Occupational disease: when is the employer liable?

23 September 2026

Arslan Advocaten

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Occupational disease: when is the employer liable?

In brief:

Under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), your employer is liable for an occupational disease if it has failed to fulfil its duty of care.
Occupational diseases develop through prolonged exposure to harmful factors at work, such as chemicals, asbestos, RSI and burnout.
Compensation may cover medical costs, loss of income, domestic help, travel expenses and compensation for pain and suffering (smartengeld).
Once you have shown that you were exposed to harmful conditions at work and that your complaints may have been caused by them, the employer must prove that it fulfilled its duty of care.
If you suspect an occupational disease, contact a specialised personal injury lawyer straight away.

What is an occupational disease?

An occupational disease is an illness caused by exposure to harmful factors at work or by the nature of the work itself. Unlike a sudden workplace accident, an occupational disease often develops gradually through prolonged exposure to, for example, hazardous substances, physical overload or psychological pressure. Examples include conditions such as RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury), burnout, asbestosis from exposure to asbestos, or lung problems caused by toxic substances.

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Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 19 September 2026.

The distinction between a workplace accident and an occupational disease matters legally, because liability and evidence may be treated differently. With an occupational disease, it is often harder to show that the employer is liable, because the damage does not arise at a single moment but over a longer period.

The employer’s duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code

Under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, the employer has a duty of care to provide a safe and healthy working environment. This means that it must take all reasonable measures to prevent employees from becoming ill as a result of their work. This concerns the prevention of both accidents and occupational diseases.

Among other things, the employer must:

Carry out a risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) to identify health risks.
Provide personal protective equipment, such as respirators when employees are exposed to harmful substances.
Give employees proper instructions and training on working safely.
Supervise compliance with safety regulations.
Monitor and address psychosocial workload (PSA) to prevent burnout and stress.

If the employer falls short in this duty of care and an employee contracts an occupational disease as a result, the employer can be held liable for the damage suffered.

When is the employer liable for an occupational disease?

The employer’s liability for an occupational disease follows from Article 7:658 BW. The employer must demonstrate that it has fulfilled its duty of care. This means that if you develop an occupational disease, the burden of proof lies with your employer to prove that it did everything reasonably necessary to prevent the illness.

In practice, this may mean that your employer must be able to demonstrate, for example, that it:

Carried out a proper RI&E.
Took effective measures against exposure to harmful substances (such as asbestos, chemicals or particulate matter).
Took proper preventive measures against physical overload (as with RSI) and psychological strain (as with burnout).
Gave you sufficient instructions and equipment.
Checked the working conditions regularly.

If your employer cannot demonstrate this, it is legally liable for the consequences of your occupational disease and you can claim compensation.

Examples of occupational diseases and liability

There are several occupational diseases that occur regularly and for which employers may be liable:

Asbestosis and other asbestos-related diseases

Prolonged exposure to asbestos fibres can cause serious lung diseases, including asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Workers in construction, industry and shipbuilding were often at risk in the past because asbestos was not always removed safely. Strict rules apply today, but claims relating to past exposure still arise regularly.

If your employer took insufficient measures to prevent exposure to asbestos, such as failing to provide protective equipment or failing to clean the workplace adequately, it may be liable. Compensation can be substantial given the serious damage to health and the lifelong consequences.

RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)

RSI is an umbrella term for complaints affecting muscles, tendons and nerves caused by repetitive movements and prolonged overload, often in office environments. Think of frequent typing or mouse use without proper breaks or ergonomic workstations.

By law, the employer has a duty of care to provide an ergonomically sound workstation and to inform employees about the importance of breaks and correct posture. If it falls short in this respect, the employer can be held liable.

Burnout and psychosocial workload

Burnout is often caused by prolonged work-related stress, a high workload, conflicts at work or a lack of support. Under the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) and Article 7:658 BW, the employer must ensure a psychologically safe working environment. This means that it must recognise and address signs of overload.

