If you are injured at work in the Netherlands, your employer is liable under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) unless it proves that it met its duty of care. The main exception: the employer is not liable if the damage was largely caused by your own intent or conscious recklessness (bewuste roekeloosheid).
You only have to show that you suffered damage while doing your work. There is no separate workers’ compensation scheme in the Netherlands: your claim is a civil claim against the employer, usually handled by its liability insurer. This article covers the employment-law side of employer liability: what counts as a workplace accident, what each side must prove, who else can be liable, reporting duties and deadlines. The injury claim itself, including the calculation of damages (letselschade), is handled by a personal-injury specialist.
Mündəricat
What counts as a workplace accident?
A workplace accident is a sudden event during your work that causes physical or psychological injury. Under Article 7:658 BW, the link with the work matters more than the place: the employer’s premises, a client’s site, a construction site or a delivery round all qualify.
Trapping a hand in a machine, falling from scaffolding, slipping on an unmarked wet floor or being assaulted by a customer are all workplace accidents. So is psychological injury caused by one identifiable incident at work, such as a violent robbery.
Are occupational diseases treated differently?
The same duty of care in Article 7:658 BW applies, but the evidence is different. An occupational disease (beroepsziekte) develops over time through exposure, for example hearing loss from noise, lung disease from dust or solvents, repetitive strain injury or burnout caused by structural overload.
The hard part is causation. Under the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) case law on the reversal rule (arbeidsrechtelijke omkeringsregel), causation can be presumed if the employer breached a safety norm and you were exposed to a hazard that can cause your condition. If the medical picture is not sufficiently clear, that presumption does not apply and expert evidence decides the case.
Is your employer liable for commuting and work-related traffic?
Ordinary commuting between home and work normally falls outside Article 7:658 BW, because the employer has no control over that journey. If you take part in traffic as part of your job, for example as a driver or a home care worker cycling between clients, the employer must arrange adequate insurance under the good-employer rule in Article 7:611 BW (Hoge Raad 12 December 2008, ECLI:NL:HR:2008:BD3129, Maatzorg/Van der Graaf).
If the employer did not insure that risk properly, it bears the consequences itself. The Hoge Raad has refused to extend this into a general duty to insure every workplace risk. Many traffic-related iş yerindəki qəzalar are still compensated through this route when the employer was not at fault.
What does Article 7:658 BW require of your employer?
The employer must take the measures reasonably necessary to prevent you suffering damage at work, and it is liable unless it proves it did so. Article 7:658(1) BW covers the workplace, equipment, tools and instructions; Article 7:658(2) BW makes the employer liable unless it proves compliance or intent or conscious recklessness on your part.
The standard is high but not absolute. It is measured against the nature of the work, the recognisable risks and the state of technology at the time. Because the burden of proof lies with the employer, which is unusual in Dutch civil litigation, these claims succeed more often than employees expect.
What do you have to prove as an employee?
You must prove two things: that you suffered damage, and that it arose in the performance of your work. You do not have to identify the missing safety measure or prove that your employer was careless.
Your file should show, with documents, that the incident happened, when and where, that you were working, and which injury followed. A medical record made shortly after the event carries more weight than a later reconstruction. If the cause of the accident cannot be established at all, the claim can fail for lack of a link with the work.
What does the employer have to prove?
The employer must show that it did what was reasonably required. The Vəzifə borcu is tested against the risk inventory and evaluation (risico-inventarisatie en -evaluatie, RI&E) required by the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet), and against the instructions, training, equipment and supervision actually provided.
Dutch courts consistently hold that supplying safety equipment is not enough if its use is not enforced. Written instructions are not enough if the employer knew they were routinely ignored. The employer must also allow for the ordinary inattention of employees doing the same work every day. If the RI&E is missing or out of date, the employer has little to prove compliance with.
Which defences does the employer have?
The employer has two defences only: proof that it met its duty of care, or proof that the damage was largely caused by your intent or conscious recklessness. Conscious recklessness requires that you were actually aware, just before the act, of how reckless it was; ignoring a rule or taking a short cut does not meet that test.
