Working and study environment

What can I do?

We all have a responsibility for the working environment, including you as a student. In order to prevent accidents and injuries, it is important to:

• Follow instructions
• Use protective equipment
• Report shortcomings in the working environment directly to the course leader and via the course valuation
• Report accidents and near-accidents

If there is anything in the working and study environment that you think could be improved, talk to the course leader in the first instance and report any shortcomings in the course valuations. If you do not think that your department is listening to you or if the matter is of a more general nature, such as communal teaching premises, you can contact the student health and safety representative for your study programme.

What do I do if an accident occurs during study hours?

If an accident occurs during teaching, you should report this to the course leader in the first instance. It is also important to report near-accidents, i.e. when a dangerous situation arises which could have led to an accident. SLU uses incident reporting (in Swedish) in its preventive working environment work.

As a student, you are insured for accidents during teaching time and when travelling directly between your place of residence and the university. You must be registered in LADOK in order to be covered by this insurance. The student web contains more information about student insurance.

Psychological working environment

We are each other’s study and working environment! It is important to respect other students and the teachers, even if their opinions are different to yours. Problems in the psychological working environment can be reported to the course leader, prefect or programme director of studies if they are a general departmental problem. By all means ask the study advisers for help. The student welfare groups at each study venue also work to ensure a good psychological study environment on SLU’s courses and study programmes.

Stress and high performance demands can create a negative study environment. The Student Health Centre can provide individual advice and also arranges courses on stress management, among other things.  

What does SLU do?

Work on the working environment at SLU takes place partly at local level through departmental cooperation groups and partly in four regional working environment committees (RAK):

• Alnarp (also covers Flyinge)
• Skara
• Uppsala (also covers Skinnskatteberg, Strömsholm and Grimsö)
• Umeå (also covers Wången)

At university level, there is a so-called chair conference for working environment and safety. More information about SLU’s working environment work can be found on SLU’s employee web.

Each year, SLU organises half-day training for the unions’ student health and safety representatives, which covers the most important elements of working environment legislation and how to work as a student health and safety representative.

What does the law say?

The Swedish Working Environment Act also applies to students. The Act applies to both the physical and psychological working environments. The employer must take measures to prevent health problems and accidents, provide instruction to students and employees in order to avoid risks, maintain premises, machinery and safety equipment, and investigate injuries at work.

The employer (SLU) must carry out systematic working environment work in consultation with the student health and safety representative, the employee health and safety representative and the trade unions.

Where can I find more information?

• Student health and safety representatives
• Insurance
• Student Health Centre
• I want to know more about SLU’s working environment work
• Student/Work Council at SLU
• The Swedish Working Environment Act
• Swedish Work Environment Authority