What an arbodienst is, why every employer in the Netherlands needs one, what it must cover by law, and what it costs to get right.
What is an arbodienst?
An arbodienst (occupational health and safety service) is a certified provider of occupational health and safety expertise: a company doctor, safety expert, occupational hygienist, and organizational expert. Employers use one to meet statutory workplace health and safety obligations, including guiding employees through sick leave.
Is it mandatory?
Yes. Under the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet, art. 14/14a), every employer with at least one employee, even a single person on a zero-hours contract, must arrange expert occupational health support. There are two ways to do this:
Vangnetregeling (default): a contract with one certified arbodienst covering all the required expertise. Most employers use this, and it's the only option available without a works council or staff representation body.
Maatwerkregeling (custom): the employer arranges support from individually named experts instead, as long as at least one company doctor is available for sick leave guidance, periodic health checks, pre-employment medical exams, and an open consultation hour. This route needs the works council's (OR) or staff representation's (PVT) written agreement, without one, it isn't a legal option at all. Around 80% of Dutch SMEs have neither, and small organizations like the ones in Moral Fabric's circle typically don't either, so this route generally isn't recommended, or even available, for them.
Either way, the resulting agreement is called the basiscontract (basic contract), and it must meet the same minimum requirements regardless of which route is chosen.
What the basiscontract must include
By law, it must guarantee:
Access to a company doctor, including an open consultation hour employees can use without being sick
Guidance during sick leave and reintegration
Testing of and advice on the risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E)
A second opinion right from a different company doctor if an employee disagrees with an assessment
A clear complaints procedure
Cooperation with the works council or staff representation
Reporting occupational diseases to the Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases
Not having a valid basiscontract is a violation in itself. The Dutch Labour Inspectorate can fine an employer for this regardless of whether anything has actually gone wrong.
RI&E: the risk inventory and evaluation
Every employer with staff needs an RI&E plus a plan of action, mapping employee risks and how they'll be addressed. Whether it needs checking by a certified expert depends on size:
More than 25 employees (actual people, not FTEs, including temps and seconded staff): always needs checking.
25 or fewer employees : checking isn't required, but only if a recognized branch-specific RI&E tool for the relevant sector was used. A generic or self-built RI&E still needs checking, even under 25 employees.
Since most Moral Fabric customers are small, many will qualify for this exemption, worth confirming a recognized tool exists for the relevant sector before assuming it applies.
Privacy
The company doctor is bound by medical confidentiality. The employer only ever receives information about what the employee can and can't do functionally, and the expected duration, never the diagnosis itself, unless the employee chooses to share it.
Good to know
A missing or incomplete basiscontract is a common compliance gap in smaller organizations, worth checking even if sick leave has never come up.
The RI&E exemption needs both conditions met (25 or fewer people and a recognized branch tool), meeting only one still means checking is required.
Choosing a provider is a commercial decision. This page doesn't recommend a specific one, comparing a couple of quotes against the basiscontract minimum is a reasonable starting point.