The cornerstone of Belgian law in this area is the Act of 4 August 1996 on the well-being of workers in the performance of their work, supplemented by the Code on Well-being at Work. It requires every employer to run a genuine prevention policy, integrated into the company's entire management.
A policy built on general principles
According to the FPS Employment, the employer must build the well-being policy on general prevention principles: avoid risks, assess them, combat them at source, adapt work to the individual, replace what is dangerous, give collective protection priority over individual protection, and inform and train workers.
The seven well-being domains
The concept of « well-being » covers seven domains: occupational safety, health protection, psychosocial aspects (stress, violence, moral or sexual harassment), ergonomics, occupational hygiene, the embellishment of the workplace, and environmental measures insofar as they influence the other domains.
Analysing and managing risks
The employer's general obligation takes the form of a dynamic risk-management system, which runs in four stages: development, planning, implementation and evaluation. It rests on a risk analysis carried out at three levels (the organisation as a whole, each group of positions or functions, and the individual) and in three phases (identify hazards, determine the risks, evaluate them). Prevention measures are ranked: first prevent risks, then prevent harm, and finally limit harm.
Mandatory structures
Every employer must have an internal service for prevention and protection at work, within which a prevention adviser must always be present. Where the internal service cannot carry out all its tasks, the employer calls on an external service, in particular for health surveillance. The employer remains ultimately responsible for the well-being policy, even when calling on an external service or outside experts.
Consultation is organised within the committee for prevention and protection at work. In companies with more than 50 workers that have no committee, its tasks are carried out by the trade-union delegation; failing that, workers are consulted directly. The precise arrangements vary with the size of the company and the sector; the FPS Employment and the Code on Well-being at Work remain the references to consult.