Labour inspections are critical to promote compliance with occupational safety and health regulations. The profound transformations in the workplace, due to new technologies and work arrangements, has opened the discussion on the role of Labour Inspectorates in this changing world of work.

This discussion paper reviews labour inspection and different systems of sanctions in the EU. It offers best practices for labour inspectors to persuade enterprises to improve compliance, underlining the effectiveness of balancing persuasion and enforcement during inspection visits.

The paper also highlights the need for standardised assessment of workplace safety and proposes means for measuring.