Requirements in the EU

European Union

EU obligations arrive as directives that each member state transposes into its own statute, so the requirement is common but the implementing law is local. Greece is shown here as the worked example, since it is where our hospitality curriculum is built. Every requirement below gates certification for the roles it applies to.

The mandatory layer

What applies here, and what satisfies it

Each requirement below gates certification for the functions it covers. Nobody completes a role path in EU without clearing the items that apply to them first.

Regulation

Health & safety management

Framework Directive 89/391/EEC

Employers must assess risk, put preventive measures in place, and ensure every worker receives adequate safety training on recruitment, on transfer, and when new equipment or technology is introduced. Training must happen during working hours and at no cost to the worker.

Applies to: All employers, all workers
Satisfied by: Health & Safety Fundamentals
Regulation

Fire safety & evacuation

National fire safety law

Premises must have evacuation procedures, designated responsibilities and staff who know how to execute them. Requirements attach to the building and its occupancy, not to the size of the employer.

Applies to: All premises
Satisfied by: Fire Safety & Emergency Evacuation
Regulation

Food hygiene

Regulation (EC) 852/2004

Food business operators must ensure that anyone handling food is supervised, instructed and trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work, and that those responsible for the HACCP procedure have received adequate training.

Applies to: Any business handling food
Satisfied by: HACCP / Food Hygiene
Regulation

Data protection

GDPR (EU) 2016/679

Personal data must be processed lawfully and securely, with staff who handle it aware of their obligations. Article 8 sets a separate consent age for children that varies between member states, so youth-facing organizations need a distinct approach rather than a reused adult policy.

Applies to: Anyone processing personal data
Satisfied by: Guest Privacy & Data Handling
Regulation

Internal reporting channel

Directive (EU) 2019/1937

Organizations with 50 or more workers must operate an internal reporting channel, acknowledge reports within seven days, respond within three months, record every report including verbal ones, and prohibit retaliation. Greece transposed this as Ν.4990/2022, which also requires a formally appointed Officer.

Applies to: 50+ workers, and certain sectors at any size
Satisfied by: Whistleblower / Incident Reporting Awareness
Regulation

Child-contact screening

Directive 2011/93/EU, Article 10

Employers recruiting for professional or organised voluntary work involving direct and regular contact with children are entitled to request criminal conviction information for child sexual offences and any resulting disqualification. Convictions in other member states are exchanged through ECRIS.

Applies to: Any role with direct, regular child contact
Satisfied by: Child protection & safeguarding paths
Regulation

Workplace harassment

Ν.4808/2021 (ILO Convention 190)

Greece has transposed ILO Convention 190, requiring employers to adopt a policy against violence and harassment, to operate a procedure for receiving and examining complaints, and to designate a person responsible for it.

Applies to: Employers in Greece
Satisfied by: Anti-Harassment / Workplace Conduct
Best practice

Accessibility

Directive (EU) 2019/882

The European Accessibility Act applies from June 2025 to in-scope products and services, covering facility and digital accessibility. Staff training is how those obligations are met at the point of service: train guest-facing staff to handle accessibility requests.

Applies to: In-scope products and services
Satisfied by: Accessibility Staff Training

This summary is built from publicly available regulatory sources and is not legal advice. It is not a determination that a given requirement does or does not apply to your organization, and requirements change. Confirm applicability with local legal counsel.

Who this applies to

Industries and functions in EU

The requirement set is decided by two things: the cluster your business sits in, and the function each person performs. The same method applies in all three jurisdictions — only the statutes underneath change.

By cluster

Which relationship your people are in decides which mandatory layer they carry.

Guest-Facing — 7 industries

  • Hospitality
  • Restaurants & F&B
  • Fitness & wellness
  • Salons & spas
  • Retail
  • Event venues
  • Property management

Youth-Facing — 16 industries

  • Sports
  • Childcare
  • Tutoring
  • Camps
  • After-school
  • Nannies
  • Au pairs
  • Homeschool co-ops
  • Driving instruction
  • Scouting & faith youth
  • Music, art & dance
  • Martial arts
  • Swim schools
  • Language immersion
  • Foster & group homes
  • Youth mentorship

By function

Every function resolves to one of two seats, on a single test: direct contact with guests, minors, cash or confidential records.

Standard seat

  • Accounting & Finance
  • IT / Systems
  • Procurement
  • Engineering & Maintenance
  • HR (admin)

High-contact seat

  • Front Office
  • Food & Beverage
  • Housekeeping
  • Loss Prevention
  • Spa & Wellness
  • Sales & Marketing
  • Revenue Management

Sports functions — Employee, Manager & Supervisor, Contractor, and Non-Employee or Volunteer with Access to Minors — resolve the same way. Access to minors puts a function in the high-contact seat regardless of employment status.

Other jurisdictions

Operating in more than one?

Groups running across borders get one process built to the strictest applicable standard, rather than three parallel programmes that drift apart. Tell us where you operate and we will map it.