Handling of a mainly collective request

Information to the employer and the applicant

If the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects considers that the request is mainly collective in nature, they inform the employer and the applicant as quickly as possible.

They inform them that the request is mainly collective in nature, the way in which the request will be handled and the date on which the employer must make a decision on the actions to be taken following the request.

The employer is also notified of the risk situation described by the applicant, but without mentioning their identity.

Handling of the request by the employer

A mainly collective request is handled by the employer. They must examine the risk situation in the company and take the collective measures required to resolve the situation.

Businesses without a Committee or trade union delegation

If there is no Committee or trade union delegation in the company, the employer directly decides how to process the mainly collective request and who to interview on this issue. The employer must not consult the workers about the handling of the request, as the cascade approach according to which workers are directly involved in handling issues relating to their well-being when there is no Committee or trade union delegation does not apply in this case.

The employer can choose to carry out a "risk analysis of the specific work situation", or to examine the situation differently.

If the employer decides to carry out a "risk analysis of the specific work situation", this must be carried out as follows:

the workers must be involved in the risk analysis;
if the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects is part of the internal service for prevention and protection at work, they are also involved in this analysis;
if the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects is part of the external service for prevention and protection at work, they are involved in the risk analysis if the risk situation to be examined is complex;
during the risk analysis, account is taken of the dangers linked to the components of the work organisation, the content of the work, the working conditions, living conditions at work and interpersonal relations at work;
if the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects is involved in the risk analysis, they must provide the employer only with anonymous data from their discussions with the workers;
the workers must be able to provide their information anonymously if the Prevention Advisor is not involved in the analysis.

If the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects from the external service is involved in the analysis, this involvement is not covered by the fixed fee; this is invoiced separately for additional services.

Business with a Committee or trade union delegation

If the company has a Committee or trade union delegation, the employer must consult these bodies before making a decision on the necessary collective measures. The employer sends the Committee or trade union delegation the document sent by the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects describing the specific risk situation, and requests an advice on how they believe the request should be handled. It is therefore not enough for the employer to explain the situation in their own words.

Consultation between the employer and the Committee or trade union delegation may result in the following situations:

Following the advice of the Committee or trade union delegation, the employer decides whether a "risk analysis of the specific work situation" will be carried out (in accordance with the modalities set out in the six points above). After the risk analysis of the specific work situation, the employer sends the anonymous results to the Committee or trade union delegation. The employer then asks for their advice on the action to be taken regarding the request.
One third (at least) of the workers' representatives on the Committee or one third (at least) of the trade union delegation asks the employer to carry out a "risk analysis of the specific work situation". The employer is required to grant the request. After this risk analysis of the specific work situation, the employer sends the anonymous results to the Committee or trade union delegation. The employer then asks for their advice on the action to be taken regarding the request.
After receiving the advice of the Committee or trade union delegation, the employer decides not to carry out a specific examination or to handle the request in a way other than an "analysis of the specific work situation". For example, a steering committee able to handle mainly collective requests may be set up. All investigations must lead to the communication of the anonymous results to the Committee or the delegation. After an examination of the risk situation, the employer asks for the advice of the Committee or trade union delegation on the action to be taken on the request.

Precautions to be taken when the behaviour of a specific person is being challenged

The request for intervention could relate to a problem with a member of the line management, whose behaviour is impacting the entire group.

Analysis

If there is a psychosocial analysis, it must avoid accusing a specific person. So the analysis will consider all the sources of danger present in the service and, in addition to interpersonal relations, the consequences of any irregularity with this person on the work organisation, the working conditions and living conditions at work, as well as the risk factors which this particular person is experiencing and which may be the cause of the irregularity. Similarly, we also consider that it is more neutral to look at this person from the viewpoint of their hierarchical position rather than their identity, as the position can also be subject to specific risks factors.

