Case files · spotting signals · professional confidentiality
Liability for social workers
Social work faces two opposing complaints: that you shared information you should not have shared, and that you stayed silent when you should have reported.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Your whole risk lies between those two. If you share too much in a neighbourhood team meeting or with a local authority, you act unlawfully towards your client within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and you also breach the GDPR. If you share too little when there were signs that someone was unsafe, the complaint is that you did not follow the steps of the reporting code. Both allegations are judged afterwards on the basis of your file.
Your loss is usually neither property damage nor injury but pure financial loss or non-material loss. That means you need professional indemnity cover alongside public and employers' liability cover. The latter on its own is virtually empty for this work.
Outside the policy: disciplinary measures from a professional register, fines from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (the Dutch data protection authority), intent under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code and work you did as an employee. For the latter your employer is liable under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code, and carries the risk too.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The reporting code is the yardstick, not your instinct
Where there are signs of domestic violence or child abuse, a mandatory step plan applies with fixed steps: spotting the signals, consulting colleagues, speaking to the person concerned, weighing matters up, and deciding on reporting and support. What is assessed afterwards is not whether your judgement was right but whether you took those steps and documented them. Note for each case the date, the step and the reasoning. A case without notes is virtually impossible to defend when an allegation is made.
Sharing too much is as risky as staying silent
In a neighbourhood team, a multidisciplinary meeting or a report back to the local authority, there is a temptation to add context that is not needed. Your professional confidentiality and the GDPR require you to share only what is necessary for the purpose. For each disclosure, record with whom, why and on what legal basis. When there is a complaint, that is the only way to show that the choice was made deliberately.
Ordinary damage arises at the client's home
Home visits bring risks that have nothing to do with your profession: a laptop that falls, coffee spilled over a table, a door left open. That is property damage to a third party and falls under public and employers' liability cover. The other way round, the client can be liable towards you: if their dog bites, the strict liability under Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code applies to the possessor of the animal. Report such incidents too, even if you do not want to take them further.
Disciplinary proceedings and fines fall outside the cover
A measure imposed by a professional register is not compensation but a sanction, and that is not insurable. The same applies to a fine from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens after a data breach. What can be arranged is the cost of defence. Some policies have a disciplinary proceedings module for that, others refer to legal expenses insurance. Ask expressly how your policy treats defence costs in disciplinary proceedings.
What does your premium depend on?
Field of work. Youth and family work, debt assistance or work bordering on mental health care are weighted differently.
Number of clients and turnover. The usual basis; it says something about the number of files in which something can go wrong.
Home visits. Working in clients' homes brings property damage and a risk of aggression that is absent in an office.
Staff and trainees. You are liable for their mistakes. For their safety the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies.
Registration and disciplinary proceedings. Whether you are in a professional register determines whether a module for defence costs is worthwhile.
Sum insured and excess. Clients such as local authorities often specify a minimum sum in tenders.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
What does the reporting code mean for my liability?
It is the framework against which your conduct is tested. The allegation is rarely that you judged the situation wrongly, but that you did not take the steps: no consultation with colleagues, no weighing up, no decision recorded. Document for each case which step you took and when, and what the reasoning was. That file is your main, and often only, support when there is a complaint or a claim.
Am I insured against a disciplinary complaint?
Not the measure itself: a reprimand or removal from the register is a sanction and not insurable. The cost of legal defence can be covered, through a disciplinary proceedings module on professional indemnity insurance or through legal expenses insurance. That differs greatly from insurer to insurer, so ask expressly and have the cover confirmed on the policy before you need it.
May I share client data in a neighbourhood team meeting?
Only what is necessary for the purpose of that meeting, and with a legal basis under the GDPR. Your professional confidentiality does not lapse because others are at the table. If you share too much, the client can hold you liable for unlawful conduct. If you share too little where there is a safety issue, the opposite allegation follows. Record your reasoning in writing.
I work as a self-employed professional subcontracting for a local authority. Who is liable?
As against the client, the authority engaging you can be held liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code, but the contract almost always states that it will recover from you, with compulsory insurance and a minimum sum. Read that clause before you sign and check that your policy meets the sum and the capacity required. As an employee, the risk lies with the employer.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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