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Advising on health and well-being, we don't do that alone. Premed consists of a multidisciplinary team of specialists that proactively and personally supports you with the necessary attention to your work environment and business activities. Need advice? We are just a phone call away.

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The importance of an active health policy

By keeping your employees healthy, you reduce the risk of illness, save costs, and increase efficiency in your company.

Employees spend a large part of their day at the workplace. Whether they are behind a screen or have to lift heavy materials, a prolonged effort can have an impact on health. Premed helps you identify health risks in time and take the necessary measures.

Count on Premed's occupational physician

Premed's occupational physician supports your health policy with extensive services. From vaccinations and First Aid-courses to awareness sessions on health at work. We always put the health of your employees first. This way, you are one step ahead of occupational accidents, and your employees can continue working without worries.

How can Premed help you?  

  • Are your employees pregnant or do they have a physical disability? Then Premed's occupational physician performs a risk assessment to determine whether the job involves health risks.
  • Our occupational physician performs a medical examination of your drivers for the mandatory driving fitness certificates.
  • Our occupational physician helps prevent occupational diseases with a risk assessment and examines your incapacitated employees before they return to work .
  • Our occupational physician helps you take the necessary safety measures at the workplace against COVID19.
  • Do your employees travel often and do you want information about the varying corona rules regarding quarantine? Premed brings order to the confusion and provides you with all the necessary information.
  • Do you wish to start a vaccination campaign? Our occupational physician vaccinates and informs your employees.
  • Premed trains your employees to become expert first responders with our certified training courses.
  • Premed informs and encourages your employees to adopt a healthy lifestyle, both at work and outside of it.

Frequently asked questions

There is no fixed number of first-aiders for all companies, but it depends on the size and risks of the undertaking. The employer must determine, through risk assessment, how many first-aiders are needed. The Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPBW) or, in its absence, the employee representation must be consulted. The labour inspectorate can check if this is sufficient.

The employer plays an important role in occupational accidents and incapacity for work. He must ensure a safe working environment, prevent risks and inform employees about safety rules. In the event of an accident, he is obliged to report it and support the necessary medical and administrative steps. In addition, he offers guidance on re-integration.

After the application, Premed invites the employee for a medical examination. The occupational physician assesses definitive unsuitability. The procedure must be completed within three months and respects the steps of registration and consultation. 

Employers can provide healthy food, offer exercise opportunities (such as sit-stand workplaces or sports activities) and schedule information sessions on health. The policy should integrate health into the well-being plan. 

No, medication generally does not belong in a first aid kit. This is an important guideline within Belgian legislation and good first aid practices.

First aid responders are not authorized to administer medication. Even a seemingly harmless painkiller can cause severe reactions in some individuals.

The employee is legally obliged to cooperate in determining the work capacity. If the employee does not respond to our first invitation, we will send reminders. If we ultimately receive no input, we cannot assess the work capacity. This will be noted in the file and passed on to the advising physician (health insurance fund/RIZIV) for further follow-up.

You need a fitness to drive certificate if you professionally drive certain vehicles for which a medical driving fitness examination is legally required. 

This applies especially to drivers with a driving licence category C, C+E, D or D+E (such as truck and bus drivers) and to holders of a category B driving licence who use it for professional activities such as taxi services, driving school lessons, rental services with chauffeur, paid student transport or ambulance transport. The certificate is intended to confirm that the driver is medically fit to safely operate such vehicles.

No, there is an important distinction here. For ordinary illness, the assessment of work capacity starts after 8 weeks. Is the incapacity for work the result of an industrial accident or occupational disease? Then the work capacity can only be assessed once the injuries are 'consolidated' (permanent/stable), and therefore not automatically after 8 weeks.

Healthy employees feel better, perform better and contribute to a positive work atmosphere. Premed stimulates health at work and at home by giving employees tips for a healthier lifestyle and organizing workshops.

A reintegration process helps an employee return to work after long-term illness. It must be carefully prepared because the causes of absence are diverse. 

An occupational disease arises when employees are exposed to harmful substances or other risks at work for an extended period. Premed emphasizes that it is crucial to identify and manage these hazards early, as such exposures can lead to illness and ultimately disability. 

The medical force majeure procedure allows an employer or employee to terminate an employment contract when an employee is definitively unable to perform their work for medical reasons.

The material must be adapted to the company's activities. Examples include plasters, sterile compresses, disinfectants, bandages, scissors, gloves, and resuscitation aids.

Check the contents regularly and record incidents in a first aid register.

A travel first aid kit contains your personal medication (with medical certificate), disinfectants, sterile compresses, bandages, thermometer, pain and fever reducers, remedies for diarrhea and motion sickness, ointment for insect bites, sunscreen and antihistamines.

