Requirements for the Veiligheidsladder (Safety Culture Ladder) per level
The Veiligheidsladder (SCL) assesses your organisation not on documents, but on behaviour and culture. It does this through 5 themes. For each level, the SCL standard from NEN describes which behaviour is expected. The higher the level, the more it is about behaviour you can demonstrate in practice, not only systems on paper.
On this page, we work out the 5 themes and show per theme what the difference is between levels 2, 3 and 4. For the requirements of the audit itself, see the audit page. To read what behaviour and culture mean in substance, read that page separately.
SCL 2.0 has applied since 1 January 2024. That version replaced the old structure of 6 business aspects with 5 themes. For new and recertified organisations, SCL 2.0 has been mandatory since 1 January 2025.
Level 3 means: systems are in place and demonstrably used. Level 4 means: behaviour and attitudes have demonstrably changed, from the board to the shop floor. That is a fundamental difference. The official guidance ViA 3.0 (Dutch guidance document) uses the term “niveaus” (levels) rather than “treden” (rungs). In substance, that is the same thing.
The 5 themes of SCL 2.0
The SCL assesses every organisation against 5 themes. Each theme looks at behaviour, not paper. For what has changed since 2016 in these themes and in the self-assessment, read SCL 2.0.
1. Policy and leadership
This theme looks at safety policy and the role of management: do managers set a good example, do they speak to employees, and does the policy truly give direction?
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership attitude | Responds to incidents | Actively steers compliance | Actively asks for feedback, sets a visible example |
| Safety policy | Exists, but reactive | Adopted and communicated | Built into all strategic decisions |
| Priority of safety | Only after an incident | Structural, but driven by compliance | Weighted equally with production and planning |
An example of level 4 leadership: a site manager who puts on their own helmet before entering the hall during a site visit, and asks employees whether they dare to report unsafe situations.
2. Knowledge and skills
This theme covers knowledge and skills about safety across the whole organisation. Do people know what safe working requires, and is that knowledge also developed?
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training | Legally required only | Focused on the risks of their own work | Continuous, linked to behaviour |
| Knowledge on the shop floor | Varies per person | Everyone knows their tasks | People help think of safer ways of working |
| Development | No fixed plan | Regular refresher training | Learning is part of the culture |
An installation company at level 3 schedules annual toolbox meetings on its own risks. At level 4, fitters raise topics themselves, based on what they encounter on site.
3. Primary and secondary processes
This theme checks whether safety is built into daily work and support processes. Are procedures known, are they followed, and is the workplace actively kept safe?
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procedures | In place only after an incident | Up to date, available, known | Employees involved in writing and improving them |
| Workplace inspection | Rare, or only after a complaint | Periodic, recorded | Frequent, initiated by employees themselves |
| Compliance | Depends on supervision | High, through habit and enforcement | Intrinsic: people act safely even without supervision |
A concrete difference: at level 3, a fitter follows the lifting procedure because their supervisor checks it. At level 4, they follow it because they see it as the only logical way to work.
4. Working with external parties
This theme looks at safety culture in cooperation with suppliers, subcontractors and other external partners. Do you also check this further down the chain?
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements for partners | Hardly any | Minimum requirements for subcontractors | Active selection and assessment on culture |
| Coordination | Ad hoc | Structured at the start of work | Open dialogue about what goes well and what goes wrong |
| Shared responsibility | Unclear | Recorded in agreements | Shared ownership with partners |
Many construction companies find during the audit that their own systems are in order, but that they set few requirements for subcontractors. Level 4 calls for an active partner policy on safety culture.
5. Learning and improving
Are near misses reported, and does the organisation learn from what it measures? Are figures used as a mirror or as a checklist?
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting behaviour | Only for serious incidents | Near misses are reported | Reporting is seen as positive behaviour |
| Follow-up of reports | No structured approach | Reports are analysed | Feedback to the reporter, lessons shared |
| Learning organisation | Hardly | Demonstrable, in procedures | Visible in behaviour: mistakes can be discussed |
This theme is one of the most visible differences between levels 3 and 4. At level 3, there is a reporting system and reports are processed. At level 4, everyone knows why reporting pays off, and a fitter also dares to say that something is unsafe without fear of consequences.
What this means for your preparation
The 5 themes are your guide for the gap analysis. For each theme, you ask: where do you stand now, and what does your target level require? You can find more detail per level on the page the 5 levels. How the auditor tests this is set out on the page the audit process. And the full step-by-step plan to certification is at step-by-step plan.
More about the Veiligheidsladder
- What is the Veiligheidsladder? - Overview of all topics
- The 5 levels - Explanation per level with examples
- Behaviour and culture - Why behaviour is the core
- The audit process - How does an auditor test these aspects?
- SCL standard and handbook (NEN) - Official framework