Norway’s labour inspectorate, Arbeidstilsynet, oversees the hospitality and hotel sector in Norway. Findings from 180 inspections in 2026 show that many businesses fail to properly map their occupational risks, even though those risks can lead to health problems among staff.
What did the labour inspectorate find?
Arbeidstilsynet has carried out 180 inspections so far this year in the accommodation and food service sector, focusing on whether businesses work systematically to prevent musculoskeletal and psychological complaints among employees. The findings are bleak: at more than 80 percent of the inspections, the regulator identified a breach of working-environment legislation. More than 6 in 10 inspections involved violations relating to risk assessment and the associated measures; these analyses were often not specific enough to determine effective measures. Nearly 4 in 10 inspections found violations concerning procedures for reporting and following up on deviations.
Director Ingvill Kvernmo of Arbeidstilsynet states that many businesses fail to properly map and assess the risk factors for health problems, and that many businesses lack clear procedures for reporting and following up on deviations. According to her, businesses need to understand the risks in their own day-to-day practice; this results in safer workplaces, fewer health complaints and less sickness absence.
Why is the hospitality sector particularly high-risk?
According to Arbeidstilsynet, the sector is characterised by many small businesses, high staff turnover and periods of heavy workload, with relatively many young and foreign workers. Risk factors include a high work pace, shift and night work, physically demanding work, difficult customer situations and the risk of violence, threats or unwanted sexual attention. The inspectorate points out that sexual harassment is a known problem, while many businesses have no policy to prevent or respond to it.
What should employers do?
Arbeidstilsynet stresses that isolated measures, such as an ergonomics course for a hotel cleaner, achieve little if working methods, equipment and workload remain unchanged. The same logic applies to psychosocial risks: training alone is not enough without structural adjustments. The regulator is carrying out more inspections in the sector this year and is inviting managers, safety representatives and union representatives to digital information sessions in October 2026, offering practical tips for preventive occupational health and safety policy. The report does not mention any fine or deadline.
Context
European research also points to concerns in this sector. According to the ESENER survey by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), around 71 percent of establishments in the EU-27 accommodation and food service sector carry out risk assessments regularly, slightly below the all-sector average of 75 percent. EU-OSHA cites repetitive movements and lifting or moving heavy loads as key risk factors in the sector. The problems identified by Arbeidstilsynet in Norway are therefore not an isolated case.
For HSE professionals worldwide, this Norwegian inspection survey illustrates a recurring pattern in the hospitality and hotel industry: risk assessments that are too generic or too superficial, and deviation-reporting procedures that are missing or not used. Because the sector everywhere is characterised by small establishments, high staff turnover, peak workloads and a young, diverse workforce, concrete, up-to-date risk assessments and working procedures for reporting incidents and unwanted behaviour are relevant for every organisation in accommodation and food service, regardless of country.
Source: Arbeidstilsynet strengthens efforts for a better working environment in the accommodation and food service industry, 8 October 2026
Additional research: EU-OSHA, Accommodation and food service activities: evidence from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER)
