Terms of employment and employment contracts

Not every employer is obliged to offer pension to their employees. Nevertheless, about three quarters of the working population builds up pension with a pension provider. In several sectors, such as the public sector, health care, construction, transport and retail, it is often a matter of mandatory pension participation in an industry-wide pension fund. A company may also offer its own pension fund or take out a pension plan with a pension insurer or a premium pension institution

Clients are (rightly) cautious because of the risks such as continued payment of wages during illness, payroll taxes, pension protection or severance pay for an alleged contractor. Whoever wants to outsource work on the basis of a contract for services must therefore ensure that the contract is in order. In short, anyone who actually treats a contractor as a third party will prevent a later ruling by a court or other authority that the actual performance indicates there was an employer-employee relationship.

Within the frameworks of the law and any applicable collective labour agreement, there is room for customisation. If special interests play a role within an organisation, additional agreements are possible. Examples are diploma requirements, submission of a certificate of conduct, longer notice periods, variable staff terms, rules for absence due to sickness and recovery, study costs clause, social media policy, etc. Our lawyers will be happy to look into the options for your organisation.

A collective labour agreement (in Dutch: collectief arbeidsovereenkomst, CAO) contains important agreements on employment conditions such as wages, bonuses, payment of overtime, working hours, probationary period and notice period. In practice, it is not always clear to those concerned whether they are bound by a CAO. Does a CAO apply to your situation? And what is regulated in it?

There is often debate about the interpretation of individual provisions of the collective labour agreement. An incorrect interpretation can have far-reaching consequences. That is why specialist legal knowledge is so essential. Our specialists will be happy to look into it with you. If you have any CAO-related questions, please do not hesitate to contact us