A bill Currently under consideration for amendments to the Working Conditions Act. The amendments relate to:
- strengthening the role of the prevention officer;
- clarifying the advisory role of the occupational health doctor;
- the introduction of the right to a consultation with the company doctor;
- enhancing the status of the company doctor and other occupational health and safety service providers;
- the standard contract for occupational health and safety services;
- improving enforcement and monitoring capabilities.
The role of the health and safety officer
Employers must comply with the obligations laid down in the Working Conditions Act. One of these obligations is to appoint a health and safety officer. The health and safety officer assists the employer in implementing the Working Conditions Act. One of their tasks is to draw up the risk inventory and assessment. The role of the health and safety representative is not sufficiently emphasised. To increase involvement in the selection of the health and safety representative, the company’s employee participation body is granted the right of consent regarding the person and position of the health and safety representative. The employee participation body therefore becomes jointly responsible for the performance of the health and safety representative. The health and safety officer’s advisory role in relation to occupational health and safety service providers and their cooperation with these service providers are now enshrined in law.
The role of the occupational health doctor in managing absenteeism
The employer is responsible for the approach to absence management. The occupational health doctor plays a supporting role in this. It is not the intention that the employer should leave the management of absence to the occupational health doctor. To prevent the company doctor from prioritising the employer’s interests over the employee’s health, the company doctor’s advisory role is defined more clearly in the law. This clarification is intended to reinforce the company doctor’s independent position.
Appointment with the company doctor
Until 2007, there was what was known as the ‘working conditions consultation hour’. This provision is now being reintroduced. The law stipulates that every employee is to be given the opportunity to consult a company doctor. The aim is for employees to consult the company doctor before any health issues lead to absence from work. Employees do not need their employer’s permission to consult the company doctor. The employer must not be informed about the consultation, the reason for it or the outcome of the consultation.
Basic Contract for Occupational Health and Safety Services
The Bill sets out minimum requirements for the contract between occupational health and safety service providers and employers. The basic contract covers the statutory duties for which an employer must seek support from an occupational health and safety service. The bill sets out four specific rights and obligations designed to ensure that the company doctor practises their profession to a high standard. These relate to the following areas:
- The employer must allow the company doctor to visit every workplace.
- The company doctor must give the employee the opportunity to seek a second opinion.
- The company doctor must have a complaints procedure in place.
- The company doctor and other health and safety experts are entitled to consult with the employee representative body.
These rights and obligations are set out in the agreement between the employer and the occupational health doctor. This also applies to the existing obligation on the occupational health doctor to report occupational diseases to the Dutch Centre for Occupational Diseases.
Enforcement and supervision
The SZW Inspectorate is responsible for monitoring compliance with health and safety regulations. If an employer does not have a contract with a health and safety service, the SZW Inspectorate will first issue a warning. The bill introduces the imposition of fines immediately in such cases. Where a contract does exist but does not contain all the mandatory elements, the SZW Inspectorate may issue a warning and require compliance with the law. The SZW Inspectorate must improve its monitoring of the failure to report occupational diseases. The failure of company doctors and occupational health and safety services to report occupational diseases is classified as an offence in the bill. The possibility of imposing a fine on the company doctor is included in the Act on a conditional basis. If the number of reports does not increase substantially, a decision may be taken to bring this provision into force.
Upon the entry into force of this bill, existing contracts between employers and occupational health and safety service providers that do not comply with the new obligations must be amended within one year at the latest.