Internkontroll och systemtillsyn av arbetsmiljön i fyra svenska kommuner : En rättssociologisk studie

Sammanfattning: This sociology of law dissertation studies parts of the Swedish work environment regulations: the employer’s internal control of the work environment (nowadays systematic work environment activities) and the labour inspectorate’s auditing of internal control within the municipalities’ care of the elderly. The aim of the study is to investigate whether and to what extent the actors of the implementation process understand, are willing and able to implement internal control in the blocks of service flats studied in the selected municipalities and how it can be understood or explained. I investigate how internal control is implemented within the municipal care of the elderly. The focus of the investigation is on studying the internal control process and the mappings, risk analyses, work environment policies, action plans and personnel participation involved and on following up and evaluating the internal control. In addition, I study the auditing of the internal control in the municipalities through the labour inspectorate’s system supervision – and to some extent detail supervision – and system inspections, thus giving a picture of how the internal control process is carried out. My study of internal control and system supervision/inspection was carried out in twelve service blocks within the care of the elderly in four Swedish municipalities (the N, U, V and Ä municipalities); changes in the structure of the care of the elderly later reduced the number of service blocks to eleven. In the two labour inspectorate districts, of which the twelve service blocks and the four municipalities form part, studies are also made of the labour inspectorate’s system supervision and inspections. The implementation of internal control in the twelve service blocks during the four consecutive field studies from 1994 to 1999 constitutes my cases. I have used individual interviews, group interviews, observations, document studies and literature studies in collecting material for my four field studies. The central issue of the dissertation: “Why does the result of the implementation look the way it does?” is studied both from an actor perspective and from the perspective of political and administrative bodies and regulations. Whether the attempts at control succeed or fail is decided at the actor level by the relation between on the one hand the capabilities and priorities of the controller and on the other hand three qualities in those controlled, namely understanding, willingness and ability. The actors are also affected by different national political and administrative bodies as well as by local political and administrative bodies, which generate organization factors, activity factors, economy factors and personnel factors in municipal activities. My study shows that neither unit heads and safety representatives nor the personnel in the service blocks selected in N community understand, or are willing or able to implement internal control. Unit managers and safety representatives and to some extent the personnel of the service blocks I studied in U, V and Ä municipalities understand the internal control regulations and are willing and to some extent able to implement internal control. Two service blocks in the three municipalities cannot implement internal control.