What does it mean to be a Student Safety Officer (SSO)?

As the Student Health and Safety Representative for Uppsala Student Union, you will be the eyes and ears of the Student Union and Faculty Coordinators on health and safety issues. This concerns both the psychosocial work environment, such as bullying or poor treatment by the department, and the physical work environment, such as lighting and ventilation in halls. The tasks may include:

• Report continuously on physical and psychosocial work environment problems to the Faculty Coordinator.
• Participation in the annual protection round. A walk around together with the student head safety officer, other SSOs, the intendant and others -
• Be a reference when students' wishes are to be expressed, for example in the case of refurbishments or other work environment initiatives.

In exchange, you will have the opportunity to participate in training courses on health and safety at work, valuable experience in representing students and experience of working with university staff. This is a good asset and you will receive a certificate of having been a safety representative.

Who are your contacts at the university?

The Intentententurstyrelsen is the group within the university that works on the physical working environment. The Board consists of all the heads of department on a campus, as well as some administrative staff, the Bursar and student representatives. It is here, or in direct contact with the Bursar, that the Principal Health and Safety Officer will often raise any health and safety concerns that you have raised. Each department has a staff health and safety representative who may be useful to contact, and sometimes there is also a health and safety group that deals with such issues for the department. The head of department has ultimate responsibility for the health and safety at work in the department, but may delegate tasks to others.

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