With effect from 1 January 2016, a number of rules in Dutch employment law have changed. The most important changes are:

Flexible Working Act

On 1 January 2016, the new Flexible Working Act has been entered into force. Further to this new act, employees cannot just ask for adjustment of their working hours, but also of working time and place of work. This means that they can ask, among other things, to be allowed to work from home. The employer can, however, quite easily reject this request, so there is no right to work from home. The new Flexible Working Act replaces the Working Hours Adjustment Act (Wet aanpassing arbeidsduur).

Duration unemployment benefits (WW) shortened

Until 1 January 2016, the maximum duration of unemployment benefits was 38 months. From 1 January 2016 to 1 April 2019, the maximum duration will be gradually reduced (1 month per quarter) to ultimately 24 months. As a result, the maximum duration currently is 37 months.

Maximum transition allowance slightly raised

The maximum transition allowance is € 76,000 gross (instead of € 75,000 gross) or 1 gross annual salary.

Working beyond pension age

• An employee who is entitled to state pension (AOW) can work 48 months on the basis of fixed-time contracts and may in total have 6 fixed-time contracts. The fixed-time contracts entered into prior to reaching the state pension age are not taken into account. Regular employees can in principle work up to 24 months on the basis of fixed-time contracts, with a maximum of 3 contracts.
• In the event of dismissal of a long-term ill employee who is entitled to state pension, the employer needs to prove that recovery within 13 weeks is not to be expected. This is normally 26 weeks.
• For employees who are entitled to state pension, rehabilitation possibilities only need be looked for within their own company, and not with another employer. Hence, the so-called rehabilitation obligations 2nd track (re-integratieverplichtingen 2e spoor) do not apply to employees who are entitled to state pension.
• • In the event of dismissal of a long-term ill employee who is entitled to state pension, the employer needs to prove that recovery within 13 weeks is not to be expected. This is normally 26 weeks.
• An employee who is entitled to state pension is protected against dismissal during the first 13 weeks of illness. This is normally 104 weeks.
• If the employer wants to terminate the contract with an employee who is entitled to state pension, a statutory notice period of 1 month should be taken into account. In other cases the statutory notice period for the employer depends on the length of service.