If you suffer burnout as a result of your employer’s negligence, such as ignoring complaints or failing to adjust the workload, the employer can be held liable for the damage, including loss of income and compensation for pain and suffering. With burnout, compensation for pain and suffering is harder to obtain than with physical injury: there must be demonstrable damage to health and a causal link with the work. Where it is awarded, the amounts are generally in the order of a few thousand euros, and much higher in the case of serious, permanent complaints. A reliable estimate can only be made on the basis of comparable rulings in the Smartengeldgids (the Dutch guide to pain and suffering awards); have your case assessed on that basis rather than on a general amount.

Toxicological occupational diseases

Exposure to toxic substances such as chemical solvents, heavy metals or hazardous fumes can lead to chronic health problems, including cancer and neurological disorders. The employer must provide adequate ventilation, safe procedures and protective equipment.

If the measures are insufficient, liability may follow. Here too, it is important to be able to demonstrate the exposure and the causal link with the work.

What damage can you claim for an occupational disease?

If you have contracted an occupational disease as a result of your employer’s negligence, you can claim the following heads of damage:

Medical costs: costs of treatment, hospital admissions, medication, physiotherapy and other medical care.
Loss of income: the difference between your normal wage and what you receive during illness or incapacity for work.
Future loss of income: if permanent impairments mean you can work less or have to work in a different, lower-paid position.
Domestic help: costs of help in the home if you can no longer do everything yourself.
Travel expenses: costs incurred travelling to practitioners and specialists.
Compensation for pain and suffering: compensation for non-pecuniary damage such as pain, grief, loss of enjoyment of life and limitations in daily life.

The employer is usually covered by liability insurance that compensates this damage. Where liability has been accepted, the costs of a personal injury lawyer are also reimbursed by the insurer under Article 6:96 BW.

How can you report an occupational disease and protect your rights?

If you suspect that you have contracted an occupational disease, take the following steps:

Report your complaints to your employer immediately and ask for a risk file or for your complaints to be recorded.
See your GP or occupational physician for a medical diagnosis and make sure the occupational disease is documented.
Ask the occupational physician for a written statement on the link between your complaints and your work.
Keep all medical documents, correspondence and evidence, such as photographs, records of working conditions and witness statements.
Where possible, report the occupational disease to the Netherlands Centre for Occupational Diseases (NCvB); this also helps with recognition of the disease.
Contact a specialised personal injury lawyer with experience in occupational diseases and employer liability.

Frequently asked questions about occupational diseases and employer liability

When is my employer liable for my occupational disease?

Your employer is liable if it failed to fulfil its duty of care as laid down in Article 7:658 BW and you became ill as a result. This means that insufficient measures were taken to protect your health.

How long do I have to submit a claim?

The limitation period is five years and starts on the day after the day on which you became aware of both the damage and the liable party (Article 3:310(5) BW). Those two moments may differ, sometimes by years in the case of an occupational disease. For personal injury and death, there is no absolute limit of twenty years. Nevertheless, do not wait: evidence disappears, and witnesses remember less and less.

With an occupational disease, that starting point is often difficult to determine: complaints develop gradually and the link with the work usually only becomes clear after a medical examination. You should therefore have that moment recorded.

Can I receive compensation for pain and suffering for an occupational disease such as burnout or asbestosis?

Yes, compensation for pain and suffering covers non-pecuniary damage: pain, grief and loss of enjoyment of life. The amount depends on the nature and duration of the complaints and on what courts have awarded in comparable cases. For psychological occupational diseases such as burnout, the bar is higher (there must be demonstrable damage to health), and the amounts are generally more modest than for serious, life-threatening diseases such as asbestosis or mesothelioma. We assess your situation against specific rulings rather than a rule of thumb.

What should I do if my employer denies liability?

Engage a specialised personal injury lawyer to investigate your case and gather evidence. The lawyer can negotiate with the insurer on your behalf and, if necessary, litigate to secure your rights.

Contact Arslan Advocaten

Have you contracted an occupational disease and do you suspect that your employer is liable for it? Contact Arslan Advocaten, without obligation. Our specialised personal injury lawyers are ready to investigate your case thoroughly and assist you in claiming fair compensation. We make sure you receive what you are entitled to. Our lawyers specialise in personal injury and workplace accidents.