EU Parliament demands new law on psychosocial risks and workplace stress

European Parliament calls on Commission to draft law on psychosocial risks

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) has adopted a series of recommendations paving the way for a new EU legislative proposal on the protection of workers from work-related psychosocial risks and stress. The request for a legislative initiative was adopted by 41 votes in favour, 12 against, with 4 abstentions.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 840,000 people die each year from health conditions linked to psychosocial risks. The European Parliament demands that work-related psychosocial risks be explicitly recognised as occupational diseases, and that employers be given binding obligations to protect both mental and physical health and to ensure safe and dignified working conditions.

Key points of the recommendations

The proposal contains a number of concrete requirements for employers:

• Policies on violence and harassment: Employers must adopt and implement policies defining and prohibiting violence, harassment, bullying and discriminatory behaviour that undermines workers' dignity or health. Early detection mechanisms and risk-based prevention protocols for third-party violence are also required.

• Psychosocial risk assessment and action plan: Employers must carry out regular psychosocial risk assessments covering factors such as excessive workload and high work intensity, and adopt action plans with concrete measures. Significant restructuring – including the introduction of teleworking arrangements or automated decision-making and monitoring systems – must be subject to a prior psychosocial risk assessment in cooperation with workers and their representatives.

• Algorithmic systems and right to disconnect: Employers must ensure that the introduction of algorithmic systems does not impose excessive burden or monitoring on workers, and that human oversight is always guaranteed. MEPs reaffirm workers' right to disconnect from work.

• Support for returning to work: Workers who have been absent due to work-related psychosocial risks must have the right to a supported and sustainable return to work. Employers are recommended to establish individual return-to-work plans specifying adjustments to working time, work organisation, tasks and workload.

• Burden of proof on employers: Where a worker establishes that they have suffered injury or damage to health due to exposure to work-related psychosocial risk factors, the injury or damage is presumed to be work-related unless the employer demonstrates otherwise.

Economic and political dimensions

Rapporteur Estelle Ceulemans (S&D, BE) stressed that the problem has been dramatically exacerbated by the increasing use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the workplace.

"This report represents a step forward, as it asks the European Commission for a legislative proposal to tackle burnout, depression, stress, and harassment. The prevalence of these issues is skyrocketing across Europe and are exacerbated by the increasing use of digital technologies and AI in the workplace. Addressing these structural work-related problems is not only an occupational health obligation but also an economic issue, costing €100 billion annually for work-related depression in the EU."

Next steps

Parliament is expected to vote on the legislative initiative during its October 2026 plenary session. The Commission will then have three months to reply – either by informing Parliament of the steps it plans to take or by providing a reasoned refusal to propose a legislative initiative. Prior to the proposal itself, an impact assessment including an evaluation of existing legislation must be carried out.

Further information is available on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the procedural file.