On May 19, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Van Hijum submitted the legislative proposal ‘More Security for Flexible Workers’ to the House of Representatives.
The purpose of the legislative proposal is to create more stability for flexible workers, particularly in the area of wages and working hours. The proposed changes mainly concern the chain regulation, the phase system in temporary agency work, equal pay, and the zero-hours contract.
Currently, a maximum of 3 temporary contracts may be concluded within a period of 3 years, with intervals of no more than 6 months. This 6-month interval is part of the mentioned maximum of 3 years. Once the maximum of 3 contracts or 3 years is exceeded, a permanent employment contract arises. After 6 months, a new temporary contract may be concluded. This interval of 6 months will be extended to 5 years in the legislative proposal.
The so-called phase system will be shortened: Phase A will be reduced from 78 to 52 weeks. In this phase, an unlimited number of temporary agency contracts (with agency clause) may be concluded.
As for Phase B, the statutory chain regulation is currently deviated from in the Collective Labour Agreement for Temporary Agency Workers. A maximum of 6 temporary contracts applies within a period of 4 years, again with a maximum interval of 6 months. In the legislative proposal, this will partly change, and the period will be limited to 2 years. The maximum of 6 temporary contracts remains unchanged. Here too, the interval of 6 months—after which a new Phase A or B contract may be concluded—will be increased to 5 years.
The zero-hours contract will be abolished. Instead, a bandwidth contract will be introduced. In this, the minimum and maximum number of hours are agreed (within a maximum time unit of a quarter). The difference between the two may be a maximum of 30%. The current rules that apply to on-call contracts (such as notice period, offer of fixed working hours, etc.) will apply to the bandwidth contract. With pupils, students, and employees under 18, a zero-hours contract may still be concluded.
What are the consequences if a zero-hours contract is concluded while this is not allowed? In that case, the fixed hours (working hours) will be based on the average number per week in the three preceding months (if the employment contract lasted more than three months). In any case, a minimum of 3 hours always applies.
Under the Allocation of Labour by Intermediaries Act (WAADI), temporary agency workers are currently entitled to, among other things, the same wage and ‘other allowances’ as employees of the hirer in equal or equivalent positions. With this legislative proposal, temporary agency workers will henceforth be entitled to at least ‘equivalent employment conditions’ regarding ‘other employment conditions’. Incidentally, when applying the Collective Labour Agreement for Temporary Agency Workers, the so-called hirer’s remuneration will often be applied. In the new CLA, this will be replaced by the requirement of ‘equivalent remuneration’ as of January 1, 2026.
For many organizations, this legislative proposal will be far-reaching, particularly regarding the use of flexible staffing, staffing levels, and employment conditions. The intended effective date is January 1, 2027, with possible earlier implementation of parts of the law, such as the rules on equivalent employment conditions for temporary agency workers. It is wise not to wait for the effective date and to anticipate the possible changes.
For questions about flexible work and the upcoming changes, you can contact Jaouad Seghrouchni, Employment & Employee Participation Lawyer.
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