Global five-year prevention plan: a complete guide to preventing psychosocial risks

Key takeaways:

• In Belgium, every employer draws up a global prevention plan covering five years (Article I.2-8 of the Code of Well-being at Work) and an annual action plan (Article I.2-9), in consultation with the hierarchical line and the prevention services.
• The global plan includes, among other things, the results of the risk analysis, the prevention measures, the priority objectives, the organisational, material and financial resources, how the plan will be adapted and the evaluation criteria.
• Psychosocial risks are part of the general risk analysis. The resulting prevention measures are built into the global plan and the annual plan, and evaluated at least once a year.
• The CPPW (Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work, from 50 workers) gives its opinion on the global plan and the annual plan. The draft annual plan must be submitted to it no later than the first day of the second month before the financial year, i.e. 1 November for a calendar-year cycle.
• Since 1 February 2026, fines under the Social Penal Code have been multiplied by 10: a level 3 offence carries a criminal fine of €2,000 to €20,000, or an administrative fine of €1,000 to €10,000.

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What is a global prevention plan and why is it mandatory?

The global prevention plan is the document that sets out the company’s prevention policy over five years. It turns the results of the risk analysis, including psychosocial risks, into objectives and measures.

Definition of the global prevention plan

In everyday language, people often talk about a “global five-year action plan”. The Code of Well-being at Work uses a different wording: the global prevention plan, drawn up for a period of five years and accompanied by an annual action plan.

Article I.2-8 provides that the employer draws it up in writing, in consultation with the members of the hierarchical line and the prevention and protection services at work. The plan takes into account the size of the company and the nature of the risks linked to its activities. It includes in particular:

• The results of hazard identification and the definition, determination and evaluation of risks
• The prevention measures to be put in place
• The priority objectives to be achieved
• The activities to be carried out and the tasks to be performed to achieve these objectives
• The organisational, material and financial resources to be allocated
• The tasks, obligations and resources of everyone involved
• How the plan will be adapted when circumstances change
• The criteria for evaluating the well-being policy

Psychosocial risk prevention is not a separate project: the Code lists the psychosocial aspects of work among the areas covered by the dynamic risk management system, alongside safety, health, ergonomics and hygiene (Article I.2-2).

Legal framework and obligations in Belgium

The global prevention plan is based on the Act of 4 August 1996 on the well-being of workers in the performance of their work and on the Code of Well-being at Work. Psychosocial risks (PSR) have their own title in the Code: during the general risk analysis, the employer identifies the situations that may give rise to these risks. The key texts:

Text	Content	Relevance for your plan
Act of 4 August 1996	Framework law on workers’ well-being. Its Chapter Vbis governs the prevention of psychosocial risks	Establishes the obligation to have a prevention policy
Code of Well-being at Work, Book I, Title 2	Dynamic risk management system, risk analysis, global plan (I.2-8), annual plan (I.2-9), consultation of the Committee (I.2-10), evaluation (I.2-12)	Core of the system
Code of Well-being at Work, Book I, Title 3	Prevention of psychosocial risks: analysis, prevention measures, evaluation, integration into the global plan and the annual plan	Psychosocial part of the plan
Social Penal Code	Penalties for breaches of the 1996 Act and the Code of Well-being at Work	Level 3 or 4 penalties depending on the case

Here is a summary of the obligations that shape your approach in 2026:

Obligation	Reference	Deadline or frequency	Stakeholders
Risk analysis, including psychosocial risks	I.2-5, I.2-6, I.3-1	Ongoing, adapted whenever circumstances change	Hierarchical line, prevention services, workers
Global prevention plan	I.2-8, I.2-12	New plan at least every 5 years. Prior opinion of the CPPW for any change	CPPW, prevention services
Annual action plan	I.2-9, I.2-10	Every year. Draft submitted to the CPPW no later than the first day of the second month before the financial year	CPPW
Evaluation of PSR prevention measures	Title 3 (I.3-6)	At least once a year	CPPW, prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects
Evaluation of the dynamic risk management system	I.2-12	Regularly	Hierarchical line, prevention services
Worker information and training	I.2-16, I.2-18	Training programme taking into account the data in the global plan	Workers, hierarchical line
Penalties	Social Penal Code, Art. 127	Fines multiplied by 10 since 1 February 2026	Well-being at Work Inspectorate

Difference between the global plan and the annual action plan

The global plan sets the five-year strategy. The annual action plan breaks it down, year after year, into concrete actions:

