The Balanced Labour Market Act will enter into force on 1 January 2020. This Act will have important consequences for on-call contracts.
The Balanced Labour Market Act (Wet Arbeidsmarkt in Balans, “WAB”) will enter into force on 1 January 2020. This new Act provides a package of measures in the fields of flexible labour, dismissal law and the Unemployment Insurance Act (Werkloosheidswet, “WW”), with the goal of improving the balance between flexible and permanent employment agreements. In the coming period, we will be discussing the main changes in several news reports. This week: on-call contracts.
On-Call Contracts
An on-call contract is a continuous contract for a definite or an indefinite period of time, in which the employer agrees to call up an employee when work is available. On-call contracts give the employer the opportunity to manage varying workloads. In practice, this flexibility implies uncertainty for on-call workers about their income and the times they have to work. The introduction of the WAB is intended to strengthen the position of on-call workers and to provide them with greater security.
WAB
The WAB contains the following important changes for on-call workers:
i. Introduction definition on-call contract
With the introduction of the WAB, a definition of the on-call contract will be included in the law. An on-call contract will be defined as an employment contract in which the scope of work is not determined as a specific number of hours per period of a maximum of one month, or a maximum of one year if the entitlement to wages is evenly spread over that year. An on-call contract is also deemed to exist if the obligation to continue paying wages is excluded.
An on-call contract does not exist if, in addition to the fixed scope of work, there are also standby, on-call duty or on-site standby shifts, provided that these shifts are remunerated or compensated by free time.
ii. Introduction call period
An employer is obliged to personally call up an on-call worker at least four days before the start of the work. This call must be done in writing or electronically. If an employer (partially) withdraws the call within four days before the start of the work or changes the times of the call, the on-call worker will be entitled to wages over the period for which he was originally called up. This withdrawal and/or change must also be notified in writing or electronically. A verbal cancellation is not enough.
In the case of a collective labour agreement, a period of less than four days may be agreed upon, but this period may not be shorter than 24 hours.
iii. Offer of fixed scope of work
Whenever an on-call contract has lasted twelve months, the employer is obliged to make the on-call worker an offer for a fixed scope of work. This scope of work must be at least equal to the average scope of work during the previous twelve months. The on-call worker then has one month’s time to accept the offer.
If the employer does not make an offer, the on-call worker will be entitled to wages as if he had received and accepted the offer.
Transitional Law
Employees who, at the time of entry into force of the WAB (1 January 2020), have been working for more than twelve months on the basis of an on-call contract, must, within one month of the introduction of the WAB (i.e. before 1 February 2020), receive an offer from their employer that is equal to the average scope of work in 2019.
iv. Shorter notice period for zero-hours contracts
If the scope of the work has not been determined, the employee has the same notice period as the call period of the employer. As a rule, this is four days. An employment contract in which the scope of the work is not determined is deemed to exist if the employee is working under a zero-hours contract.
Please Note: Premium Differentiation
When the WAB is introduced, the employer's contribution to unemployment benefits (“WW benefits”) will be differentiated according to the nature of a contract. An employer must therefore pay a higher WW contribution on the wages of on-call workers.
Do you have any questions about the above changes or other changes? Please do not hesitate to contact us.
