The social security institution must have a legal and financial mandate for its role as a workplace health promoter. The mandate defines the institution’s scope of action and allows individualized services as well as community-based workplace health promotion activities. The mandate establishes a statutory right to health promotion services for insured persons. It may also state that a specified amount of the social health insurance budget may be used for (workplace) health promotion.

This part describes the basic elements that should be in place to enable social security institutions to develop workplace health promotion activities:

• Legal framework;
• Definition of the role of the social security institution;
• Structures for workplace health promotion.

The guidance that follows is organized in three parts:

Part A, Basic Conditions for Workplace Health Promotion, deals with the structural issues to be addressed so that social security institutions can encourage and enable their clients – public and private sector enterprises and organizations – to develop comprehensive approaches to workplace health promotion.

In most cases, social security institutions are not legally required to become involved in workplace health promotion (WHP). However, there are a number of compelling reasons to do so, including the following.

The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) defines workplace health promotion (WHP) as “the combined efforts of employers, employees and society to improve the health and well-being of people at work”.

The information contained in these guidelines will provide social security institutions with a framework for action. In essence, they are a “how to” manual for developing and implementing sustainable, needs-based workplace health promotion (WHP) programmes in client organizations, be they private or public sector enterprises, agencies or organizations. The processes and procedures described are based on established good practice.

Guidance focuses on two key areas:

This set of guidelines has been developed to help social security institutions support and assist their “clients” – public and private sector enterprises and organizations – to develop comprehensive workplace health promotion (WHP) programmes.

The ISSA Guidelines for Social Security Administration were prepared by the ISSA General Secretariat with the ISSA technical commissions.

The institution believes that service quality has no end point but can always be improved.

In all sectors of the economy, service standards are constantly improving. Social security institutions will need to respond as people demand levels of service comparable to those they receive elsewhere.