Criterion	Global prevention plan	Annual action plan
Horizon	Five years	The following year’s financial year
Basis	Results of the risk analysis	Global plan and, where applicable, updated strategic advice from the external service
Content	Analysis results, measures, priority objectives, activities, resources, roles, adaptation method, evaluation criteria	Priority objectives for the year, resources and methods, tasks and resources of those involved, adjustments to the global plan
CPPW opinion	Prior opinion on any change or adjustment	Draft submitted no later than the first day of the second month before the financial year. Can be implemented after the opinion or, failing that, at the start of the financial year
Review	New plan at least every five years, after evaluating the system	Drawn up every year, taking into account changes, accidents and incidents, the internal service’s annual report and the Committee’s opinions

Key steps to draw up a global five-year action plan

The Code does not prescribe a single method. The following five-step approach meets the requirements of Articles I.2-5 to I.2-10 and Title 3:

Step 1: analyse psychosocial risks in your organisation

Risk analysis takes place at three levels: the organisation as a whole, each group of jobs or functions, and the individual (Article I.2-6). It consists of identifying hazards, defining and determining risks, and then evaluating them.

For psychosocial risks, the employer identifies situations that may lead to work-related stress or burnout, as well as harm to health resulting from work-related conflicts, violence, or psychological or sexual harassment at work. The employer evaluates them taking five components into account:

• Work organisation
• Work content
• Working conditions
• Living conditions at work
• Interpersonal relations at work

The analysis is carried out with the participation of workers, for example through questionnaires (quantitative results) or focus groups (qualitative results). In large companies, workers who are representative of the different jobs may be enough.

Step 2: set long-term prevention objectives

The global plan sets priority objectives to be achieved over five years. They follow directly from the risks evaluated in step 1. Make them measurable:

• Reduce exposure to overload situations in the most affected departments
• Ensure every manager can detect and deal with risk situations early
• Reduce the number of reported conflict or harassment situations
• Improve return-to-work conditions after long-term absence

Link an evaluation criterion to each objective. The plan must include the criteria for evaluating the well-being policy and how the plan will be adapted when circumstances change.

Step 3: identify suitable prevention measures

Prevention measures are taken in a specific order (Article I.2-7): first those that avoid risks, then those that avoid harm, and finally those that limit harm. The employer only takes these measures insofar as they have an impact on the hazard.

Risks related to workload illustrate this logic well. Avoiding the risk means removing unrealistic targets or distributing tasks in a balanced way. Preventing harm means adapting working conditions when demands cannot be reduced.

Think about the three levels: collective measures for the whole organisation, measures per group of jobs, and individual measures where necessary.

Step 4: plan actions over five years

The global plan schedules the prevention activities to be developed and applied over five years. It sets out the activities to be carried out, each person’s tasks and the resources. Spread the effort over time:

• Year 1: risk analysis, first measures on the highest risks, setting up monitoring tools
• Years 2 and 3: rolling out structural measures (work organisation, manager training)
• Year 4: interim evaluation and adjustments
• Year 5: overall evaluation of the dynamic risk management system and preparation of the new plan

A social barometer repeated every year lets you measure how team perceptions change and objectively assess the effect of the measures. It is a useful benchmark for the interim evaluation and the end-of-cycle evaluation.

Step 5: involve stakeholders and the CPPW

The employer involves the members of the hierarchical line and the prevention and protection services at work in drawing up, implementing and evaluating the plan. The employer also consults the Committee.

• The CPPW: set up from 50 workers, it gives opinions on the well-being policy, the global plan and the annual plan
• Without a CPPW: the trade union delegation takes over its responsibilities
• Without a trade union delegation: workers take part directly in dealing with well-being issues
• Workers and the hierarchical line: informed of the results of the risk analysis and the applicable measures

The written global plan is submitted to the Committee for its prior opinion whenever it is changed or adapted. The draft annual plan is submitted within the deadline set by Article I.2-10 and cannot be implemented before the Committee’s opinion or, failing that, before the start of the financial year.

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The essential components of an effective global prevention plan

An effective plan is not just another document: it is a management tool. Four components make it robust.

Risk analysis and hazard evaluation

This is the foundation of the plan. Without an analysis specific to your company, the plan remains theoretical. The employer takes into account the nature of the activities, the risks specific to those activities and the risks specific to certain groups of workers (Article I.2-4).

Stress at work, overload, conflict and violence cannot be detected through absence indicators alone. Combine several sources:

• Questionnaires and focus groups with workers
• Accidents, incidents and acts of violence or harassment that have occurred
• Requests for informal and formal psychosocial intervention
• Annual reports from the prevention and protection services at work
• Monitoring changes in organisation, workload or headcount

Collective and individual prevention measures

The Code distinguishes measures by level (organisation, group of jobs, individual) and by objective (avoid risks, avoid harm, limit harm). Measures may cover, for example, the organisation of the company, workstation design, protection against psychosocial risks, and worker training and information.

