Company doctor or health and safety service
As an employer, you are responsible for a healthy employment policy for your employees. For example, absenteeism and working conditions. You are required to get support from an occupational health and safety service (arbodienst), or company doctor (bedrijfsarts).
Is a health and safety service or company doctor mandatory?
You must ensure good working conditions for your employees. This is set out in the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet). Employers must have a contract with a health and safety service or a company doctor. This is called the basic contract (in Dutch). This sets out the rights and obligations of your employee, the health and safety service provider, and yourself. As an employer, you are responsible for the contents of the contract.
Basic contract under the safety net scheme or customised scheme
You can arrange a basic contract with a safety net scheme (vangnetregeling) or a customised scheme (maatwerkregeling).
- Under the safety net scheme, you arrange health and safety matters through a certified (in Dutch) health and safety service (arbodienst). Insurers sometimes require you to specifically join a health and safety service.
- With a customised scheme (in Dutch), you choose the experts you need yourself. For example, a company doctor. It is then important that the agreements in the basic contract are adapted to your company's situation.
For a customised scheme, you need the written consent of the works council (OR), staff representative body (PVT), or through the collective labour agreement (CAO).
Also, at least 1 company doctor must be available for absenteeism counselling, occupational health examinations (Periodiek Arbeidsgezondheidskundig Onderzoek, PAGO), appointment examinations, and (open) consultation hours.
What does a health and safety service do?
A certified health and safety service (in Dutch) supports the company's employment conditions policy and absenteeism policy. As well as providing support for your sick employees through a company doctor, they offer independent health advice to you and your employees.
The health and safety service can deploy various, certified labour experts who support you. Labour experts are also called core experts. They can provide advice on improving working conditions, for example. Or on the periodic occupational health examination (PAGO, in Dutch) for employees. But also with assessing the risk evaluation & inventory (RI&E).
The 4 core experts are:
- the company doctor
- the occupational hygienist
- the safety expert
- the labour and organisation expert
Doctors who are not (yet) trained as a company doctor may also work within a health and safety service. They work under the supervision of a company doctor. A health and safety doctor may only refer an employee after approval by a company doctor. They are not allowed to judge your employee's fitness for work or incapacity.
A doctor from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) determines an employee's degree of incapacity for work.
Employees have a right to consent in the choice of health and safety service. And the contents of the contract. This can be done via the works council or employee representation. They must also agree to the use of the so-called customised scheme (maatwerkregeling).
Train your own core experts
Do you not join a health and safety service? You can also hire the services of a certified expert. They can advise you on the themes in which they specialise or assess an RI&E. You may also train and deploy your employees as occupational hygienists or safety experts. They must first obtain a qualification for this. You can also train employees to deploy as occupational and organisational experts. But this is only possible if you have reached a written agreement with the trade union, the works council, or the staff representation.
What does a company doctor do?
A company doctor (in Dutch) is an occupational health specialist. If your employee is (long-term) sick the company doctor assesses the situation. Often the doctor works for a health and safety service. Or they work as a self-employed professional. You can hire the company doctor yourself. Everyone who works must have access to a company doctor.
What is a company doctor allowed to do?
A company doctor must follow certain rules. Your company doctor:
- may refer your employee to a specialist to help get better;
- may request medical information about your employee. Your employee must give permission first;
- must re-register every 5 years and must meet various requirements;
- must undergo continuous training and be regularly checked;
- must assess your employee's fitness for work or incapacity for work;
- may periodically examine employees (PAGO);
- may hold a health and safety consultation hour;
- may do a pre-appointment examination;
- may determine if an employee is no longer able to work due to illness and assess what your employee can still do;
- discusses illness with your employee within 6 weeks of it being reported, draws up a problem analysis, advises you on reintegration and resumption of work, and supervises the employee's reintegration.
Penaltys for non-compliance
The Netherlands Labour Authority (NLA) checks whether employers and employees comply with Working Conditions Act (Arbowet, in Dutch). For example working conditions, employment conditions, or working hours. The NLA can also take measures if you do not have a basic contract or if it is incomplete. If you do not follow the rules, you can get a warning, a fine, or be required to suspend work.