The labour inspection of Belgium, the United Kingdom and Sweden in a comparative perspective

This limited comparative study on labour inspection in Belgium, the United Kingdom and Sweden is dominated by a criminological approach. This is not an obvious point of view. Labour inspectorates tend to avoid criminal law and the criminal justice system to resolve occupational health and safety problems. Enforcing occupational health and safety standards, however, should not be considered as a merely technical matter. The increasing international popularity of occupational health and safety management schemes at enterprise level coexists with the growing European awareness that labour inspectorates will have to come down hard on employers who breach legislation that protects workers. Quality of work has become a political priority again and it may affect future inspection efforts considerably. The final outcome remains unclear at the moment, but the functions of labour inspection have unmistakably been set in motion. Administrative authorities appear to play an important role in this, because they provide the necessary impetus with regard to steering. Much attention is paid to the link between the institutional framework on the one hand and law enforcement strategies on the other.