Measures must be adapted to each type of harm. A plan that treats burnout, bore-out and brown-out the same way misses very different causes: overload in one case, underload or loss of meaning in the others.

Monitoring system and performance indicators

The global plan includes the criteria for evaluating the well-being policy. The employer regularly evaluates the dynamic risk management system, taking into account in particular (Article I.2-12):

• Annual reports from the prevention and protection services at work
• The Committee’s opinions and, where applicable, those of the supervising official
• Accidents, incidents or acts of violence and psychological or sexual harassment
• The overall report on the results of periodic health surveillance
• Changes in circumstances requiring the risk analysis strategy to be adapted

An HR dashboard brings this data together with your other indicators (absences, turnover, perceived workload) and gives you an overview to manage the plan.

Type of indicator	Examples	Recommended frequency
Implementation	Share of annual plan actions completed on time, budget used	Quarterly
Outcome	Accidents and incidents, acts of violence or harassment, requests for psychosocial intervention	Every six months
Perception	Perceived workload, stress, team climate, relationship with management	Quarterly (short surveys) or annually
Governance	CPPW opinions, follow-up given, evaluation of PSR measures	Annually

Budget and allocated resources

The global plan specifies the organisational, material and financial resources to be allocated, as well as the tasks, obligations and resources of everyone involved. A plan without an identified budget remains a statement of intent.

• Financial resources: training, measurement tools, external support
• Organisational resources: time freed up for managers, the CPPW and prevention advisors
• Human resources: prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects, person of trust, hierarchical line
• Material resources: suitable tools, spaces and equipment

How to monitor and update your five-year plan

The global plan is not set in stone. It evolves through the annual action plans and regular evaluations of the risk management system.

Integration with the annual action plan

The annual action plan is based on the global plan. It sets the priority objectives for the year, the resources and methods, the tasks and resources of those involved, and the adjustments to be made to the global plan following:

• A change in circumstances
• Accidents and incidents in the company
• The internal service’s annual report for the previous year
• The opinions given by the Committee during the previous year

For psychosocial risks, prevention measures are built into the global plan and, where applicable, the annual plan. These plans are adjusted following the annual evaluation of the prevention measures.

Digital tools for continuous monitoring

Monitoring over five years requires reliable, regular data that can be compared over time. Digital tools make it easier to:

• Regularly collect workers’ feedback through short questionnaires
• Compare departments, sites or groups of jobs
• Track how results change from one year to the next
• Produce reports for the CPPW and management
• Manage action plans and deadline reminders

QWL indicators complement accident indicators to track the effect of measures. Platforms such as Balencio offer questionnaires, real-time results, trend analysis, group comparisons, a priority matrix and HR action plans.

Reviewing and adapting the plan as things change

The employer adapts the dynamic risk management system whenever necessary following a change in circumstances. Events that justify a review include:

• A restructuring, merger or organisational change
• The introduction of a new technology or a new way of working
• An accident, an act of violence or harassment
• A change in regulations
• Opinions from the CPPW or the inspectorate

Based on the evaluation of the system, the employer draws up a new global prevention plan at least once every five years. Start preparing this new plan in year 4.

Practical examples of measures to include in your global plan

The examples below illustrate the three forms of psychosocial risk prevention measures described by the FPS Employment: eliminating hazards, preventing harm and limiting harm.

Organisational measures to prevent psychosocial risks

Organisational measures act on the source of the risk. They concern work organisation, work content and working conditions:

• Remove unrealistic or unclear work targets
• Distribute tasks among employees in a balanced way
• Introduce a code of conduct
• Communicate appropriately during restructuring periods
• Clarify roles, decision-making channels and priorities
• Set boundaries for availability and the use of digital tools

Employee training and awareness actions

The employer draws up a well-being training programme for the hierarchical line and for workers, taking into account the data in the global plan (Article I.2-18). It can cover, for example:

• Detecting early warning signs of distress and overload
• Conducting return-to-work interviews and difficult conversations
• Regulating workload within the team
• Knowledge of internal procedures and contact persons
• Preventing violence and harassment

A strong culture of feedback makes this learning easier: teams feel able to flag problems early, and managers get concrete feedback to adjust their practices.

