Safety representatives

Employees have the right to appoint a safety representative at all workplaces with more than five employees. Safety representatives are elected by staff and appointed by the union they are a member of. They represent the employees in work environment matters at the department/division, in consultation with the employer. The period of office is three years, usually ending on 31 October. 

Organisation and location

Safety representatives at SLU are organised by geographical location. At each site, work is coordinated by one or more chief safety representatives. The organisation of chief safety representatives is currently under review.

Purpose and scope of tasks

Safety representatives represent the employees at a department/division and handle work environment matters together with the employer. They take part in health and safety inspections. They are elected by the employees and appointed by the unions. They monitor the work environment at their place of work, in cooperation with the employer. They have the right to spend the time needed on these tasks; this is financed through their organisational unit’s budget. Read more about the role of safety representatives at the website of the Swedish Work Environment Authority.

Tasks of the chief safety representative

The chief safety representative within an organisational unit coordinates the safety representatives at the departments/divisions. One chief safety representative is a member of the regional work environment committee (RAK). The chief safety representatives are elected by the safety representatives and appointed by their union. If an organisational unit has no safety representative, a chief safety representative can take on this role. Chief safety representatives are funded centrally corresponding to 10 per cent.

Chief safety representatives at SLU:

• Helena Königsson, OFR/ST, Umeå, phone 090-78 68 257, email
• Christina Öberg, Seko, Uppsala (UDS), phone 018-67 29 81, email
• Carl-Stefan von Engeström, SACO-S, Uppsala (Ulls hus), phone 018-67 22 80, email
• Åsa Lidenvik, Seko, Uppsala (VHC, Lövsta), phone 018-671787, email
• Ola Renman, SACO-S, Uppsala (Ultuna 3) phone 010-47 84 216, email
• Lars Hagtorn, SACO-S, Alnarp, phone 040-41 53 31, email
• Jane Geismar, OFR/ST, Skara, phone 051-16 71 28, email

Student safety representatives

Each students’ union must have a safety representative. They play an important role, acting as a link between students and the university in the efforts to create a good study and work environment. Student safety representatives can take part in health and safety inspections on teaching premises and can communicate any concerns the students  may have. The accountable authority is responsible for ensuring that students are aware of their right to elect a safety representative. There is more information on student safety representatives on the student web.

Notifying the appointment of a new safety representative

Information about new safety representatives must be submitted using the form for this purpose. When a new chief safety representative is elected, this notification should include an extract of the minutes from the meeting where the representative was elected. The safety representative’s union sends the completed form to the Division of Human Resources at SLU.

Training for safety representatives

The Division of Human Resources offers in-house training for safety representatives employed at SLU and recommends that all safety representatives take this training. It covers laws and regulations in the field of work environment, the role of safety representatives, the technical/physical/psychosocial work environment and risk management. The training is coordinated centrally and all new safety representatives will be invited when a training session is offered.  Apply for training

For student safety representatives, SLU arranges a half-day training annually, covering central aspects of work environment legislation and the role of safety representatives.