Safety representatives quickly emerged during the 1900s because accidents were common workplaces in This contributed to the rapid emergence of safety representatives. Safety representatives are appointed at workplaces to contribute to a satisfactory working environment. There are different forms of safety representatives and all of them ill health and accidents at work. work to reduce the risks of In the Swedish Work Environment Act there is a whole chapter on safety representatives, where the representatives' assignments and rights and obligations appear. The most important cornerstone of the safety re presentative's activities is collaboration with the employer, as well as representing other employees. Safety representatives also have support in their assignment based on other Swedish laws. Despite the fact that the representatives have support in law, there are still obstacles in the activities of safety representatives.

Based on case law, safety representatives are often hindered in their duties by employers or supervisory staff. It is common for safety representatives, for example, not to allow to par ticipate in meetings that deal with the work environment. Safety representatives also have the right to prohibit dangerous work, but there are requirements that must be met in order to be able to apply this right. It is important for safety representatives to have the knowledge required for the assignment. An important piece of the puzzle is that the employer is aware of it obligations and entails good cooperation with the safety representative .