The Dutch Working Conditions Act — the Arbowet — is changing. From 1 July 2026, employers are required to actively consult workers about health and safety policy, and for the first time the Dutch Labour Authority can enforce it. If you're an HSE professional, a preventiemedewerker (in-house safety officer) or a freelance HSE contractor working in the Netherlands — including internationals and expats — this means new work and new responsibility. Here's exactly what changes and what you need to do.
What changes on 1 July 2026?
The core of the change sits in article 12 of the Arbowet. Until now it stated that employers must cooperate with their workers on health and safety policy. From 1 July 2026, that word is replaced by consult.
That sounds like a detail, but the difference is significant. "Cooperating" was vague and, in practice, often interpreted as "we put up a poster and send an email". Consulting is an active obligation: the employer must hold a genuine dialogue, seriously engage with what workers raise, and workers explicitly gain the right to make their own proposals about health and safety at work.
Why the change? Research showed that, in practice, workers were too rarely involved in decisions about their own safety. On top of that, the Dutch Arbowet no longer aligned well with the European framework directive on safe and healthy work. This change corrects that.
Who must be consulted?
That depends on the organisation:
- Is there a works council (OR) or employee representation (PVT)? Then it must be consulted. The employer may not bypass the works council by consulting individual workers — the representative body takes precedence.
- No works council or PVT? Then the workers involved must be consulted directly. They too gain the right to make proposals.
This particularly affects SMEs, where there is often no works council and health and safety consultation rarely takes place in a structured way.
What must be consulted on?
Consultation covers all measures that are essential for health and safety in the workplace. The law also lists a number of topics on which consultation is mandatory in any case:
- the risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) — the Dutch statutory risk assessment
- the appointment of emergency response officers (BHV)
- the organisation of expert assistance (including additional expert support)
- the choice of occupational health service (arbodienst)
- the information and instruction given to workers about their tasks and associated risks
Recognise this list? This is exactly the domain of the safety professional. And that's no coincidence.
The biggest change: enforcement
Here's the real sting. Article 12 had existed for years, but until now it was not enforceable. An employer who completely ignored its workers on health and safety policy simply risked nothing.
That changes on 1 July 2026: from that date, the Dutch Labour Authority can enforce the consultation duty administratively. An employer must be able to demonstrate that consultation took place — and on what. No documentation means a risk during inspection.
An important nuance every HSE professional should know: some employers used the old "cooperating" wording to shift part of the responsibility for safe work onto workers ("they cooperated, didn't they?"). That won't be possible anymore. The employer remains fully ultimately responsible for the safe working environment and health and safety policy — consultation changes nothing about that.
What does this mean for you as an HSE professional?
For anyone in the field (or wanting to enter it), this is good news. Three concrete consequences:
1. More demand for advice. SMEs without a works council in particular don't know how to put "consultation" into practice. Who helps them with a consultation structure, agenda-setting and record-keeping? Exactly: the (freelance) safety officer. With average freelance rates around €98 per hour in 2026, this is an interesting advisory market.
2. The RI&E becomes even more important. The risk assessment is explicitly on the list of mandatory consultation topics. An outdated RI&E was always a risk during inspection — from 1 July, the absence of demonstrable consultation about that RI&E is added on top. Expect a wave of RI&E updates in the second half of 2026.
3. Documentation becomes a craft. "We discussed it" won't be enough. Companies must be able to demonstrate what was consulted on, when and with whom. Setting up that record-keeping is typically work that lands with the in-house safety officer or external HSE professional.
Checklist: what must be in place before 1 July
Do you advise companies, or are you an in-house safety officer yourself? Run through this:
- Check worker representation. Is there a works council or PVT? Make sure health and safety policy is structurally on the agenda. No works council? Record in writing how and when workers are consulted.
- Set up documentation. Create a fixed template for recording health and safety consultation: date, participants, topics, input and follow-up.
- Update the RI&E. An up-to-date risk assessment is a mandatory consultation topic and, in any case, the foundation of all health and safety policy.
- Inform management. Many employers still know nothing about this. Whoever raises the alarm now prevents problems with the Labour Authority later.
International context: why this aligns with NEBOSH
Anyone familiar with the NEBOSH IGC will recognise something here. Worker consultation and worker participation have been a core part of a healthy safety management system within international HSE standards (and ISO 45001) for years. The Netherlands is now bringing its legislation in line with what has long been the international norm.
That's exactly why an internationally recognised qualification such as the NEBOSH IGC is so valuable: you learn to approach safety from systems and behaviour — not only from the letter of Dutch law. Employers who must comply with the new consultation duty from 1 July need professionals who understand how to genuinely organise worker participation. Precisely what you learn in the IGC.
Want to stay ahead as an HSE professional? In September 2026 our English-taught NEBOSH IGC course begins.
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Last updated: 11 June 2026. This article is informational and not legal advice. When in doubt, consult an employment lawyer or the official publications of the Dutch government.