Work-related accidents monitor 2024: temporary workers relatively often involved in occupational accidents
In 2024, the Netherlands Labour Authority completed 1,990 investigations into reportable occupational accidents. These are occupational accidents that employers are required to report because they involve hospitalisation, permanent injury or death. These accidents involved 2,001 victims, 58 of whom died. Because not all accidents are reported, the actual number of occupational accidents is likely to be considerably higher.
High-risk sectors
Some sectors are more prone to occupational accidents. Accidents are particularly common in industry, construction, trade, transport and storage. If you take into account the size of a sector, you will see that, in addition to these sectors, there are also relatively many accidents in water companies and waste management. This picture is similar to previous years and shows that employees in these sectors have an increased risk of an accident at work. The most common type of accident is falling.
Vulnerable temporary workers
The monitor shows that temporary workers are more often involved in occupational accidents than employees who have a permanent contract with their employer. In 18 percent of the accidents investigated, the victim was a temporary worker, even though they make up only about 4 percent of the working population. In some sectors, such as industry, this difference is even bigger. Almost a quarter of the victims are temporary workers, while their share in this sector is estimated at 8 percent. It is therefore important that both hiring companies and temporary employment agencies pay attention to safe working conditions for temporary workers.
Less frequent, but serious accidents
This time, the monitor also contains information about types of accidents that occur less frequently but are no less serious. These are occupational accidents caused by fire, explosion or electricity, contact with people or animals, heavy physical exertion and situations in which people are buried, drown or suffer from decompression. Between 2020 and 2024, there were 450 reports of this type of accidents. That is approximately 6 percent of all registered reportable occupational accidents.
Reporting obligation
Under the Working Conditions Act, employers must report occupational accidents immediately to the Netherlands Labour Authority. This applies when someone is admitted to hospital, suffers permanent injury or dies as a result of the accident. Even if it later transpires that someone still needs to be admitted to hospital or has suffered permanent injury, this must be reported immediately. The Labour Inspectorate uses the information collected by inspectors during accident investigations to produce information products about the characteristics of accidents. These products are made available to employers, industries and sectors so that they can learn from them and are also used for interventions to improve occupational safety. This annual monitor is one of those products.
