Q&A – What are line management’s obligations regarding well-being at work?
The employer and internal prevention service jointly define the well-being policy. Their goal is to eliminate or minimise work-related risks from unsafe working conditions to psychosocial problems. But the Welfare Act also assigns specific obligations to managers – those in line management – and to each individual employee.
In short
As an employer, you draw up your well-being policy, bear ultimate responsibility for it, and allocate the necessary resources. Your managers are obligated to implement that policy in practice during the daily work carried out by their team. For instance, they monitor the correct use of work and protective equipment, investigate incidents, and divide tasks according to competence.
Who in your organisation is part of line management?
The Welfare Act does not define ‘line management’. It generally refers to everyone with a managerial position in your organisation.
Implementing the well-being policy: what are the obligations?
Managers investigate accidents and incidents within their team or department and propose measures to the internal prevention service to prevent these in the future. So, line management actively collaborates using a planned prevention approach.
They oversee the correct use of work equipment, collective and personal protective equipment, and products within their team. They also check that all safety and health instructions are properly complied with.
If needed,managers seek timely advice from the internal prevention service.
They divide tasks within their team according to competence. Specifically, a person who performs a task has received the required training and/or appropriate instructions.
They look out for work-related psychosocial risks and ensure these are addressed appropriately.
They organise individual discussions with their team members about staff obligations and measures needed to perform their job safely and healthily. The Welfare Act does not impose a minimum frequency for those discussions.
They mentor new staff and/or designate an experienced team member to do this task.
Finally, the Welfare Act also explicitly focuses on staff to ensure the well-being policy is successful. Each individual employee actively participates by safeguarding their own safety and health and that of others, namely, colleagues and third parties.
Do your managers know their duties and obligations regarding well-being at work?
Our ‘Safety at Work for Managers’ basic course places prevention at the top of the agenda, but also ensures that communication and your safety culture are covered in detail. So, each line manager contributes to an active and preventive well-being policy.