As of 1 July, the Work and Security Act has changed. This means that the regulations surrounding flexitime working will become stricter. This is a big change for logistics because the sector works a lot with flexible workers. BLOM opleidingen has listed what will change for logistics employers and employees as a result of the law change.
- Contract renewal
Until 1 July 2015, it was possible to offer an employee a maximum of three contracts for a period of up to three years. What often happened was that employees were either made redundant or re-employed after a period of three months. This was because, after those three months, a new ‘chain provision’ for the employment contract would come into effect.As of 1 July, as an employer you can still offer an employee three fixed-term contracts, but the period during which this is permitted has been reduced to two years. This means that after two years, you must offer your employee a permanent contract. The three-month interval has also been extended. From now on, a new chain of contracts only begins after six months. Under their collective labour agreement, temporary employment agencies may deviate from the new rules to allow a maximum of six contracts within a four-year period.
Exceptions apply to employees who are under 18 years of age and work fewer than 12 hours per week, or who are on BBL contracts. This new scheme applies to new employment contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2015. The government hopes that this measure will enable employees to secure a permanent contract more quickly.
- Transition compensation
The subdistrict court formula will no longer apply from 1 July 2015. It will be replaced by a so-called transition compensation. Employees are entitled to this when they have been employed for more than 24 months and when the contract termination or non-renewal is at the employer's request. The transition compensation is normally lower, but employees are entitled to it earlier. The compensation also applies if a temporary contract is not extended by the employer - Dismissal route
Dismissal for business economic reasons or long-term disability of the employee (longer than 2 years), as of 1 July, will be exclusively via a procedure at the UWV. Other reasons for dismissal will continue to go through the subdistrict court. The UWV aims to process dismissal requests within a 4-week period. - Reflection period notice
In case of dismissal by mutual agreement, something new is added: the employee is given a 2-week reflection period. Within those 2 weeks, the employee can go back on the agreements in the termination agreement. As an employer, you are obliged to inform employees in writing about this cooling-off period within 2 days of signing the settlement agreement. If you fail to do so, the reflection period is 3 weeks.
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