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Health and safety officer

Published by:
Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO
Checked 5 Sept 2025
1 min read
Nederlandse versie

Are you an entrepreneur with personnel? In the Netherlands, you have to designate 1 or more health and safety officers. A health and safety officer (preventiemedewerker) focuses on day-to-day health and safety issues within a company.

When you have selected a health and safety officer for your business, you need approval from the works council or staff representation before you can appoint them.

Tasks of the health and safety officer (preventiemedewerker)

The precise tasks of a health and safety officer depend on the size, structure, and circumstances of your company. A health and safety officer has three statutory duties:

  • Help carry out and draw up (either independently or with others) the mandatory risk assessment and evaluation (RI&E).
  • Advise, consult, and cooperate with the company doctor or the health and safety service, and the works council or staff representation on working conditions.
  • Carry out the health and safety measures at work.

A health and safety officer is an employee in your company. They must have enough knowledge, experience, and equipment to carry out these tasks. You must give your health and safety officer enough time to perform their duties. If some tasks are too difficult, you can call in someone from outside your company to carry out these tasks. Is no one in your company able to perform these tasks? Then you may call on an external health and safety expert.

How many health and safety officers do you need?

According to the Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) every company must have at least 1 health and safety officer. Do you have 25 employees or less? Then you, as the director, may act as the health and safety officer.

The act does not state the exact number of health and safety officers you need in relation to the size of the company. How many officers you need and how many hours they should work depends among others on the risks at your company. You have to determine and describe these risks in your RI&E. Based on your RI&E you can calculate how many health and safety officers you need. You can ask an external health and safety service or health and safety expert for advice on this.

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Questions relating to this article?

Please contact the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO