It is important to analyze whether there is a connection between an illness and the work activities or the conditions in that work environment, so that the nature of the work can be established as the root cause of the illness in question. In this way, other employees can be protected against that illness or disease.
Occupational illness refers to an illness caused by work activities or conditions in the work environment.
Workplace-related illnesses refers to an illness or medical condition that occurs, worsens or is prolonged due to work activities or conditions in the work environment, but is not considered to be caused directly by work or conditions in the work environment.
The Icelandic Health Insurance has the role of assessing whether a disease listed in Annex I to the Regulation on occupational diseases was caused by work or conditions in the work environment.
Examples of occupational diseases are hearing loss caused by noise pollution in the workplace, respiratory diseases, skin diseases and diseases related to asbestos pollution.
Employees Report Occupational Illnesses or Workplace-Related Illnesses
Staff who consider themselves to be suffering from an occupational disease or a workplace-related illness must notify the employer and consult a doctor. It is important to inform the employer as soon as possible when symptoms appear in order to give them the opportunity to take measures necessary to prevent potential risk factors.
The Employer Keeps a Record of Occupational Illnesses and Incidents That Can Cause Damage to Health
The employer must keep a record of the illnesses that they have reason to suspect, or know, are rooted in specific work being done or other conditions in the workplace. They must also record incidents that could cause damage to health, such as chemical pollution that can have a detrimental effect on human health.
Risk assessment and prevention can prevent occupational illnesses and workplace-related illnesses. When an employee’s illness is suspected to be related to the work environment, it is important that the employer responds by identifying possible causes and takes the necessary precautions to prevent further spread of the illness within the employee group.
The Icelandic Health Insurance determines whether a disease is recognised as an occupational disease
The Icelandic Health Insurance (Sjúkratryggingar Íslands) is responsible for determining whether a disease diagnosed in an individual qualifies as a recognised occupational disease and, consequently, whether the individual is entitled to compensation under the Act on Accident Insurance under the Social Security System, as amended, and Regulation No. 390/2023 on Occupational Diseases.
This includes assessing whether the statutory conditions regarding the causal relationship between the disease and the individual's working environment are met and, accordingly, whether the disease can be recognised as an occupational disease.
To simplify the administration of these cases and ensure that cases do not need to be reported to more than one public authority, the Icelandic Health Insurance forwards information to the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health (AOSH) on cases in which diseases have been recognised as occupational diseases, in accordance with Article 79(4) of the Act on Working Environment, Health and Safety in Workplaces.
The AOSH registers occupational diseases and work-related diseases
Under Act No. 46/1980 on Working Environment, Health and Safety in Workplaces, the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health (AOSH) has a defined preventive role. As part of this role, it maintains a register of recognised occupational diseases in Iceland to provide a comprehensive overview of the incidence, distribution and trends of occupational diseases across different sectors and occupations.
The primary objective of maintaining this register is prevention. The information collected supports measures aimed at preventing occupational diseases from recurring in workplaces and across individual sectors
List of occupational diseases
The Occupational Diseases Regulation deals with the causal relationship between a disease and the working environment and also contains a list of diseases that can be considered occupational diseases when the Icelandic Health Insurance assesses that they were caused by work or the working environment.
Here are also guidelines from the European Union on criteria for diagnosing occupational diseases.
Service provider
Administration of Occupational Safety and Health