{"id":7017,"date":"2024-02-27T10:23:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T08:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/expertise\/dismissal\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T13:09:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:09:24","slug":"dismissal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/","title":{"rendered":"Dismissal"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"7017\" class=\"elementor elementor-7017 elementor-5692\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5509beb1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5509beb1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3340be17\" data-id=\"3340be17\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b41fb5c elementor-align-center elementor-mobile-align-start elementor-icon-list--layout-traditional elementor-list-item-link-full_width elementor-widget elementor-widget-icon-list\" data-id=\"b41fb5c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"icon-list.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-icon-list-items\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/expertise\/\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"far fa-arrow-alt-circle-left\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">back to expertise<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-86fb34e elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"86fb34e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-narrow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-819fb98\" data-id=\"819fb98\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13798dbb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"13798dbb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">DISMISSAL<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-23266a9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"23266a9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Dismissal occurs when the employment contract is terminated against the other party\u2019s will.<\/p><p>An employee may terminate an employment contract of indefinite duration or a fixed-term employment contract that may be terminated before the end of the term. There are no further conditions attached to this, except that the employee must observe the notice period. <\/p><p>A fixed-term employment contract in which the parties have not agreed that it may be terminated before the end of the term cannot be terminated before the end of the term.<\/p><p>There are additional rules that apply to an employer wishing to dismiss an employee on a permanent contract or a contract that can be terminated at short notice. If the employee does not consent to their dismissal, the employer may apply to the UWV for permission to terminate the employment contract with the employee or apply to the subdistrict court to have the employment contract with the employee dissolved if one of the following grounds for dismissal applies: <\/p><ol><li>Loss of jobs (for business reasons);<\/li><li>Long-term incapacity for work (&gt;24 months);<\/li><li>Frequent absenteeism with unacceptable consequences for the employer;<\/li><li>Poor performance;<\/li><li>Culpable acts or omissions on the part of an employee;<\/li><li>Refusal to work on grounds of conscientious objection and no possibility of accommodation;<\/li><li>Distressed working relationship;<\/li><li>Circumstances other than those mentioned above, which are such that the employer cannot reasonably be expected to continue the employment contract.<\/li><li>A combination of the grounds mentioned above.<\/li><\/ol><p><br>For dismissal on grounds of long-term incapacity for work or for business reasons, an application for a dismissal permit must be submitted to the UWV. For all other reasons, the employer must apply to the subdistrict court to have the employment contract terminated. If any of the grounds for dismissal are not met, the UWV will not grant a dismissal permit and the subdistrict court will not proceed with the termination. In that case, the employee remains in service.   <\/p><p>In practice, parties often part ways by means of a settlement agreement. Strictly speaking, this does not constitute dismissal, as both parties agree to the termination of the employment contract. However, it is often one of the parties who takes the initiative to terminate the employment contract; in many cases, this is the employer. The employee will only be prepared to agree to the termination of their employment contract under certain conditions.   <\/p><p>In a settlement agreement, the parties agree, amongst other things, on when the employment contract will end and whether the employee will receive severance pay. After signing the settlement agreement, the employee has a cooling-off period of fourteen days. During this cooling-off period, the employee may terminate the settlement agreement without giving any reason, in which case the employment contract between the parties will remain in force. Once the cooling-off period has expired, the settlement agreement cannot, in principle, be challenged any further.   <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>back to expertise DISMISSAL Dismissal occurs when the employment contract is terminated against the other party\u2019s will. An employee may terminate an employment contract of indefinite duration or a fixed-term employment contract that may be terminated before the end of the term. There are no further conditions attached to this, except that the employee must [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7016,"parent":6978,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7017","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dismissal | Ko &amp; Co Advocaten<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ko &amp; Co Advocaten is a renowned law firm dedicated to Employment Law. Dismissal is one of our areas of expertise.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dismissal | Ko &amp; Co Advocaten\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ko &amp; Co Advocaten is a renowned law firm dedicated to Employment Law. Dismissal is one of our areas of expertise.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ko &amp; Co Advocaten\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KoCoAdvocaten\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T11:09:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Blog-Oproepovereenkomst-Ko-Co-Advocaten-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dismissal | Ko &amp; Co Advocaten\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/Blog-Oproepovereenkomst-Ko-Co-Advocaten-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-27T08:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-19T11:09:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ko & Co Advocaten is a renowned law firm dedicated to Employment Law. Dismissal is one of our areas of expertise.