Support and psychological assistance schemes

These schemes limit harm when a situation has already deteriorated:

• Informal and formal psychosocial intervention procedures, with the person of trust and the prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects
• Emergency procedures to prevent or limit post-traumatic stress after a traumatic event
• Appropriate support for workers who are victims of violence from third parties
• Gradual reintegration after a long-term absence

The employer displays, in a place easily accessible to workers, the names and contact details of the competent prevention advisors, in particular for psychosocial aspects, and, where applicable, of the person of trust (Article I.2-17).

Mistakes to avoid when drawing up your prevention plan

Three mistakes come up most often. They turn the plan into an administrative formality.

A generic plan without a specific analysis

A plan copied from a template does not reflect your risks. The Code requires you to take into account the nature of your activities, the risks specific to them and the risks specific to certain groups of workers. The FPS Employment templates are a starting point, not a substitute for analysis.

• Start from the analysis of your own work situations
• Distinguish between groups of jobs, sites and departments
• Document the data sources used

Failing to involve workers

The psychosocial risk analysis is carried out with the participation of workers. Without their perspective, you will only see the risks that show up in the indicators. The CPPW, the trade union delegation or, failing that, the workers themselves also take part in the well-being policy.

• Use questionnaires and focus groups
• Inform workers of the results and the measures decided
• Involve the CPPW from the drafting stage, not only when its opinion is required

Lack of dedicated resources for implementation

A plan without allocated resources cannot be implemented. The global plan must specify the organisational, material and financial resources. An ambitious plan without a budget results in measures being postponed year after year.

Frequently asked questions about the global five-year action plan

How long is a global prevention plan valid?

The global prevention plan is drawn up for a period of five years. The employer regularly evaluates the dynamic risk management system and, based on this evaluation, draws up a new global plan at least once every five years. The plan can also be adjusted during the cycle, after the CPPW’s prior opinion.

Who is responsible for drawing up the plan in the company?

The employer. The employer draws it up in consultation with the members of the hierarchical line and the prevention and protection services at work. The obligations imposed on the hierarchical line and on workers do not affect the employer’s responsibility (Article I.2-13).

• The prevention services (internal and external) advise and contribute
• The prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects is involved in the PSR analysis depending on the case
• The CPPW, the trade union delegation or the workers give their opinion
• Members of the hierarchical line implement the policy at their level

How do you link the global plan and the annual plan in practice?

Take the priority objectives of the global plan and spread them over the years. Every year:

• Review the past year: accidents and incidents, the internal service’s annual report, CPPW opinions
• Adjust the global plan if circumstances have changed
• Draft the annual action plan: objectives for the year, resources and methods, everyone’s roles
• Submit the draft to the CPPW within the deadline set by Article I.2-10
• Evaluate the PSR prevention measures at least once a year

What are the penalties for not having a prevention plan?

Breaches of the Act of 4 August 1996 and the Code of Well-being at Work fall under the Social Penal Code. In the absence of a specific article, Article 127 punishes them with a level 3 penalty. This becomes level 4 when the breach has led to health problems or an accident at work.

Level	Administrative fine	Criminal fine	Other penalties
Level 3	€1,000 to €10,000	€2,000 to €20,000	Probation or community service possible since 1 September 2026
Level 4	€3,000 to €35,000	€6,000 to €70,000	Imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years possible

These amounts include the surcharges (décimes additionnels), multiplied by 10 since 1 February 2026 (compared with 8 previously). Depending on the offence, fines may be multiplied by the number of workers concerned, up to a limit of 100 times the maximum amount. Exclusion from public procurement may also apply for level 3 or 4 offences.

The inspectorate has discretion: a simple warning, a deadline to regularise the situation or an official report. Beyond penalties, a missing or superficial plan deprives the company of a tool for preventing psychosocial risks, whose human and financial consequences are severe.

A successful global prevention plan combines a serious analysis, measurable objectives, real resources and regular monitoring. That is what turns it from a legal obligation into a lever for health and performance.

Sources cited: Code of Well-being at Work, Book I, Title 2 (Articles I.2-2 to I.2-18, FPS Employment text as amended in particular by the Royal Decree of 12 May 2024) and Title 3 (prevention of psychosocial risks, Articles I.3-1 to I.3-7); FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, pages on a priori psychosocial risk analysis, committees for prevention and protection at work and direct worker participation; FPS Employment, news item of 21 January 2026 on surcharges (Act of 19 December 2025); Securex, table of Social Penal Code penalties as at 3 September 2026 (Act of 16 March 2026) and Acteo (February 2026); INAMI-RIZIV, number of people on invalidity for depression or burnout 2021-2025. The examples, the five-year breakdown, the recommended indicators and the five-step method are editorial recommendations.

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