Dutch PSO Certification

Any company in Holland that employs people can join the PSO scheme. The goal of the scheme is to encourage employers to make a sustainable contribution to the job market. By allowing the long-term unemployed to reenter the job market, PSO promotes companies willing to help people with their future careers and to grant them access to the workforce or labor market.

Local governments can now demand that suppliers for organizations or companies are are also PSO audited. It is possible the Dutch government may pass PSO requirements as national law soon. This will then apply to all manner of organizations in a diverse range of industries and sectors.

As a fully accredited body in Holland, TÜV Rheinland not only has the experts to issue your organization with the required PSO compliance documents. With our range of services for additional schemes, we can also help your organization reach a greater level of certified corporate social responsibility. Just ask us.

With TÜV Rheinland as your partner for PSO certification, you:

• Prove your organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility
• Stand to profit from greater demand for products and services from an organization with above-average commitment
• Are issued the right certificates and documents for compliance with local government requirements
• Benefit from our excellent collaboration with the designers of the scheme and our network of offices and experts around Holland
• Rely on more proactive services than other certification bodies and a wide portfolio of services for additional schemes and certificates
• Can count on expert advice and services as documented by many other references in various industries

To issue Dutch PSO certification, our experts proceed as follows:

1. Audit

The auditors evaluate how much of a social contribution your organization makes in compliance with the PSO norm's requirements. The Dutch scheme for social entrepreneurship considers various factors in organizations’ employment strategies and workforces, including:

• Employees who were previously unemployed and facing difficulties in finding a job
• Disabled people
• Employing people to perform specific tasks and roles and take on responsibilities, be they roles and tasks that were specially created for the employee or existing ones

2. Issue of Report
Depending on the level of social contribution, your company will receive a report with our evaluation of your aspirant level. You can then provide this to local government authorities as proof of your social entrepreneurship.

Mission and Vision

Socially commited organizations and companies offer the long-term unemployed jobs. In doing so, they demonstrate a responsibility for giving these people a new chance to make a new start with their future career and job prospects. These kinds of organizations therefore set themselves apart from their competitors. The PSO scheme helps companies communicate that they are social entrepreneurs.

Objectives

The goal of the PSO scheme is therefore to encourage employers to creating sustainable jobs for the long-term unemployed.

Certification Levels

The PSO scheme has three certification levels, the Aspirant levels 1, 2, and 3. Companies certified as level 1, 2, or 3 contribute more than average to employing vulnerable groups. The PSO scheme also considers supplier companies, meaning that the PSO certification can also reach more organizations than only those certified.

The PSO scheme works with norms based on the TNO Employer Survey. As an instrument for measuring social entrepreneurship, the PSO is both practical and objective – and also an incentive for large and small organizations that wish to make a contribution to social equality. The PSO shows which efforts employers have made to their social responsibility strategy – in various sectors and industries.

The PSO scheme measures the actual contribution

In an audit, the completed calculation tool and checklist are tested and shows what the actual contribution of a company is.

The PSO is fully transparent

As a local government supported scheme, all of the evaluation criteria and results are fully transparent for both government and customers to see.

The PSO scheme is fully up-to-date

The PSO is no static instrument, as the TNO continuously adapts and develops the PSO scheme to market conditions. A commission of experts takes all relevant market developments into account, ensuring the PSO is always up-to-date in its evaluation of an organization’s level of social entrepreneurship.

The PSO scheme is of benefit to any organization that employs people. It offers the following benefits to organizations involved in the scheme:

Distinctive certification

Companies with an above-average commitment to social entrepreneurship can demonstrate and document their commitment with the help of the PSO scheme.

More procurement through social return

Organizations that adhere the to PSO principles can adopt a preferred position in other PSO companies or organizations (e.g. local government)

Listing on the PSO Netherlands website

With a listing of their PSO certification, companies can use the certification in their external communications or marketing strategies

Greater demand for products and services

PSO recognition can create greater demand for products and services from organizations with above-average commitment to social resonsibility