Health and safety
Article 30
1. The sending organisation shall have in place an organisational health and safety policy that shall be suitable and applicable for EU Aid Volunteers and, where necessary, adapted, including guidelines on: (a) personal health, such as physical health (disease preventions, eating and sleeping advice, risk awareness on climate and geographical hazards, access to treatment); (b) mental health (advice on work-life balance, stress management, coping mechanisms and relaxation methods, points of contact for psychosocial support). 2. Based on the sending organisation's organisational health and safety policy, sending and hosting organisations shall jointly develop a comprehensive set of health and safety policies and guidelines to meet their duty of care obligations and to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of EU Aid Volunteers. 3. As part of the risk assessment referred to in Article 28(3) and before defining the task assignment, sending and hosting organisations shall jointly assess whether the placement provides safe and secure working and living conditions for the EU Aid Volunteer based on the basis of the indicators set out in point 7 of Annex I. 4. The sending organisation shall ensure that the EU Aid Volunteer is covered, as a minimum, by comprehensive medical and travel insurance provisions in accordance with Article 24. 5. During the induction, the sending organisation shall brief the EU Aid Volunteer on the health and safety policies and guidelines referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, including diseases, first aid support, maintenance for all locations, maintenance of vehicle and equipment, workstations, work-life balance, health and security incidents, procedure for medical evacuation. 6. The sending organisation shall ensure that the EU Aid Volunteer completes a thorough medical check-up prior to departure, and provide the recommended medication and vaccinations for the risks in the country of deployment and equipment, such as first aid and mosquito kits, where necessary. 7. The hosting organisation shall ensure that duty of care is integrated in the day-to-day volunteer management and, during the induction, provide the EU Aid Volunteer with: (a) up-to-date information on local resources concerning health and safety such as contact details of doctors, hospitals, paramedical services; (b) guidance on local customs and norms as part of their in-country briefing in order to limit risks to safety and to facilitate integration. 8. The sending organisation shall facilitate a post-deployment medical check upon the return of the EU Aid Volunteer and offer psychosocial debriefing session(s) or counselling support as part of the debriefing process. The sending and hosting organisations shall promote the network for the EU Aid Volunteers initiative as an alternative support mechanism before, during and after the deployment.