The European Parliament wants mandatory psychosocial risk assessment

Companies would have to regularly assess employee overload and stress and monitor the impact of algorithms on teams. The next move is up to the European Commission, which is preparing an EU law on the quality of jobs.

On Tuesday, 6 October, the European Parliament adopted a report calling on the European Commission to prepare regulations on psychosocial hazards at work. These include factors such as excessive workload, stress, and an excessively fast pace of work. 413 MEPs voted in favour, 210 against, and 29 abstained. The report is not law. The Commission has three months to present its planned actions or explain why it will not take them. This was reported by, among others, pulsHR.pl and Euronews.

The demands for employers include:

• regular assessment of psychosocial hazards and a preventive action plan,
• policies on bullying, harassment, violence, and discrimination with early detection mechanisms,
• risk assessment involving employees before major reorganisations, the introduction of remote work, or automatic monitoring,
• human oversight of algorithmic management, meaning the assignment and evaluation of work by software,
• individual return-to-work plans after health-related absence.

Parliament also wants illnesses linked to psychosocial hazards, such as burnout, to be recognised as occupational diseases. The report provides for a presumption of the occupational nature of such harm unless the employer proves otherwise. This point was criticised by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Patriots for Europe groups, which voted against it, pointing to the bureaucratic burden. The employers' organisation BusinessEurope called for the report to be rejected. It would prefer to clarify the existing Framework Directive 89/391/EEC on occupational safety and health (OSH) rather than create new regulations.

The Commission's proposal for the Quality Jobs Act (an EU law on the quality of jobs), which covers, among other things, artificial intelligence (AI) at work and occupational safety and health, is planned for December 2026. Rapporteur Estelle Ceulemans calls it an opportunity to strengthen worker protection.

In Poland, regulations will come into force on 5 November that require employers to implement an anti-bullying policy. Wioletta Żukowska-Czaplicka from the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs said in an interview with pulsHR.pl:

For HR departments, this is a signal that occupational risk assessment may in the future also cover mental strain and the effects of implementing AI tools.