NederlandsWith the Balanced Labor Market Act (WAB), the government wants to bring more balance between flexible work and a permanent contract. Een of the changes is the protection of on-call workers, which means that as an employer you must call on on-call workers for work earlier.
Do you employ on-call workers? Then it is important to start thinking now about the deployment of on-call workers next year.
What are on-call contracts?
An on-call contract is an employment contract without a fixed number of working hours. This includes both zero-hour contracts and contracts with a flexible number of hours (min-max contracts). It also concerns employment contracts in which the obligation to pay wages for hours not worked is contractually excluded.
Call at least 4 days in advance
The government wants to better protect on-call workers and prevent them from having to be continuously available for work without having any certainty about the number of hours that they are actually scheduled.
That is why, as an employer, from 2020 you must call up an on-call worker for work at least four days in advance. Are you late? Then the on-call worker is not obliged to respond to your call. This means that as an employer you must have your personnel planning in order in good time. We can support you with appropriate planning and optimal pool management.
Continued payment of wages in the event of a last-minute change in roster
If a call-up is withdrawn within four days before the start of the work, the on-call worker is entitled to wages for the originally scheduled hours.
Do you want to change the number of hours or times within four days before the start of the work? In that case, the employee is entitled to wages for the times of the original call. Please also be aware that the on-call worker may refuse your request for the changed hours.
Fixed working hours after 12 months
After twelve months of employment, you as an employer must present the on-call worker with a written offer for a fixed number of working hours. The working hours must be at least equal to the average working hours (paid hours) of the past year.
As an employer, are you not making an offer and the employee is continuing to work? In that case, the employee is entitled to wages over that average number of hours. This already applies to on-call workers who have been working for twelve months or longer on 1 January 2020.
So think carefully about whether you have enough work (and hours) for your on-call workers next year.
Does a fixed amount of work equal a permanent contract?
As an employer, you are not obliged to offer an on-call worker a permanent contract after twelve months. It only concerns a fixed amount of work; a fixed number of hours per week, per four weeks or per month. It may also be offered over a year if the payment of wages is spread evenly over the period.
Questions about the rules regarding on-call contracts?
Do you have any questions about on-call contracts or other changes to the WAB? Contact one of our branches in your area.