergonomics and MSDs at present.

The HSE does not expect any proposals on this potential Recommendation until late 2014 or early 2015.