Safety representatives at KI

At KI, you, as a safety representative, have a unique position where your role is to monitor the work environment management at the workplace.

The Swedish Work Environment Act states that the employer and the employee should work together in the work environment management. Even if the employer has the utmost responsibility for the work environment, it is a stated requirement that the organized work environment management should be run together with the employees and their representatives. 

The safety representative shall be thoroughly familiar with the work being performed in their safety area and have insight into and an interest in work environment matters. 
The safety representative must be employed at KI, but not necessarily unionized. The safety representative can only operate within his/her protection area. 

Routines for electing and appointing safety representatives

  • Safety representatives are elected by the employees at the workplace and then formally appointed by the employee organizations at the workplace (if he or she is not a member of the union Saco will appoint).
  • As a rule, the election of safety representatives is performed via an open or closed ballot.
  • Within KI the local safety representative or other initiator, e.g. the work environment group at the department, bring the personnel at the workplace (safety area) together and elect a safety representative.
  • A safety area can include everything from one or several departments/equivalent to a specific working group or a geographical area such as a corridor or floor of a building.
  • The safety representative represents all employees within the safety area (regardless of they are a member of a union or not).
  • Information about the safety representative election shall be sent to all concerned at the workplace well in advance of the election. The election process during the current mandate period follows the same routine.

Mandate period

Mandate period is three years and applies uniformly throughout KI. Employees who have been appointed as safety representative can enter or leave their post at any time during the current mandate period. The chief safety representative shall inform the workplace when the mandate period is drawing to a close and when it is time to elect a new safety representative.

Registration of safety representatives

Once the SR is elected and the digital form (see below) is submitted, the registration process will begin. The Chief Safety Representative and our trade unions will then automatically receive a notification that a new SR has been elected. The unions then formally appoint the safety representative and notify the Chief Safety Representative of the decision. Once the safety representative is formally appointed, the Chief Safety Representative notifies the new safety representative in writing and a notification is sent to the employer (KI), in this case to the central HR department for registration. Only when the safety representative is clearly notified/registered with the employer (KI) is he/she entitled to act in the role, in accordance with the Work Environment Act. Please note that locally, the safety representative notifies his/her immediate supervisor himself/herself. Also remember to inform and announce the protection organisation (template available for this).

Registration safety representative

NOTE! The appointment requires that the person is within the organisation.

Election of chief safety representatives

The chief safety representative is elected by the safety representatives for the same term of office as the other local safety representatives. The protection areas of the three KI chief safety representatives are divided as follows:

Solna: KI units at Campus Solna and ScilifeLab

North: KI units at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Torsplan, SÖS, DS and Liljeholmen.

South: KI units at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge and Campus Flemingsberg.

For further information, please contact the chief safety representatives.

Chief safety representative

When there are several safety representatives at a workplace, one of them shall be elected chief safety representative. The tasks of this person are to coordinate the activities of the safety representatives and to represent the safety representatives in certain issues. The chief safety representative has activities that comprise the entire workplace and shall, for example, work with issues involving more than one safety area.

Venus Azhary

KI units at Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Torsplan, SÖS, DS

Matteo Pedrelli

KI units at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, KI Campus Flemingsberg

Bodil Moberg

KI units at Campus Solna 

Emma Khan 

KI units at Campus Solna

Safety representative for students

The students are also entitled to elect persons to represent them on issues involving the work environment: the student safety representative and the doctoral student ombudsman. The Medical Students' Union and the Student union of Odontology elects two representatives to represent the students on the Work Environment Committee. For more information, please contact the Medical Students’ Union or the Student union of Odontology.

Information on current safety representatives at KI is kept by Patrik Emanuelsson or by the chief safety representative.

Training programs 

According to the Swedish Work Environment Act, all safety representatives are entitled to basic health and safety training. At KI, all safety representatives are therefore encouraged to attend the Basic Work Environment Training program every five years.  

As a safety representative, you can choose to take the training in Swedish or English.  

All work environment training programs can be found here: Work environment training 

Note! The English version is provided only when needed. Please contact your main safety officer and register your interest. 

PE
Content reviewer:
13-08-2024