Ordinary contributory negligence under Article 6:101 BW does not reduce a claim under Article 7:658 BW. An employee who was partly careless still recovers the full loss. Insurers often open negotiations on the opposite assumption, but işəgötürənin səhlənkarlığı iddianın təsdiqlənməsi üçün təsdiqlənməsinə ehtiyac yoxdur.
Who else can be held liable?
Besides your own employer, anyone who has work done by a person without an employment contract can be liable under Article 7:658(4) BW. Agency workers, secondees, payrolled staff and contractors integrated into the hirer’s operations can sue the company where the accident happened.
A temporary worker injured at a client’s premises usually has a claim against both the agency and the hirer, each liable for the whole loss. The Hoge Raad has also applied Article 7:658(4) BW to self-employed workers doing work within the hirer’s ordinary business and depending on the hirer for their safety. Being engaged as a contractor does not automatically put you outside the regime.
If a third party caused the accident, such as another road user or the supplier of defective equipment, you may also have a claim in tort under Article 6:162 BW. You cannot recover the same loss twice. Your employer has a right of recourse under Article 6:107a BW to recover the net wage it continued to pay from that third party.
Does insurance pay regardless of fault?
No. The Netherlands has no compulsory workers’ compensation insurance and no state accident fund. Most employers hold business məsuliyyət sığortası (aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor bedrijven), but that cover is voluntary; an uninsured employer remains liable itself.
Medical treatment in the meantime runs through your own health insurance. During illness, Article 7:629 BW obliges the employer to continue paying at least 70% of your wage for up to 104 weeks, and many collective agreements (cao’s) provide more. These payments do not settle liability; they are set off against the gəlir itkisi part of the claim.
Who must report the accident?
Serious accidents must be reported by the employer directly to the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie); you should report every accident to your employer in writing yourself. Under Article 9(1) of the Working Conditions Act, the employer must immediately report any accident causing death, permanent injury or hospital admission.
Reporting does not depend on whether the employer accepts that the accident was work-related, and failure to report is an offence. The Labour Authority investigates, can impose fines or stop the work, and in serious cases the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) can prosecute the company. Its report is often the most valuable evidence in the civil claim; you can ask for a copy, and report an unreported accident yourself.
Under Article 9(2) of the Working Conditions Act, the employer must keep a list of reported accidents and of accidents causing more than three working days of absence. Ask for a copy of your entry.
How long do you have to hold the employer liable?
A claim for damages caused by injury or death expires five years after the day following the day you became aware of both the damage and the liable party (Article 3:310(5) BW). For personal injury, the general twenty-year long stop of Article 3:310(1) BW does not apply, which matters for occupational diseases that appear many years after the exposure.
You can interrupt the limitation period with a written notice in which you unequivocally reserve your right to compensation (Article 3:317 BW); a new five-year period then starts. Correspondence with an insurer does not automatically preserve the claim, and long negotiations are a common way for a good claim to be lost.
How does a liability claim usually proceed?
A claim starts with a letter holding the employer liable and asking it to notify its insurer. The insurer then investigates, often with an expert who visits the site and interviews witnesses, and takes a position on liability.
If liability is denied, the claim goes to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter), which hears employment cases regardless of the amount (Article 93 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Rv). Mediation in employment disputes can help when the working relationship continues.
A Dutch court costs order follows a fixed scale and covers only part of the actual fees. Under Article 6:96 BW, however, your reasonable extrajudicial costs of establishing öhdəlik are recoverable once liability is established. Disputes about sick pay rather than damages follow a separate route.
Where do liability claims go wrong?
Most failed claims fail on procedure, not merits: the accident was never reported in writing, the site was cleared before anyone took photographs, or the five-year period ran out during negotiations. A settlement with a final discharge (finale kwijting) also closes the file for good, including for consequences that appear later, unless it expressly reserves them.
An employer that responds to an accident by ending the employment faces a separate problem. The prohibition of dismissal during illness in Article 7:670(1) BW applies during the first two years of illness, and the injured employee keeps the ordinary protections of Hollandiya əmək qanunvericiliyi, including reintegration support. Handle the liability claim and the employment position together.
İşçi olaraq nəyi yoxlamalısınız?
