MEPs Push EU Mental Health Law

The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee has called for new EU legislation to protect workers from psychosocial risks, including work-related stress, burnout, harassment and excessive workloads. The recommendations were adopted on Sept. 2 by 41 votes to 12, with four abstentions.

The proposed law would establish minimum requirements for preventing and reducing psychosocial risks and would require employers to protect workers’ mental and physical health. MEPs also urged employers to adopt policies addressing violence, harassment, bullying and discriminatory conduct, along with early detection measures and prevention protocols for violence involving third parties.

Under the recommendations, employers would regularly assess psychosocial risks and develop action plans, including before major workplace reorganisations or the introduction of automated decision-making and monitoring systems. MEPs said workers should retain human oversight, avoid excessive algorithmic monitoring and have the right to disconnect from work.

The committee also proposed supported return-to-work plans for employees absent because of psychosocial risks. It said employers should bear responsibility for disproving a presumed link between workplace conditions and health damage once a worker establishes exposure to relevant risk factors. Parliament is expected to vote on the initiative during its October 2026 plenary session, after which the European Commission would have three months to respond.