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/Blog-Oproepovereenkomst-Ko-Co-Advocaten-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/Blog-Oproepovereenkomst-Ko-Co-Advocaten-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":1707,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"In recent years, the legislature has taken various measures to restrict flexible work, which also includes on-call contracts, and to encourage employers to offer their employees permanent employment contracts. With the introduction of the Balanced Labour Market Act (Wet arbeidsmarkt in balans, \u201cWAB\u201d) as of 1 January 2020, the differences between permanent and flexible work are to be further reduced. The demand for labour within organisations is constantly changing, for example as a result of economic fluctuations or technological developments. By hiring employees on the basis of an on-call contract, many employers believe that they can easily align the deployment of workers with the demand for labour within the organisation. But is it still that straightforward? In this blog, we discuss what an on-call contract is, what protection on-call employees enjoy, and what will change as a result of the introduction of the WAB. Based on this information, you can decide whether an on-call contract still adds value to your organisation. What is an on-call contract? An on-call contract is an employment contract under which the employer may call upon the employee to come to work when the employer needs them to do so. There is no statutory definition of an on-call contract. In practice, there are two types of on-call contracts: the on-call contract with a deferred duty to perform and the preliminary agreement. An on-call contract with a deferred duty to perform is an employment contract that may be entered into for a fixed or indefinite period. A defining feature of this type of on-call contract is that the employee is obliged to comply with the employer\u2019s call to work. The employee\u2019s duty to perform only arises once the employee is called upon to work. The employer, in turn, is obliged to call upon the employee if work is available. There are two forms of on-call contracts with a deferred duty to perform: zero-hours contracts, which are characterised by the fact that the parties have not agreed on the number of hours the employee will work, and min-max contracts, which are characterised by the fact that the parties have agreed on a minimum and a maximum number of hours for which the employee may be called upon to work. For min-max contracts, the employer must always pay the agreed minimum number of hours, including in the event of illness. If the employee is called upon to work more than the maximum number of hours, the employee may refuse that call. A preliminary agreement is not yet an employment contract, but rather a declaration of intent between the parties. A defining feature of the preliminary agreement is that the employee may decide, for each individual call, whether or not to comply with the employer\u2019s request to work. In the case of a preliminary agreement, an employment contract only comes into existence once the employer has called upon the employee to work and the employee has accepted that call. The employment contract then applies each time for the duration of that specific call, for example for one day, one week or several months. The disadvantage of a preliminary agreement is that each call gives rise to a new employment contract. The parties therefore run the risk that, as a result of the statutory chain rule, an employment contract for an indefinite period will come into existence. For that reason, the on-call arrangement based on a preliminary agreement is rarely used in practice. In this blog, we will limit our discussion to on-call contracts with a deferred duty to perform. Whenever we refer to on-call contracts below, we mean zero-hours contracts and min-max contracts. Flexible work arrangements create considerable uncertainty for employees. On-call workers often face irregular working hours and an unpredictable income. They are frequently uncertain as to whether, when, and for how many hours they will be called upon to work. To provide on-call workers with greater security, the law contains various provisions designed to strengthen their legal position. Below, we discuss the three most important protections. It should be noted, however, that collective labour agreements may contain provisions that deviate from the statutory rules. After six months: no work, yet still entitled to pay. For employment contracts in general, the principle of \u201cno work, no pay\u201d still applies. This means that an employer is not required to pay wages for hours during which the employee has not performed any work. An exception applies where the employee has not worked due to a cause that should reasonably be borne by the employer. In principle, the absence of sufficient work falls within the employer\u2019s sphere of risk, meaning that employees are entitled to wages even when no work is available. On-call contracts almost always contain a provision stating that the employer is only required to pay wages for the hours during which the employee has actually been called upon to work. By doing so, the employer makes use of a statutory exception that allows wages to be withheld when there is insufficient work available. To protect on-call workers, this exception is limited to the first six months of the employment relationship. After six months, the employer must continue to pay wages even if no work is available. The question then arises: what wages must the employer continue to pay? After three months: presumption regarding working hours. This question is particularly relevant because on-call contracts generally do not provide for a fixed number of working hours and, consequently, no fixed salary. In the case of min-max contracts, the employer must in any event pay wages corresponding to the agreed minimum number of hours. To further protect on-call workers, Dutch law provides for a statutory presumption regarding the employee\u2019s working hours. After three months, it is presumed that the agreed working hours are equal to the average number of hours worked during the preceding three months. This rule applies to zero-hours contracts, where no working hours have been agreed, as well as to min-max contracts where the employee\u2019s actual working hours consistently exceed the agreed minimum number of hours. For example, if an employee has worked an average of 18 hours per week over the past three months, it is presumed that the agreed working hours amount to 18 hours per week. The employer may rebut this presumption, but must then demonstrate that the presumed number of hours is not representative of the actual employment relationship. This may be the case, for example, if there was a temporary peak in the employer\u2019s workload during the preceding three months, resulting in the employee being demonstrably called upon to work more frequently than during the remainder of the year. In such circumstances, the presumed number of