There are government regulations for safe and healthy working. The exact details of this have been laid down to employers and employees.
The following general regulations are relevant in the Working Conditions Act:
Article 3 paragraph 1: The employer pursues a policy aimed at good working conditions. Article 3. Paragraph 2: The employer must prevent risks and, if that is not possible, limit these risks.
Article 5: The employer identifies and evaluates the risks and draws up a plan of action. Article 8: The employer provides information, instruction and training to employees. Article 11: The employee is obliged to cooperate in the safe use of the circumstances and to perform work in a safe manner.
Article 18: The employer shall periodically give employees the opportunity to undergo an examination aimed at preventing or limiting the risks that the work entails for the health of the employees as much as possible.
Specifically for night work, the following article from the Working Conditions Decree applies:
Article 2.43: Every employee who starts working at night for the first time will be given the opportunity to undergo an occupational health examination before the start of work (supplement to Article 18. Working Conditions Act).
The Working Hours Act (ATW) is the Dutch translation of the European Working Time Directive (EAT Directive). The ATW meets all European minimum requirements and is the leading legislation for employers in the Netherlands, including UMCs. The ATW provides general rules for working hours, breaks and rest periods of employees. With these rules, the central government wants to protect employees from working too long hours. But also make the combination of work, private and care tasks easier.
Article 5.8: Night shifts are extra stressful for employees. That is why stricter additional rules apply to night work on working hours, rest periods and the number of shifts. Additional agreements may have been made by employers and employees about this in the collective labor agreement.
Article 5.9: Consignment services (on-call services) are extra burdensome for employees in addition to the regular services. Therefore, additional rules apply to consignment services about working hours, frequency, rest periods and, in combination with night shifts.
The ATW leaves room for customization through collective labor agreements. Collective labor agreements such as the Cao umc or Cao AMS (for medical specialists) may deviate from the standard rules within certain limits, if this is justified and there is sufficient rest and compensation in return, as laid down in the ATW itself, article 1.5.