text: **3.5 Worker groups with specific risks and needs**
  Already in 1996 the European Commission identified in its ‘Guidance on Risk Assessment at Work’95 
  **‘sensitive risk groups’**as workers with disabilities, young and old workers, pregnant and nursing 
  mothers, and untrained or inexperienced workers including temporary or migrant workers. Often these 
  groups are addressed as ‘Vulnerable groups’ 96 or ‘Groups at risk’. 97 Other institutions and authors 
  include older workers, women, self-employed or low-qualified workers, and the ILO includes also 
  workers in the informal economy. All these ‘assignments’ refer either**to individual (endogenous)**
  **characteristics**or to the**position on the labour market**. 
  
  The scientific literature on the group-related particular risks for health and safety at work is very broad. 
  EU-OSHA and practically all national and international OSH organisations have published studies and 
  provided fact sheets and guidance documents. An overview on such publications shows that awareness, 
  knowledge and policies in and outside enterprises have substantially developed and increased, but 
  there is less evidence about progress in practice. 
  
  The textbox below shows some of these specific characteristics for five groups: women, migrants, low- 
  qualified workers, ageing workers and young workers. The Directorate-General for Internal Policies of 
  the Union compiled this in 2010, based on several EU and OECD background documents. 98 