There has been and will be major changes to employment law in the Netherlands in 2015. These changes include strengthening of the legal position of flex workers, reforming dismissal law, and amending the Unemployment Insurance Act. Some of the changes will have serious consequences for the locally hired personnel of Embassies, Consulates and Diplomats. We will discuss these amendments in a series of articles. The first of these articles dealt with a number of changes to fixed-term employment contracts which became effective on 1 January 2015.This article deals with the tightening of the regulation regarding successive fixed-term contracts (ketenregeling) as of 1 July 2015.
Employment contracts for an indefinite period will arise at an earlier stage
The ketenregeling for employees with fixed-term employment contracts will be tightened so that employees will be entitled to an employment contract for an indefinite period at an earlier stage. In case of fixed-term employment contracts concluded in succession within a period of six months (currently: three), the fourth contract or a period of two years (currently: three) will by operation of law bring about an indefinite employment contract.
Transitory law
The old ketenregeling will remain applicable to fixed-term employment contracts concluded before 1 July 2015 that pass the term of two years after 1 July 2015. In the event a fixed-term employment contract will be concluded on or after 1 July 2015, the new ketenregeling will apply. In that case, the ketenregeling will not apply if the period between the employment agreement concluded on or after 1 July 2015 and the previous employment contract has been longer than six months. Intervals of more than three months between employment contracts concluded before 1 July 2015 will remain valid as an interruption of the regulation regarding successive fixed-term employment contracts.
More information
This newsletter provides a brief insight into Dutch employment law and the potential consequences for your Embassy. But the Embassy desk of our firm also focuses on:
- Labour law
- Rent law / Real estate
- Investment / Doing business in the Netherlands
- Matrimonial issues
- Immunity issues
Jan Dop,
Head of Embassy Desk
embassydesk@russell.nl