The legal framework, which is designed to afford protection to people at work, must be properly administered and effectively applied if the purpose of the regulatory legislation is to be achieved. The essential function of an inspectorate is to determine compliance with the legislation by a programme of planned inspections and investigations at the workplace.

However, the function of a labour inspectorate could also be seen as a mean of progress. By providing more effective and efficient services, the Inspectorates could play a major role to improve the working conditions as well as the relations and social dialogue between employers, workers and government services, allowing an improved ground for sustainable socio-economic development. In the last years, labour inspection systems have evolved through cooperative relationships and mechanisms with a multitude of economic, social and judicial partners, and with universities and research centres at the national level (as well as at the regional and international levels) to give more appropriate responses to the new challenges to the world of work.

The efficiency and effectiveness of the labour inspection is influenced by many factors at different levels: at policy level (the acting social protection regulations, the enforcement policy, powers and status given to the inspectors, sanctions schemes and procedures); the organizational structure (internal structure, institutional co-ordination and support); the operational functioning (procedures, goals and objectives, consistency and frequency of the inspections, targeting and programming of the visits, performance evaluation procedures) as well as the quantity and quality of the available means (human, material and informational resources).

In the industrialized countries, the role of labour inspection has been gradually changing over the last ten to 15 years, particularly as a result of the increased responsibility taken by enterprises with respect to occupational health and safety. Mechanisms for the self-evaluation of occupational hazards have been implemented to this end and labour inspection can now concentrate on preventative and advisory activities. Under this new approach, some of the functions and activities performed by labour inspectors are:

·       inspection of the functioning of the safety and health management system at the enterprise;

·       control of machinery, processes, materials before they are taken to use at the enterprise, and checking of plans and installations at the design stage;

·       promotion of such technologies that are inherently safe or where workers are not at all exposed to hazards.

  On the basis of International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles and requirements as well as other international organizations and the best practices of selected European Union countries, several models and experiences will be presented, analysed and discussed into the course.

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