ISO 45003

Content and structure of the standard

ISO 45003 follows the high-level structure of management system standards and expands upon each of the sections of ISO 45001 for psychosocial risks: context of the organization, leadership and participation, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation, and improvement. In the planning section, it identifies three main groups of psychosocial hazards: those related to how work is organized (roles, workload and pace, schedules, control and autonomy, job security, organizational changes, support, leadership, culture, recognition, professional development, and work-life balance); social factors at work (interpersonal relationships, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, isolated or remote work, and contact with the public); and the work environment, equipment, and hazardous tasks (physical conditions, equipment, and exposure to traumatic situations).

For each phase, the standard offers practical guidance: how to involve senior management and define responsibilities, how to consult and involve workers, how to assess risks with appropriate tools (surveys, interviews, focus groups, data on absenteeism, turnover, incidents), how to prioritize control measures following the hierarchy (eliminating or redesigning the work before acting on the person), how to manage incidents and situations of harassment or violence, how to support rehabilitation and return to work, and how to measure effectiveness with proactive and reactive indicators.

The standard emphasizes confidentiality and data protection in the collection of information on psychological health, the need for measures to focus on working conditions and not just individual habits, and the integration of psychosocial management with the management of other risks, equality, training, and change management.

Relationship with ISO 45001 and with legislation

• Complement to ISO 45001. ISO 45003 elaborates on how to apply the requirements of ISO 45001 to psychosocial risks; an organization certified to ISO 45001 can use it to strengthen that part of the system.
• Not certifiable. It is a guidelines standard (type B): it does not contain auditable requirements and does not lead to its own certificate, although its application may be evidenced in ISO 45001 audits.
• Legal compliance. In Spain, Law 31/1995 requires the assessment and control of psychosocial risks; ISO 45003 does not replace recognized assessment methods or consultation and participation obligations, but rather helps to organize them.
• Assessment methods. The standard does not impose a specific method; in Spain, validated methods such as the INSST F-PSICO or CoPsoQ-ISTAS21 are used, which fit into the assessment phase of the standard.
• Harassment and violence. The guidelines of the standard on violence and harassment are linked to the mandatory protocols for the prevention of sexual harassment and harassment based on sex and to ILO Convention 190.
• Equality and work-life balance. Measures on work-life balance and on discrimination are linked to equality plans and the right to right to disconnect .
• Other references. The standard is consistent with the World Health Organization’s guidelines on mental health at work and with the European Union’s strategic framework on safety and health.

Benefits and application conditions

• Systematic approach. It transforms psychosocial management into a process with responsibilities, planning, indicators and review, instead of isolated actions.
• Leadership. Requires visible commitment from senior management and healthy leadership skills from managers.
• Participation. The consultation and participation of workers and their representatives is a condition of effectiveness and a legal obligation.
• Prioritize organizational measures. Apply the hierarchy of controls: redesign work, organization, and leadership before individual programs.
• Indicators. Combines proactive indicators (evaluations, training, participation) and reactive indicators (absenteeism, turnover, incidents, complaints).
• Integration. It is integrated with quality management, equality, training and change management, and with health surveillance.
• Scalability. It is applicable to organizations of any size and sector, with adaptation of the depth and tools.

Organizational application: how to use ISO 45003

1. Obtain commitment from senior management and define responsibilities for psychosocial management within the health and safety management system.
2. Analyze the context: staff characteristics, sectors and positions, absenteeism data, turnover, incidents and previous evaluations, and applicable legal requirements.
3. Identify the psychosocial hazards of the three groups of the standard with the participation of the workers and assess the risks with a validated method, guaranteeing confidentiality.
4. Plan control measures prioritizing the redesign of work, organization and leadership, with responsibilities, deadlines and resources.
5. Establish procedures for incidents, violence and harassment, and for support and return to work following psychological health problems.
6. Train managers, supervisors and staff, and communicate the measures and consultation channels.
7. Measure with proactive and reactive indicators, audit internally, review by management, and continuously improve.

Preventive management software allows for documenting hazard identification and psychosocial assessment, planning and monitoring measures, recording training and consultation, managing incidents, and analyzing indicators with traceability, consistent with the ISO 45001 structure.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Presenting ISO 45003 as a certification or as a substitute for the legally required psychosocial risk assessment .
2. Applying the rule without the participation of workers or their representatives.
3. Focusing measures on individual welfare programs without redesigning the organization of work.
4. Collecting information on psychological health without guarantees of confidentiality and data protection.
5. Do not involve senior management or train managers.
6. Not measuring effectiveness or integrating psychosocial management into management review.

The detailed content of the standard can be found in the official text of ISO 45003:2021 and in its version adopted by UNE; this sheet is for informational purposes.

Regulatory and reference framework

• ISO 45003:2021 . Occupational health and safety management. Psychological health and safety at work. Guidelines for the management of psychosocial risks.
• ISO 45001:2018 . Occupational health and safety management systems. Requirements with guidance for use.
• Law 31/1995, of November 8. Law on the Prevention of Occupational Risks; risk assessment, planning, consultation and participation.
• Royal Decree 39/1997, of January 17. Regulation of Prevention Services; risk assessment and planning of preventive activity.
• WHO Guidelines on Mental Health at Work (2022) . Recommendations on organizational and individual interventions.
• INSST. Psychosocial risks . INSST thematic portal with methods, tools and documentation.

ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment, ratified by Spain, and the protocols for the prevention of harassment complete the framework applicable to social factors at work.