Good employment practices: what are they and how can you apply them in your organisation?

Good employment practices are an essential foundation for organisations that want to remain future-ready. In a labour market where talent is scarce and work is constantly changing, employees expect more than a payslip. They are looking for purpose, a healthy workload, trust, development opportunities and an employer that supports their sustainable employability.

This creates an opportunity for organisations: those that take good care of their people see the benefits reflected directly in performance, engagement and continuity. In this article, you will discover what good employment practices involve and how to put them into practice within your organisation.

Good employment practices are about creating a healthy, safe and fair working environment in which employees can perform at their best. They include the employer’s responsibility to treat employees with care and respect, take their interests into account and provide opportunities for development.

They therefore form a shared foundation for a strong relationship between employer and employee: the employer provides clear frameworks, good terms and conditions of employment, and a healthy working environment; the employee contributes by acting professionally, responsibly and with commitment.

Good employment practices are not only a moral principle, but are also embedded in Dutch civil law. The main obligations arising from this include:

Duty of care
Employers must provide a safe and healthy working environment. This applies both physically and mentally: from ergonomic workplaces to preventing psychosocial workload and stress-related risks.

Fair terms and conditions of employment
Employees are entitled to appropriate employment conditions and fair pay. This also includes transparency, equal opportunities and avoiding unjustified differences.

Workplace safety
An employer must identify and minimise risks. This includes maintaining an up-to-date Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E), providing safety instructions and establishing clear protocols.

Equal treatment
Discrimination is prohibited by law. Employers must actively create an inclusive working environment in which everyone has equal opportunities.

Together, these obligations form the basic standard every organisation must meet before taking further steps towards good employment practices.

Good employment practices are based on a number of fundamental principles that guide both policy and behaviour:

• Principle of due care: Make decisions that are carefully considered and take into account the interests of both the organisation and the employee.
• Principle of proportionality: Ensure that measures are proportionate to the objective.
• Principle of justification: Explain decisions clearly; employees are entitled to transparency.
• Principle of trust: Create a culture of mutual trust in which agreements are reliable and predictable.
• Principle of equality: Treat employees equally in comparable situations and provide equal opportunities.
• Accident insurance: Ensure adequate insurance is in place so employees are protected in the event of work-related accidents, both on and away from the workplace.

Good employment practices offer significant benefits for both employers and employees. The main advantages include:

• Higher motivation and engagement: employees feel seen and valued.
• Lower sickness absence: a healthy, safe and vital work culture reduces long-term absence.
• Lower staff turnover: people are more likely to stay when they can develop and remain sustainably employable.
• A stronger position in the labour market: organisations that take good care of their employees are better able to attract new talent and remain attractive employers.

Good employment practices therefore directly strengthen both organisational performance and long-term continuity.

Developing good employment practices does not have to be complicated. A structured approach can take you a long way:

1. Assess the current situation
   Review existing policies, sickness absence figures, the RI&E, HR processes and organisational culture. Where are the greatest opportunities for improvement?
2. Speak to stakeholders
   Involve HR, team leaders, the works council and senior management. Good employment practices work best when everyone shares the same objective.
3. Ask employees for feedback
   Use surveys, employee satisfaction surveys or short pulse checks to gain insight into needs and areas of concern.
4. Update policies and agreements
   Adjust employment conditions, vitality policies, leadership programmes or communication based on the feedback received.
5. Train managers
   Good employment practices depend heavily on good leadership. Focus training on conversation skills, vitality, workload management and building trust. For example, consider Lifeguard’s Vital Leadership module.
6. Create a communication plan
   Explain to employees what you are doing, why you are doing it and how it benefits them. This helps build support and engagement.

To determine whether good employment practices are being applied successfully, it is important to monitor progress. Key indicators include:

• Employee surveys: satisfaction, safety and trust.
• Engagement scores: how strongly connected do employees feel to the organisation?
• Sickness absence figures: an important indicator of vitality and workload.
• Turnover and retention: are employees staying, or leaving sooner than desired?
• Feedback systems: one-to-one conversations, pulse surveys or vitality checks.
• Employer branding indicators: reviews, application numbers and referral rates.

By measuring regularly, you can make targeted adjustments and continue to improve. The Lifeguard dashboard gives you the unique opportunity to monitor employee energy levels in real time.

The labour market is changing rapidly, and good employment practices need to evolve with it:

• Staff shortages require tailored solutions, flexibility and a strong focus on employee retention.
• Hybrid working makes clear agreements and attention to connection essential.
• Sustainable employability is becoming a strategic priority: employees need to remain healthy, motivated and capable in a changing world.
• Vitality is increasingly important: mental health, workload, energy and resilience have a growing influence on the quality of work.
• Flexibility in working hours and ways of working is essential for many employees.

Organisations that respond effectively to these developments position themselves as modern, forward-looking employers. More importantly, they create a culture in which people can thrive.