On January 25th, the Senate adopted the bill to amend the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet). The purpose of this legislative amendment is to strengthen the involvement of employers and employees in occupational health services.
The main changes are:
- strengthening the position of the prevention officer and cooperation with the occupational health service providers;
- clarifying the advisory role of the company doctor in absenteeism guidance;
- the ability for an employee to consult the company doctor themselves;
- room for professional practice by company doctors and other occupational health service providers with tasks from occupational health regulations;
- the basic contract for occupational health and safety services;
- more possibilities for enforcement and supervision of the above-mentioned subjects
Because there are now often very different contracts between employers and occupational health services, which sometimes comes at the expense of good care, minimum requirements are being introduced for the contract between occupational health services and employers. The contract includes the (current legal) tasks for which the employer must at least receive support from an occupational health service provider. Examples of this include the review of risk inventory and evaluation, expert guidance during illness, but also the new statutory direct access to the company doctor for the employee.
The prevention officer is involved, based on the Working Conditions Act, in among other things the risk inventory and evaluation and the implementation of measures aimed at occupational health and safety policy. The works council has the right to give consent regarding the positioning and the person of the prevention officer.
The law stipulates that the Inspectorate SZW has the authority to impose sanctions on the provisions included in the legislative amendment. An employer who does not have a contract with an occupational health physician or occupational health service risks immediate fines.
Existing contracts of employers with occupational health services that do not comply with the legal amendments must be adjusted to the new obligations within one year after the entry into force.
The legislative amendment is expected to come into effect on July 1, 2017
