Prevention measures are worth the investment

Wellbeing at work plays a role in kinds of areas: safety and protection, hygiene, psychosocial wellbeing, etc. To keep the workplace safe and healthy, an efficient prevention policy is essential. A prevention advisor or prevention service must be present in every company employing personnel. For companies with up to 20 employees, the employer can take responsibility for the prevention himself. For larger companies, an internal or external prevention service is usually used. ADD's prevention engineer is happy to advise you or refer you to the appropriate authorities.

It is important to know that a prevention advisor only gives advice. The employer chooses whether or not to follow this advice. However, he remains criminally responsible for the wellbeing policy. Depending on the seriousness of the violation(s) of the Welfare Act, the employer can be sentenced to a financial fine and/or imprisonment.

Prevention is always better than cure. Don't think: "it has never happened before, so it won't happen in the future". If an employee has a major accident, your company suffers damage. It must close for a while or production must be stopped. This could lead to loss of customers if they choose another party, and you cannot insure against a lost customer. You can prevent this by investing in the safety and awareness of your employees. Well-considered prevention measures pay themselves back.

Prevention is a daily activity. Every day, every week, every month, every year, a better wellbeing at work has to be achieved. The employer has an exemplary role to play here. Ideally, this will create a safety culture in the workplace, where employees themselves hold each other accountable for compliance with the wellbeing policy.

ADD can help you identify the bottlenecks in the area of wellbeing within your company. We also put you in contact with the appropriate bodies that can assist you in further developing your welfare policy.

More information on wellbeing at work can be found on the website of the federal public service for employment, labour and social dialogue .