Most of the evidence that decides a claim is created in the first days after the accident. Check these points:
- Did you report the accident to your employer in writing on the day itself, and did you keep a copy?
- Has a doctor recorded the injury and its cause in your medical file?
- Do you have photographs of the location and equipment, the names of witnesses and the instructions you were given?
- Was a serious accident reported to the Netherlands Labour Authority under Article 9 of the Working Conditions Act, and have you asked for its report?
- Have you sent a written notice reserving your right to compensation within five years (Article 3:310(5) and 3:317 BW)?
- Has anyone asked you to sign a settlement with a final discharge (finale kwijting)? Do not sign before you know the full extent of the injury.
İşəgötürən olaraq nəyi yoxlamalısınız?
Your defence under Article 7:658 BW consists of the documents you had before the accident. Check these points:
- Is your risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) complete and up to date, with an action plan that has actually been carried out?
- Can you show which instructions and training each employee received, and when?
- Do you enforce the use of safety equipment, and do you supervise compliance in practice?
- Did you report a serious accident immediately to the Netherlands Labour Authority, and is it on your accident list (Article 9 Working Conditions Act)?
- Does your business liability insurance cover agency workers and contractors (Article 7:658(4) BW) and employees who travel for work (Article 7:611 BW)?
Our summary of the ən çox yayılmış uyğunluq səhvləri shows where these files usually fall short, and our guide to Hollandiya əmək hüququ daha geniş öhdəlikləri əhatə edir.
What can we do for you with employer liability for workplace accidents?
As məşğulluq vəkilləri, we handle the employment-law side of a workplace accident; the injury claim itself goes to a personal-injury specialist. In practice we:
- assess whether the employer or hirer is liable under Article 7:658 BW or Article 7:611 BW, based on the accident report, the RI&E and the instructions given;
- draft the letter holding the employer liable and the notice that interrupts the five-year limitation period;
- request the employer’s accident registration and the Labour Authority’s report;
- review a settlement proposal or final discharge before you sign it;
- advise on continued pay during illness, reintegration and the prohibition of dismissal during illness;
- conduct the liability proceedings before the subdistrict court.
xülasə
- Under Article 7:658 BW you only prove damage in the performance of your work; the employer must prove it met its duty of care.
- The employer’s only other defence is intent or conscious recklessness; ordinary carelessness on your part does not reduce the claim.
- Hirers of agency workers and of contractors working within their operations can be liable too (Article 7:658(4) BW).
- Serious accidents must be reported directly to the Netherlands Labour Authority (Article 9 Working Conditions Act).
- An injury claim expires five years after you know the damage and the liable party (Article 3:310(5) BW); a written notice interrupts that period.
Tez-tez soruşulan suallar
Who can hold an employer liable for a workplace accident in the Netherlands?
An employee who suffers damage in the performance of the work can hold the employer liable under Article 7:658 BW, including for accidents at a client’s site or while travelling for work. Agency workers, secondees and contractors working within the hirer’s ordinary business can also hold the hirer liable under Article 7:658(4) BW. You do not have to prove that the employer was careless.
How do you start a liability claim after a workplace accident?
Report the accident to your employer in writing straight away and see a doctor, so the injury and its cause are recorded. Serious accidents must be reported by the employer to the Netherlands Labour Authority. Then send the employer a letter holding it liable and asking it to notify its liability insurer.
Is there a deadline for holding your employer liable?
Yes. Under Article 3:310(5) BW a claim for damages caused by injury expires five years after the day following the day you became aware of both the damage and the liable party. The twenty-year long stop does not apply to injury claims. You can interrupt the five-year period with a written notice in which you unequivocally reserve your right to compensation.
Does my own carelessness reduce the claim?
No. Ordinary contributory negligence under Article 6:101 BW does not reduce a claim under Article 7:658 BW. The employer escapes liability only if it proves that the damage was largely caused by your intent or conscious recklessness, which requires that you were actually aware of the reckless nature of your conduct.
Who calculates the damages after a workplace accident?
Liability and the employment position are employment-law questions under Article 7:658 BW. The calculation of the injury damages (letselschade) is handled by a personal-injury specialist. Continued pay during illness under Article 7:629 BW is set off against the loss of income part of that claim.
