Prevent absenteeism with the RI&E

The RI&E is a questionnaire that is used to prepare a map of the work-related risks in your company. It is normally prepared by the employer, working with the prevention officer or health and safety coordinator. The works council has the right to approve the RI&E and therefore has to agree with its contents. There is good reason for this, because employees play an important part in preventing unsafe situations and absences. They are also usually well aware of what happens on the shop-floor.

Article 5 of the Health and Safety Law states that companies must draw up an inventory of the risks involved in their work and the working environment. It is also mandatory to prepare a plan for dealing with these. The plan states what needs to be done first, and the deadline by which it must be completed. Often the major risks will be tackled first. Major may mean that the risk is serious (risk of explosion or falling) or that many employees are affected by it. And absence due to burnout is a major risk that affects many employees. For example, if there is heavy pressure of work and undesirable behaviour.

For you as a manager it is important that you know which risks your employees are exposed to when performing their work. Probably that does not seem very exciting, because you work in an office environment, but work there can also involve risks, such as heavy pressure of work, or sitting working in a bad posture for too long at a computer. If your employees are exposed to heavy pressure of work and you do not take any steps to tackle that, you run the risk of them becoming overstretched and calling in sick.

Managing risks will help prevent absences. From the RI&E you will also find out which employees are running additional risks. These might be female employees who are young and pregnant, or interns or temps. An employee who is inexperienced or has less routine, may well be less quick to spot a threat, or may have problems dealing with aggressive behaviour from customers or clients. If you are aware of this, you can arrange for additional supervision or coaching. This way you avoid health problems and make sure your employees stay healthy and can do their work longer.

Make sure you know what is in the RI&E. It is not only a mandatory document, it gives you an overview of the most common occupational risks in your organisation. You can use it to reduce or even prevent absences due to illness among your employees. In the plan for dealing with this you can also define actions for yourself and the department. For example, if heavy pressure of work is a risk, one of the measures might be that employees may only work overtime when it is strictly necessary and that they take adequate breaks. It is better if you discuss this with your employees, so that you can explain why it is important to follow rules like this.