Working conditions key experts: risks, approach, reach and effect
Employers must provide their employees with safe and healthy working conditions. Conducting a Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E) contributes to this and is therefore legally required. To ensure the quality of RI&Es, they must be reviewed in certain cases. This review is conducted by a working conditions service or certified working conditions key expert, also known as a working conditions expert or key expert.
Scope of the area of work
In the Netherlands, more than 900 people are certified as working conditions key experts, divided over the following 3 types of certificates:
Certified working conditions key experts
| Certificate | Number |
|---|---|
| Occupational and organisational expert | 82 |
| Occupational hygienist | 190 |
| Occupational health and safety practitioner | 679 |
Risks in the system
The Netherlands Labour Authority ensures that the certification system for working conditions key experts functions properly. It also identifies the following risks:
Employers do not always know whether their RI&E needs to be reviewed and who can do this for them.
Certified working conditions key experts sometimes review areas other than those for which they are certified. As a result, they do not always identify all occupational risks and sometimes propose incorrect measures.
Fraudsters pose as certified working conditions key experts and use them to falsely issue review and advisory reports.
Approach
Through information campaigns and inspections, the Netherlands Labour Authority informs employers of their obligations regarding the Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E) and its review. The Labour Authority also checks whether employers have had their RI&Es reviewed, if they are required to do so.
The Labour Authority verifies whether the review has been carried out in accordance with the regulations. If the review has not been carried out correctly, it requests the certifying body to launch an investigation into the certificate holder in question.
The Labour Authority verifies whether RI&Es have actually been reviewed by working conditions key experts with the correct certification. If it encounters an RI&E that has been reviewed by someone who is not authorised to do so, it will refer it to the Public Prosecution Service. This can lead to criminal sanctions.
Reach and effect
The vast majority of organisations that did not have an RI&E subsequently drew one up after inspection by the Netherlands Labour Authority.
See the inspection results per sector (Dutch)
Inspections in 2022 revealed that fraudsters were using the names and certificate numbers of working conditions key experts to sign review and advisory reports. The Netherlands Labour Authority has launched a criminal investigation into these fraudsters. It has also informed the certifying body and 1,285 affected employers about this fraud.