working hours may need to be adjusted downwards. Where the parties have agreed on a working time of less than 15 hours per week, the employee is entitled, for each period of work lasting less than three hours, to the wages that would have been payable had the employee worked for three hours. The same applies to on-call contracts in which the number of working hours has not been agreed or has not been clearly defined. The purpose of this rule is to prevent on-call workers from being required to work repeatedly for very short periods of time. Employers should therefore take note: if an employee is called upon twice within a three-hour period to work for one hour each time, the employer must pay three hours\u2019 wages for each separate call. Although many parties are unaware of it, on-call workers already enjoy a considerable degree of legal protection. Through the introduction of the Balanced Labour Market Act (Wet arbeidsmarkt in balans, \u201cWAB\u201d), the legislature has sought to strengthen that protection even further. The most important changes are set out below. Where an on-call contract has lasted for twelve months, the employer is required to offer the employee a contract providing for a fixed number of working hours. The number of hours offered must be at least equal to the average number of hours worked during the preceding twelve months. The offer must be made no later than the month following the twelfth month of employment. Employers must call upon on-call workers in writing or electronically at least four days in advance. If the employer withdraws the call within that four-day period, the employee remains entitled to wages for the period for which they had originally been called upon to work. A collective labour agreement may provide for a different notice period. Employees working under a zero-hours contract may terminate their on-call contract subject to a notice period of four days. This notice period may be shortened by collective labour agreement. We understand that employers require flexibility in their workforce, while employees seek greater certainty. Through these measures, the legislature has attempted to strike a balance between the interests of both parties. Whether on-call contracts still offer sufficient added value in light of these measures remains open to debate.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/dismissal\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/home\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Expertise\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/expertise\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Dismissal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ko & Co Advocaten\",\"description\":\"Experts in Arbeidsrecht\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ko & Co Advocaten\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/android-chrome-192x192-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/android-chrome-192x192-1.png\",\"width\":192,\"height\":192,\"caption\":\"Ko & Co Advocaten\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kc-advocaten.nl\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/KoCoAdvocaten\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/ko--co-advocaten\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dismissal | Ko &amp; Co Advocaten","description":"Ko & Co Advocaten is a renowned law firm dedicated to Employment Law. 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Dismissal is one of our areas of expertise.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Blog-Oproepovereenkomst-Ko-Co-Advocaten-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Blog-Oproepovereenkomst-Ko-Co-Advocaten-scaled.jpeg","width":1707,"height":2560,"caption":"In recent years, the legislature has taken various measures to restrict flexible work, which also includes on-call contracts, and to encourage employers to offer their employees permanent employment contracts. With the introduction of the Balanced Labour Market Act (Wet arbeidsmarkt in balans, \u201cWAB\u201d) as of 1 January 2020, the differences between permanent and flexible work are to be further reduced. The demand for labour within organisations is constantly changing, for example as a result of economic fluctuations or technological developments. By hiring employees on the basis of an on-call contract, many employers believe that they can easily align the deployment of workers with the demand for labour within the organisation. But is it still that straightforward? In this blog, we discuss what an on-call contract is, what protection on-call employees enjoy, and what will change as a result of the introduction of the WAB. Based on this information, you can decide whether an on-call contract still adds value to your organisation. What is an on-call contract? An on-call contract is an employment contract under which the employer may call upon the employee to come to work when the employer needs them to do so. There is no statutory definition of an on-call contract. In practice, there are two types of on-call contracts: the on-call contract with a deferred duty to perform and the preliminary agreement. An on-call contract with a deferred duty to perform is an employment contract that may be entered into for a fixed or indefinite period. A defining feature of this type of on-call contract is that the employee is obliged to comply with the employer\u2019s call to work. The employee\u2019s duty to perform only arises once the employee is called upon to work. The employer, in turn, is obliged to call upon the employee if work is available. There are two forms of on-call contracts with a deferred duty to perform: zero-hours contracts, which are characterised by the fact that the parties have not agreed on the number of hours the employee will work, and min-max contracts, which are characterised by the fact that the parties have agreed on a minimum and a maximum number of hours for which the employee may be called upon to work. For min-max contracts, the employer must always pay the agreed minimum number of hours, including in the event of illness. If the employee is called upon to work more than the maximum number of hours, the employee may refuse that call. A preliminary agreement is not yet an employment contract, but rather a declaration of intent between the parties. A defining feature of the preliminary agreement is that the employee may decide, for each individual call, whether or not to comply with the employer\u2019s request to work. In the case of a preliminary agreement, an employment contract only comes into existence once the employer has called upon the employee to work and the employee has accepted that call. The employment contract then applies each time for the duration of that specific call, for example for one day, one week or several months. The disadvantage of a preliminary agreement is that each call gives rise to a new employment contract. The parties therefore run the risk that, as a result of the statutory chain rule, an