International

Workplace safety

Reviewed 2026-07-26

Use at your own risk. For education and research only. Not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in, because they change. Before you rely on these cards, ask a medical professional or a fire safety specialist to review them. Disclaimer

Do this first

Stop the work, make the area safe and report it. Finishing an unsafe job does not make it safe.

Across the European Union, employers must assess risk, act on it and be able to prove it. Directive 89/391/EEC gives every worker the right to leave a workplace in serious and imminent danger without penalty.

Step by step

Read the risk assessment for your job. If you cannot find it, ask for it. It has to exist and be accessible.
Find out who the trained first aiders and fire wardens are, and where the first aid kit and the defibrillator are kept.
Use the protective equipment provided, and report it when it is damaged, missing or the wrong size.
Report near misses in writing. A near miss is a free lesson that a serious accident would otherwise teach.
If the danger is real and immediate, stop the work, warn colleagues and inform your supervisor.
After any accident, secure the scene, give first aid and write down what happened before memories fade.
Attend the safety training the employer must provide, during working hours and at no cost to you.

Never do this

Do not bypass a guard, an interlock or an alarm because it slows the job down.
Do not work at height, in a confined space or on live electrical equipment without the required permit and training.
Do not sign a training record for training you never received.

Call emergency services if

Any accident with injury, unconsciousness, burns or heavy bleeding.
A chemical release, a fire, a collapse or a fall from height.
Anyone trapped in machinery or in a confined space.

Common questions

Can I refuse dangerous work?

In the European Union, yes. Under directive 89/391/EEC a worker who leaves a place of serious and imminent danger must not be put at a disadvantage for it. National law sets the detail.

Who has to provide first aid at work?

The employer, in proportion to the size and hazards of the workplace. That includes trained first aiders, equipment and a way to call the emergency services.