Basic contract with an occupational health service: what must it cover?

A basic contract (basiscontract) with an occupational health service (arbodienst) or a company doctor (bedrijfsarts) is required for every Dutch employer, and since the Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) was tightened, the law sets out what that contract must cover. Without a written basic contract, an employer cannot show it has organised statutory health and safety support at all.

What must the basic contract cover?

Under article 14 of the Working Conditions Act, the basic contract must guarantee employees free access to consult the company doctor, give the company doctor free access to the workplace, provide a procedure for a second opinion from another company doctor, set out an adequate complaints procedure, and record how occupational diseases are reported. It must also describe how the occupational health service supports sickness absence guidance and the periodic health examination.

An employer without such a contract is in breach of the Act, and the Dutch Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) can impose a fine for it. In practice, the gap tends to surface at the worst moment: during a dispute about reintegration, when the employer has to show what support was actually in place.

Can employees consult the company doctor without the employer’s permission?

Yes. Employees may consult the company doctor about their health in relation to their work at any time, without asking the employer and without being ill. The employer must make that consultation genuinely possible and may not be told who used it or why. For employers, an open consultation route that is publicised and easy to book, not routed through a line manager, is one of the cheapest ways to prevent long-term sick leave.

What happens if an employee disagrees with the company doctor?

An employee who doubts the company doctor’s assessment can ask for a second opinion from a different company doctor, at the employer’s expense. Under article 14(2)(g) of the Working Conditions Act, the company doctor must in principle honour that request, and the outcome goes to the employee, who decides whether to share it with the employer.

A second opinion is not the same as an expert opinion (deskundigenoordeel) from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). That is the route to a binding assessment when employer and employee disagree about fitness for work or about reintegration efforts, and under Article 7:629a of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) an employee who claims continued wages in court must, as a rule, enclose that expert opinion.

What may the employer be told during sickness absence?

The division of information is strict. The company doctor knows the diagnosis; the employer does not. What the employer may be told is the employee’s limitations and remaining possibilities for work, the expected duration of the absence, and whether it falls under a safety-net scheme. Recording the nature of an illness in a personnel file is unlawful, even where the employee mentioned it voluntarily.

Does every employer need a prevention officer?

Yes. Alongside the occupational health service, article 13 of the Working Conditions Act requires every employer to appoint at least one prevention officer (preventiemedewerker) from among its own staff, to advise on and assist with health and safety measures and to work together with the occupational health service. An employer with no more than 25 employees may fulfil that role personally, or have its director do so, provided that person has sufficient expertise.

What should you check as an employer?

Start with the written contract itself; article 14(4) of the Working Conditions Act requires the arrangements to be laid down in writing.

• Is there a signed, current basic contract with an occupational health service or company doctor?
• Does it cover free access to the company doctor, the second opinion, the complaints procedure and the reporting of occupational diseases?
• Can employees book an open consultation without going through a manager?
• Do your absence records contain only limitations and expected duration, never a diagnosis?
• Have you appointed a prevention officer, or do you (with no more than 25 employees) qualify to do it yourself?

What should you check as an employee?

You have rights under article 14 of the Working Conditions Act regardless of whether you are ill.

• Do you know how to book an open consultation with the company doctor?
• Did you receive the company doctor’s advice in writing, so you can ask for a second opinion if you disagree?
• Has your employer asked about or recorded your diagnosis? That is not allowed.
• If you and your employer disagree about fitness for work, have you considered an expert opinion from UWV?

What can we do for you with the basic contract and sickness absence?

Our employment lawyers advise employers and employees on the Working Conditions Act and reintegration.

• We review your basic contract against article 14 of the Working Conditions Act.
• We check your absence registration and privacy practice for unlawful health data.
• We advise on a second opinion or a UWV expert opinion in a dispute about fitness for work.
• We assess a wage claim or wage freeze during sickness and the steps in the reintegration file.
• We represent you before the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) in a dispute about sickness or reintegration.

Summary

• Every employer needs a written basic contract with an occupational health service or company doctor.
• The contract must guarantee free access to the company doctor, a second-opinion procedure, a complaints procedure and reporting of occupational diseases.
• Employees can consult the company doctor confidentially, without the employer’s involvement.
• The employer only learns an employee’s limitations and the expected duration of absence, never the diagnosis.
• Employers with up to 25 employees may act as their own prevention officer if sufficiently qualified.

Frequently asked questions