Then return to work is often still possible through a partial restart, a temporarily adjusted schedule, or other tasks. By building up the workload in achievable steps, you increase the chance of a sustainable return.

After completing a basic training, the first responder must annually follow a 4-hour refresher course. If the first responder misses this refresher course, then he must attend another refresher session within 12 months following the originally scheduled refresher course.

If the first responder misses this refresher course 2 times, a basic training must be followed again. Otherwise, he will be deemed to no longer possess the necessary knowledge and skills in first aid.

Work capacity refers to the extent to which someone is able to perform work — both physically and mentally — within a specific context, such as a job or work environment. It is an assessment of what a person can do, regardless of what they are currently doing.

It is an important pillar of federal reintegration policy.

The **assessment of work capacity** is a mandatory "pre-phase" or screening after 8 weeks of illness. Here, a questionnaire is used to easily check if there are any possibilities at all. The Reintegration Trajectory (RIT) is the effective follow-up with a medical examination and a reintegration plan. Important: From 2026, as an employer, you may not simply start an RIT if a positive **work capacity** has not first been established (unless the employee spontaneously agrees).

A medical examination by the occupational physician aims to protect the well-being and health of employees in relation to their work. Objectives of the medical examination are;

  • To check if an employee is physically and mentally fit to perform certain tasks, especially for high-risk positions such as safety functions or positions requiring increased vigilance.
  • Early detection of occupational diseases or work-related conditions.
  • Advice and guidance.

 

The employer has an important responsibility regarding safety and well-being at work.
He must ensure a safe working environment by identifying risks and taking appropriate measures to limit them. If an occupational accident still occurs, the employer is obliged to report it correctly to the insurer.

In addition, the employer monitors the absenteeism of his employees. In the event of long-term incapacity for work, he also plays a role in guiding the employee, for example by examining the possibilities for reintegration into the workplace.

The medical force majeure procedure is the only legally valid way to achieve dismissal for medical reasons. After a minimum of six months of continuous incapacity, the appointed occupational physician can determine the employee's definitive incapacity. Medical dismissal is subsequently the termination of the employment contract based on this established medical force majeure, when the procedure shows that the employee is definitively incapacitated and no adapted work is available.

The core legislation on maternity protection in Belgium consists of the Labour Act (1971), the Employment Contracts Act (1978), the Royal Decree of 3 May 1999 (Codex on Well-being at Work), and the RIZIV regulation on maternity leave. These together ensure the protection of the health of mother and child, the retention of rights during pregnancy and after childbirth, and protection against dismissal.

A first aid procedure begins by remaining calm and ensuring one's own safety, followed by notifying emergency services, providing essential information (who, where, what happened and the victim's condition), initiating necessary aid and possibly evacuation. The step-by-step plan must be visibly present at the workplace. 

Every employer conducts a risk assessment to assess whether the work remains suitable during pregnancy. The risk assessment must show whether there are elements at work that could be detrimental to the health and safety of the expectant mother, the breastfeeding mother, or the child.
Even if there are currently no female employees, this analysis remains mandatory.

As soon as an employee announces that she is pregnant or breastfeeding, the appropriate measures from this analysis will be applied.

The employer must, according to the Code on Well-being at Work:

  • perform a risk assessment,
  • provide first-aid resources and possibly a room,
  • designate sufficient and trained first responders,
  • organize procedures and information,
  • keep records.

For employers, as of January 1, 2026, a fixed timeline applies with a notification after 4 weeks and a screening after 8 weeks of incapacity for work. If you do not follow this, you expose yourself to various financial risks:

  • Administrative sanctions (Direct risk):
    If the screening — or at a later time — shows that there is positive work capacity, you as an employer are obliged to consider a reintegration process (RIT). If you do not do this and no reintegration plan is drawn up, you risk administrative or criminal fines (sanction level 2).
  • New Solidarity Contribution (Replaces the old responsabilisation contribution):
    The 'old' responsabilisation contribution will be abolished but replaced by a more direct system. Companies (>50 employees) with an excessive influx into disability will pay a solidarity contribution from 2026 (approx. 30% of the sickness benefit). A timely assessment of work capacity is necessary to avoid this "fine".
  • Missed premiums (Opportunity cost):
    Without a correct procedure and screening, you cannot claim the increased work resumption premium (€ 1,000 – € 3,000) for employment in adapted or other work.

A timely assessment therefore not only protects you against fines, but especially against the high costs of long-term disability.

Who should or should not be examined is determined by the different tasks you perform during work.

The legislation stipulates for Employees who perform a safety function (such as machine operators), work with dangerous substances, or are exposed to noise, radiation, intense stress or shift work, are obliged to undergo a regular medical examination.

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