The Dutch Working Conditions Legislation
Update: 5-1-2012
The Working Conditions legislation in the Netherlands can be found in:
- The Working Conditions Act. General provisions for employers and employees how to deal with occupational safety and health, for example to have a written OSH-policy or a risk inventory. The Act gives certain powers to the Labour Inspectorate, for example to force the employer to stop the work.
Full text version 5-1-2012 of the Working Conditions Act >> pdf and word
Highlights and recent changes >> - The Working Conditions Decree. This Decree covers a wide range of specific occupational health and safety topics, such as provisions on work places, dangerous substances, noise, vibrations etc.
Full text version 5-1-2012 of the Working Conditions Decree >> pdf and word
Highlights and recent changes >> - The Working Conditions Regulation. Very specific provisions which are changing relatively fast. For example the occupational exposure limit for dangerous substances.
Full text version 9-3-2012 of the Working Conditions Regulation (excluding annexes) >> pdf and word
Highlights and recent changes >> - Major Accidents Legislation. The Major Accidents Decree and Regulation deal with legislation in the field of Major Accidents related to dangerous substances.
Full text version 5-1-2012 of the Major Accidents Risks Decree >> pdf and word
Full text version 5-1-2012 of the Hazards of Major Accidents Regulation>> pdf and word
Some typical elements in the Dutch occupational safety and health legislation:
- The employer is obliged to contract an occupational safety and health service or an occupational physician. The OSH-service or the occupational physician has to perform four tasks for the employer:
- Assisting employees who are not able to work because of illness;
- Reviewing the risk assessment and evaluation;
- Conduction the periodic occupational health examination;
- Conduction the pre-employment medical examination.
Especially task number 1 is important. Because in the Netherlands the social security system obliges the employer to pay at least 70% of the salary of the employee who has fallen ill. So, it’s very costly for an employer not to pay attention to the assistance of sick employees by an OSH-service or an occupational physician.
- The OSH-service or the occupational physician in the Netherlands are external organisations/specialists mostly. The Dutch employers have to designate an internal employee with some knowledge of OSH as well. This person is called a designated worker or the prevention worker. This prevention worker has to assist the employer with the risk assessment and evaluation, and also assist the work council with OSH related matters.
- It is sometimes difficult, especially for small and medium sized enterprises, to find proper solutions and ideas for OSH-problems. In the Netherlands many branches have made so-called OSH-catalogues; in these OSH-catalogues one can find branche-made solutions. These solutions are approved by the Labour Inspectorate.
Relevant links:
