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Stop work authority

Stop work authority is the right and duty of everyone on the worksite to stop work in an unsafe situation, without negative consequences. You record it as an agreement and make sure supervisors respond to it properly.

Explanation

Stop work authority means that everyone on the worksite has the right and the duty to stop work if, in their view, the situation is unsafe, and that nobody suffers negative consequences for it. It applies to your own employees, but also to temporary staff, subcontractors and visitors. After a stop you make the situation safe, report it and jointly assess whether and under what conditions the work can resume.

The law sets a minimum. In the Netherlands, the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) allows an employee to interrupt work in case of serious danger that is so acute that an inspector cannot step in on time. Pay continues and the employer may not put the employee at a disadvantage for it. A stop work agreement in your organisation is broader: you agree that doubt or a less acute danger is also reason enough to stop. You find the exact conditions of the statutory right in the Arbowet and with the Netherlands Labour Authority (Arbeidsinspectie).

The LMRA (last-minute risk analysis) and stop work authority belong together. The LMRA is the moment when you check the situation before you start. Stop work authority makes sure that a deviating answer can really lead to not starting, without discussion or time pressure. In safety culture (see Safety Culture Ladder) the supervisor's reaction is decisive. Anyone who takes a stop seriously and thanks the person gets more of them. Anyone who reacts with irritation will not see another stop next time.

You embed it with a short written agreement, explanation in the site induction and in toolbox talks, and training for supervisors on how to respond. Record every stop as a report, follow it up and share what you learn from it. If there are never any stops, that usually does not mean everything is safe, but that people find the threshold too high.

Example from practice

Just before starting, a fitter sees that another party is hoisting material above his workplace. He stops, calls his supervisor and together they agree on timing and cordoning off, and only then does he start. The stop is recorded as a report and discussed in the next toolbox talk.

© 2026 BrydgeOne. General information, not legal or other professional advice. No rights can be derived from this explanation.

In BrydgeOne

Where you work with Stop work authority

LMRALast-minute risk analysis before the job. Incidents & reportsLog incidents and turn them into follow-up. Toolbox talksShare toolbox talks and record attendance.
Knowledge base

Keep reading

What is an LMRA? Last Minute Risk Analysis explainedAn LMRA is a short risk check you do right before the work, at the place where you are about to work. You check whether the situation matches what you expected and whether you can start safely. This article explains what an LMRA involves, when to do one and how to record it well. Improving safety culture: what it is, how to measure it and what worksImproving safety culture only works once you know what it is: the unwritten way people in your organisation think about safety and act on it, even when nobody is watching. You read how to measure it and what helps in practice. Improving your reporting culture: how to get more near-miss reportsNear-miss reporting only happens when employees trust that it achieves something and costs them nothing. Below you can read how to find out why reports are missing, what to do about it and how to tell that it works.
Glossary

See also

LMRALast Minute Risk AnalysisSafety Culture LadderSafety Culture LadderNear missNear missArbowetWorking Conditions Act (Arbowet)Toolbox talkToolbox talk

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