employment contract for an indefinite period will come into existence. For that reason, the on-call arrangement based on a preliminary agreement is rarely used in practice. In this blog, we will limit our discussion to on-call contracts with a deferred duty to perform. Whenever we refer to on-call contracts below, we mean zero-hours contracts and min-max contracts. Flexible work arrangements create considerable uncertainty for employees. On-call workers often face irregular working hours and an unpredictable income. They are frequently uncertain as to whether, when, and for how many hours they will be called upon to work. To provide on-call workers with greater security, the law contains various provisions designed to strengthen their legal position. Below, we discuss the three most important protections. It should be noted, however, that collective labour agreements may contain provisions that deviate from the statutory rules. After six months: no work, yet still entitled to pay. For employment contracts in general, the principle of \u201cno work, no pay\u201d still applies. This means that an employer is not required to pay wages for hours during which the employee has not performed any work. An exception applies where the employee has not worked due to a cause that should reasonably be borne by the employer. In principle, the absence of sufficient work falls within the employer\u2019s sphere of risk, meaning that employees are entitled to wages even when no work is available. On-call contracts almost always contain a provision stating that the employer is only required to pay wages for the hours during which the employee has actually been called upon to work. By doing so, the employer makes use of a statutory exception that allows wages to be withheld when there is insufficient work available. To protect on-call workers, this exception is limited to the first six months of the employment relationship. After six months, the employer must continue to pay wages even if no work is available. The question then arises: what wages must the employer continue to pay? After three months: presumption regarding working hours. This question is particularly relevant because on-call contracts generally do not provide for a fixed number of working hours and, consequently, no fixed salary. In the case of min-max contracts, the employer must in any event pay wages corresponding to the agreed minimum number of hours. To further protect on-call workers, Dutch law provides for a statutory presumption regarding the employee\u2019s working hours. After three months, it is presumed that the agreed working hours are equal to the average number of hours worked during the preceding three months. This rule applies to zero-hours contracts, where no working hours have been agreed, as well as to min-max contracts where the employee\u2019s actual working hours consistently exceed the agreed minimum number of hours. For example, if an employee has worked an average of 18 hours per week over the past three months, it is presumed that the agreed working hours amount to 18 hours per week. The employer may rebut this presumption, but must then demonstrate that the presumed number of hours is not representative of the actual employment relationship. This may be the case, for example, if there was a temporary peak in the employer\u2019s workload during the preceding three months, resulting in the employee being demonstrably called upon to work more frequently than during the remainder of the year. In such circumstances, the presumed number of working hours may need to be adjusted downwards. Where the parties have agreed on a working time of less than 15 hours per week, the employee is entitled, for each period of work lasting less than three hours, to the wages that would have been payable had the employee worked for three hours. The same applies to on-call contracts in which the number of working hours has not been agreed or has not been clearly defined. The purpose of this rule is to prevent on-call workers from being required to work repeatedly for very short periods of time. Employers should therefore take note: if an employee is called upon twice within a three-hour period to work for one hour each time, the employer must pay three hours\u2019 wages for each separate call. Although many parties are unaware of it, on-call workers already enjoy a considerable degree of legal protection. Through the introduction of the Balanced Labour Market Act (Wet arbeidsmarkt in balans, \u201cWAB\u201d), the legislature has sought to strengthen that protection even further. The most important changes are set out below. Where an on-call contract has lasted for twelve months, the employer is required to offer the employee a contract providing for a fixed number of working hours. The number of hours offered must be at least equal to the average number of hours worked during the preceding twelve months. The offer must be made no later than the month following the twelfth month of employment. Employers must call upon on-call workers in writing or electronically at least four days in advance. If the employer withdraws the call within that four-day period, the employee remains entitled to wages for the period for which they had originally been called upon to work. A collective labour agreement may provide for a different notice period. Employees working under a zero-hours contract may terminate their on-call contract subject to a notice period of four days. This notice period may be shortened by collective labour agreement. We understand that employers require flexibility in their workforce, while employees seek greater certainty. Through these measures, the legislature has attempted to strike a balance between the interests of both parties. Whether on-call contracts still offer sufficient added value in light of these measures remains open to debate."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/dismissal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Expertise","item":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/expertise\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Dismissal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/","name":"Ko & Co Advocaten","description":"Experts in Arbeidsrecht","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/#organization","name":"Ko & Co Advocaten","url":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/android-chrome-192x192-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/android-chrome-192x192-1.png","width":192,"height":192,"caption":"Ko & Co Advocaten"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KoCoAdvocaten\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ko--co-advocaten\/"]}]}},"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7017"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7022,"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7017\/revisions\/7022"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kc-advocaten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}