Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q1 2023 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q1 2023 Global Guide Quarterly

Whistleblower Protection Act Has Entered into Force

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner, and Eric van Dam, Partner – Clint | Littler

The Whistleblower Protection Act went into effect on February 18, 2023. Employers with 250 or more employees must comply with this law upon the effective date. Employers with a total of between 50 and 249 employees have until December 17, 2023, under the transitional law regulated in Article 21c of the Whistleblower Protection Act, to adjust their policies accordingly.

As discussed in the update of Q1 2022, the bill adds breaches of EU law to the scope of the internal reporting procedures and introduces more procedural rules for internal reporting procedures. Furthermore, reporters no longer have to report internally first to fall within the scope of the protection measures for whistleblowers.

Minimum Wage Raised as of January 1, 2023

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner, and Eric van Dam, Partner – Clint | Littler

In January and July of every year the statutory minimum wage gets updated. As of January 1, 2023, the statutory minimum wage is EUR 1,934,40 gross per month for fulltime working employees of 21 years or older. Whether fulltime is 36, 38 or 40 hours per week depends on the employment sector.

Higher Travel and Home Office Allowance as of January 1, 2023

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner, and Eric van Dam, Partner – Clint | Littler

The untaxed travel allowance will increase from EUR 0.19 to EUR 0.21 per kilometer effective January 1, 2023.

Since 2022, in the Netherlands, you may give employees a tax-free allowance for the expenses they incur when working from home. The untaxed home office allowance that employers may provide to their employees will increase from EUR 2.00 per day to EUR 2.15 per day as of January 1, 2023.

Supreme Court: Termination of (Collective) Agency Employment Contract in Case of Illness

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Authors: Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner, and Eric van Dam, Partner – Clint | Littler

In the Netherlands, specific rules apply with respect to the posting of employees. One of those provisions concerns the so-called agency employment clause. Under the clause, an agency employment contract may provide that the contract ends because the posting of the agency worker to the recipient ends at the request of the recipient (Section 7:691(2) of the Dutch Civil Code). Many collective labor agreements (CLA) contain a provision that, in case of illness of the agency worker, the agency employment contract is deemed to be terminated at the request of the recipient. So therefore, the contract immediately ends in case of illness.

On March 17, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the agency employment clause can lead to termination of the contract in case of illness of the agency worker (this does not violate the Dutch statutory prohibition on dismissal in case of illness). However, the recipient must actually make a request to terminate the posting of the agency worker. According to the Supreme Court, the part of the CLA provision that provides that the posting is deemed to be terminated at the request of the recipient in the event of sickness is not valid. This linking of the end of the agency employment contract to a fictitious request by the hirer to terminate the posting is detrimental to the legal position of the temporary worker and is therefore inadmissible.

Large Companies Must Report on Women and Diversity Quota

Legal Compliance

Authors: Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner, and Eric van Dam, Partner – Clint | Littler

Large companies in the Netherlands (companies with 250 employees or more and a turnover of more than 40 million euros), have been subject to the Inclusion Quota and Targets Act (Wet Ingroeiquotum en Streefcijfers) since January 1, 2022. The law is known for the "women's quota" or "diversity quota," but also contains other regulations. The law affects about 100 listed companies in the Netherlands and has a target regulation and transparency obligation for the 5,000 "large" companies in our country.

In listed companies, starting January 1, 2023, at least one-third of the supervisory board must consist of women and at least one-third of men. This quota will apply from the moment they have to make a new appointment. Companies are further required to draw up a plan of action with target figures and report on this to the Social and Economic Council (SER). Annually, the SER provides an overview of all goals, targets, results and measures of the reporting companies.