The Netherlands Labour Authority is transparent about its working methods and the results of its inspections. By publishing inspection results, we show the public and politicians what activities we have carried out and what impact they have had. On this page, you will find further information and frequently asked questions.
Transparency
For the Netherlands Labour Authority, transparency means that we are predictable and explain clearly what we do and why. But we must also be clear about what we do not do. Our guiding principle here is: 'transparent, unless ...'
The Netherlands Labour Authority aims to help build public and political confidence in the Labour Authority as an effective and expert regulator. We do this by being open about our inspection methods and the results.
The Netherlands Labour Authority is transparent about:
- The results of the risk analyses (where are the greatest risks of non-compliance with legislation and regulations).
- The decisions taken by the Netherlands Labour Authority based on risk analyses (where should we deploy the available staff).
- How the Labour Authority operates.
- The findings of the Netherlands Labour Authority (what is found).
- What society can expect from the Netherlands Labour Authority (role and responsibilities) and what the Labour Authority expects from businesses and organisations.
Public
Inspection results are published on this website and through various other channels. These range from the annual plan and annual report to programme information, the results of individual inspections - Seveso+ (Dutch), asbestos (Dutch) and fair work (Dutch) - and compliance communications aimed at a wide range of sectors.
Much of the information relates to ongoing inspection programmes, such as announcements of inspection projects, the public version of the programme plan, programme reports and factsheets.
Employers and employees are responsible
Responsibility for complying with the rules lies primarily with employers and employees themselves. The Netherlands Labour Authority focuses on 4 pillars here.
The Netherlands Labour Authority expects the publication of individual inspection results to have a preventive effect. An employer would rather be associated online with the finding 'no violation' than with 'violation'. This effect is expected to be greater among listed, large and well-known companies and public institutions than among small, regionally focused companies and institutions.
The knowledge that the published data may be used by customers (consumers, clients), share traders and prospective employees should also motivate companies to comply with the law.
The Netherlands Labour Authority encourages organisations to take responsibility by making legislation and regulations accessible through compliance communications. It does this, for example, by making self-assessment tools (Dutch) to enable businesses to check for themselves whether they are complying with legislation and regulations.
On the other hand, the publication of inspection results encourages customers to favour businesses and organisations where no violations have been identified. Publication also encourages bodies that oversee management, such as local councils and employee representative bodies, to use that information to press for better compliance where necessary.
In practice, cooperation with other public authorities, regulators and stakeholders in the sector delivers clear added value. The Netherlands Labour Authority therefore makes active use of the infrastructure of our society by seeking cooperation with sector organisations, umbrella organisations, professional associations and sector institutes, among others.
Sharing experiences and plans with them makes it easier to agree on how to work together. This also encourages these organisations to organise activities. Cooperation partners are also asked to report relevant information about possible violations, abuses and notorious offenders to the Labour Authority.
The Netherlands Labour Authority aims to maximise the impact of its enforcement activities. It does this by employing a range of measures in its work, such as public information campaigns, inspections, investigations, warnings and fines. Measuring these effects and making them transparent helps to provide insight into the effectiveness of interventions.
The Labour Authority contributes to making supervision increasingly effective by sharing these insights with current and potential partners and other supervisory authorities.