New health and safety regulations

At a glance

• On 17 November 2023, an amendment to the regulations of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 1 December 1998 on health and safety at workstations equipped with computer monitors came into force.
• The changes concern workstations where work is performed at a computer monitor for at least half of the daily working time and is performed by portable systems, ie a laptop.
• These workstations now need to be equipped with a stationary monitor or stand ensuring that the top edge of the screen is at the employee's eye level. A separate computer keyboard and mouse must also be provided. The employee may also demand that the employer equip the workstation with a document holder and a footrest.
• The employer’s obligation to subsidise the purchase of corrective eyeglasses has also now been extended to cover the purchase of contact lenses (if needed by an employee pursuant to a medical certificate issued by an occupational health physician). The regulations do not specify to what extent the employer should subsidise the purchase.
• Employers now have six months (until 17 May 2024) to adapt workplaces with computer screens that were set up before the amendment came into force to the new requirements. Workstations set up since the amendment came into force must already comply with the new requirements.