Communication to the person in question

It is advisable:

to inform them before informing the Committee and explain the procedure, the aim of the analysis and who will see the results;
to give them feedback on the analysis, before making a decision on the measures, so that they can give their advice (in addition to the fact that they must obviously be interviewed during the analysis);
to send them data from the final analysis results that is appropriate, relevant and not excessive, so that they are informed of the dangers present in their service and those that affect them and can understand and implement the measures decided on by the employer.

In terms of informing the Committee or trade union delegation

The employer informs the Committee or trade union delegation of the results of the examination. These results can contain only anonymous data.

This anonymity covers those employees who were questioned during the risk analysis. The analysis results cannot make it possible to identify the content of the statements of a particular worker and the identity of the persons interviewed cannot be transmitted.

The issue of anonymity also applies with regard to the description of the danger, in this instance the irregularity of a particular person.

In this event, it is essential to be particularly careful when sending the analysis results, as the information that would be sent on the performance of this person constitutes personal data as the person can be identified. This data must be processed fairly and lawfully, be collected for defined, explicit and legitimate purposes and not be used subsequently in a way that is incompatible with these purposes. It must be appropriate, relevant and not excessive with regard to the purposes for which it was obtained and for which it is subsequently used.

The Committee can receive analysis results containing only anonymous data, so they can give the employer an advice on the actions to be taken on the collective request for psychosocial intervention. The Committee should now be sent all the data from the final analysis results that is appropriate, relevant and not excessive with regard to this purpose, so they can issue this advice, even if the data concerns a specific person. The risk of the abusive use of the data by the Committee members is also limited by the fact that all the Committee members are bound by a duty of discretion.

Proposed measures relating to the individual situation of the applicant

The employer examines the collective risk situation mentioned in the request. This means that in principle, the involvement of the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects is concluded.

The individual aspects linked to the request must not be forgotten, however. The worker who submitted the request may be in a difficult psychological situation that warrants concern.

In this event, in the period during which the employer is examining the risk situation, the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects must continue to offer the necessary individual support.

This means that they can propose to the employer provisional or definitive measures linked to the individual situation of the worker. The aim of these measures is to avoid the health of the worker being seriously affected. For example, this may involve a (temporary) change to the worker's working hours or the content of their work.

If the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects proposes measures to the employer, they must also inform them of the identity of the applicant so that these measures can be implemented.

Decision by the employer

The employer decides on the actions they will take relating to the request within a maximum of three months after being informed of the submission of the request.

This deadline may be extended to a maximum of six months if they carry out "a risk analysis of the specific work situation" (in accordance with the modalities set out in the six points above).

The employer then sends their reasoned decision in writing to the following persons:

the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects; The Counsellor then informs the applicant of the employer's decision.
the Prevention Advisor responsible for the internal service for prevention and protection at work if the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects is part of the external service for prevention and protection at work;
the Committee or trade union delegation.

Handling of the request by the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects

In principle, the employer will implement the collective measures they have decided to take as quickly as possible. If these measures solve the risk situation in the company, the handling of the request is completed.

However, it is possible that the employer does not follow through on the request, decides that no measure needs to be taken or that the applicant believes that the measures are not appropriate for their individual situation. In these cases, the request can be handled by the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects if:

the employer has not carried out a "risk analysis of the specific work situation" (in accordance with the modalities set out in the six points above),
the employer has carried out a "risk analysis of the specific work situation" in accordance with the modalities, but without involving the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects (as they are part of the external service for prevention and protection at work and the situation was not complex).

The handling of the formal request for psychosocial intervention may be transferred to the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects if the worker gives their written agreement to their case being reopened.

If the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects takes up the handling of this request, they will notify the employer as soon as possible and inform them of the identity of the applicant.

They handle the request in accordance with the procedure applicable to a formal request for psychosocial intervention that is mainly individual in nature. This means that they examine the specific work situation, interview the persons they consider appropriate and draft an advice for the employer in which they propose measures.

To carry out their examination and draft their advice, the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects has a three month period which starts on the date of the document in which the applicant gave their agreement for their case to be taken up by the Prevention Advisor for psychosocial aspects.