Explanation
Arbobeleid is the whole of agreements and measures with which an employer secures the safety and health of employees. The Arbowet expects every employer with staff to pursue such a policy. The detail is set out in the Arbobesluit and the Arboregeling. It works as a cycle: identify risks, choose and carry out measures, evaluate the results and adjust.
The policy consists of parts that the rules ask for: an RI&E with an action plan, an agreement with an occupational health service or company doctor for the support of sick employees, at least one prevention officer, company emergency response, information and instruction, access to occupational health and safety experts and offering periodic occupational health examinations (PAGO). An arbocatalogus for your sector can help with the detail, but is not mandatory.
The law prescribes no fixed form for the arbobeleid as a whole. A written policy statement or policy plan is therefore a choice, but a useful one: it makes clear who decides what, which goals apply and when you evaluate. Certification schemes such as ISO 45001 ask for a recorded policy (clause 5.2), established by top management and known to employees.
If you have a works council or employee representation, it has rights on parts such as the appointment of the prevention officer. The Netherlands Labour Authority supervises compliance and mainly checks, during inspections, whether you know and control the risks. That shows in an up-to-date RI&E and in measures that are really carried out.
Example from practice
An installation company with, for example, 40 employees records in a two-page policy plan that management is ultimately responsible, who the prevention officer and BHV members are, which RI&E measures will be completed this year and when the plan will be evaluated.
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