NL: The labour legislation is going to change (again)!

 

Today it was announced that the government will take measures to bring the labour market more into balance. The central government has announced this in a press release.

The Borstlap Commission recently recommended intervention in the labour market and the government, employers and trade unions have now jointly come up with a package of measures that will be introduced over the next three to four years. Minister Karin van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment even hopes that the proposed measures can be adopted by the House of Representatives in the spring of 2024 so that the new legislation will be a fact sooner.

The starting point of the measures is that employees with flexible employment contracts (on-call workers and temporary workers) get more certainty about their income and their work schedule. Revolving door constructions of temporary contracts should also be avoided. A (permanent) contract is the starting point for structural work, according to the minister.

In addition, measures are also foreseen for the growing group of self-employed people. They, too, must be given more certainty and bogus self-employment must be prevented.

Finally, employers have also been considered. The current rules may ensure that companies are insufficiently agile. New measures must change this.

Overview of the measures

The proposed changes are briefly as follows:

• Zero-hour and min-max contracts will be abolished. On-call workers must be given a permanent basic contract with the number of hours for which they are scheduled at least by default. Employees must remain available to the employer for a number of hours above this minimum number (capped at 130% of the minimum number of hours), but they may refuse a call outside the predetermined and fixed available hours. Because employees get more clarity about when they can and cannot be scheduled, they get roster security and can make more concrete agreements for a second job. After 52 weeks worked, temporary workers are more likely to get a contract with the temporary employment agency.
• A maximum of three temporary contiguous contracts can be offered to the same employer. After the third contact, if the employment continues, an indefinite contract follows (a rule that already applies). If the employment contract is not continued – for an indefinite period – the employer may only offer a new temporary contract to the same employee after five years. Now this period is six months.
• Self-employed persons must take out compulsory disability insurance, so that they have a safety net in the event of illness. This will apply to IB entrepreneurs (with and without staff) and cooperating partners. DGA's and those who benefit from other activities are excluded according to the current plans.
• After one year of illness, small and medium-sized employers (up to 100 employees) can gain clarity about whether they can structurally replace an employee, because they can – under certain conditions – fully focus on the second rail route (reintegration with another employer) during the second year of illness.
• There will be a Crisis Arrangement for staff retention for employers who are affected by a crisis or calamity that falls outside the entrepreneurial risk. Employees can then be temporarily put to work elsewhere in the company or temporarily work less while retaining their unemployment benefits.
• A basic contract for an indefinite period will fall under the low WW premium. Finally, the rules for applying the lower unemployment premium for overtime in permanent contracts will also be extended.

 

Expected implementation of new legislation

The 'Labour Market in Balance Act', introduced in January 2020, has apparently not yet brought the "balance" desired by the government to the labour market. According to the government, it is necessary to take (additional) action. The minister wants to bring the package of measures into internet consultation around the summer. After that, the package will have to be presented as a bill to the House of Representatives and then the Senate.

If the entire package of measures is indeed presented to the House of Representatives in early 2024, the legislation will probably not be implemented until 2025. Exactly what the new rules will look like and whether these adjustments will also lead to the desired results, we will therefore have to wait and see. It remains to be seen whether the measures presented in this form will reach the finish line.

 

For further information, please contact:

Ron Andriessen, Partner

Labré advocaten, Amsterdam

e: ron.andriessen@labre.nl

t: +31 20 3052030

 

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