The new law is aimed more at contracts of indefinite duration. Is it possible?

And again, all the rules change. Three years after the previous government changed the rules on dismissal, flexible work and open-ended contracts, the cabinet reverses them again.

"Minister" Wouter Koolmees (Social Affairs, D66) called the labor market law that he sent to the lower house on Wednesday. Many changes. People on indefinite contracts receive less protection: it becomes easier and probably cheaper to fire permanent staff. Employees under temporary contracts enjoy increased protection, for example because they directly claim severance pay

At the same time, Koolmees makes permanent contract employees cheaper for employers and flexible, imposing a higher unemployment premium to employers. that they hire. And more is changing: for example for people with a zero hour contract or a contract of employment.

The goal of all these changes is clear: Koolmees wants to end the trend that fewer and fewer people are getting a permanent contract. But the criticism was clear immediately Wednesday: this law will not end this.

The most important state council, the State Council, wrote in its council to the law that plans "reduce to the maximum" the worst bottlenecks. "But the differences between well-protected employees on a permanent contract and much less protected workers remain substantial.To reverse the trend towards more flexible contracts, a broader and more fundamental approach is needed.

La Grande Césange now modifies the rules for several types of employment contracts The real underlying problem, the board writes, is not at all about the types of contracts. increasingly visible in the labor market between highly educated people who find their way, regardless of their type of work contract, and low-skilled people who perform work that can easily be replaced by technology. [19659007] Read more: No more work, but only one permanent contract? Ho but

Employers will always search for the medium n use them in the most economical and flexible way possible, according to labor market experts. "In the Netherlands, we have a unique business sector offering flexible construction," says Ton Wilthagen, labor market professor at the University of Tilburg. "They will have their first health tomorrow: what can we propose to circumvent the new rules?"

In the Netherlands, the share of permanent contracts decreases rapidly, including in relation to other countries. In 2003, more than 73% of workers had a permanent contract, now more than 60%. The number of permanent contracts has increased slightly in the last six months, but according to the experts, this is only a temporary effect because there are many staff shortages.

Layoff more smoothly

With his law, Great Tit takes one of the possible causes of this flexibilization. Fabian Dekker, labor sociologist, among others. In addition to the law on dismissal, which is relatively strict in the Netherlands, there are more reasons why employers grant fewer open-ended contracts.

For example, small businesses, in particular, are at great risk of having to pay sick employees for two years. There is nothing in this law about it. Self-employed, self-employed (self-employed) are also absent from the plans. They are often cheaper than salaried workers and their numbers are increasing rapidly.

The Great Tit recognized Wednesday that this law was only a first step. "We are not there yet." The minister has announced rules regarding the hiring of freelancers and the payment of salaries of sick employees. "All of these measures together should really reduce the differences."

Koolmees sets up a committee charged with fundamental long-term adjustments. It should also examine how the government can handle the emergence of "do-it-yourselfers" such as Deliveroo's dinner deliveries and Uber taxi drivers. This committee, led by Hans Borstlap, a former member of the State Council, is expected to issue opinions no later than next November.

Nevertheless, labor market experts and the State Council see in the improvement of some new rules. But then a little improvement.

This law is a correction of the law that Koolmees' predecessor, Lodewijk Asscher, introduced in 2015, says Wilthagen. The goal was also that more people get a permanent contract. Wilthagen: "This law makes a lot more sense." Asscher's law gave people, after only two years, temporary contracts the right to a contract of indefinite duration. "Then, many companies say goodbye before the end of these two years.It was illusory policy."

One of the reasons why Koolmees wants to facilitate layoffs is that he thinks that the current rules on dismissal do not work.

Asscher's law has made dismissal much more difficult in practice, recently concluded Ruben Houweling, professor of labor law at Erasmus University. Judges now reject dismissal applications much more often. Houweling investigated all dismissal cases brought to court. That this stricter assessment is bad is a political judgment, he says. With the new rules of Koolmees, says Houweling, "it is very easy to dismiss people, especially the oldest of the loyal employees to have their severance pay drop sharply."

Unions are very unhappy with more flexible rules dismissal. "The law is therefore a mecca for employers and declares the employee prohibited," says CNV acting president Arend van Wijngaarden. Likewise, Koolmees is convinced that employers are less afraid of contracting indefinitely. The Dekker labor sociologist thinks that with such easy dismissal, additional protection is needed: help in finding a job, for example.

Support

The practical operation of Koolmees' dismissal rules is not yet clear. In the end, judges must apply these rules. Evert Verhulp, a professor of labor law at the University of Amsterdam, believes that there is little change because the judges will always ask for a justification. "And the shooting becomes a little easier, but in some cases also more expensive.We do not know how it will work."

Judges are only used to the rules of Asscher since 2015. Verhulp: "We Let's just do this, the Supreme Court is content to make statements about the meaning of these dismissal rules, and now everything else is changing. "

Not only unions, but employers also criticize the law. They are satisfied with the reduction of redundancies, but not with the more expensive flexion. In response to the law, employers' associations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland write in sectors requiring significant seasonal work. "For a restaurant, a beach club or a store, it quickly means thousands of euros in extra costs."

Labor market rules are essential for employers, said Wilthagen. "Nothing changes without support, so employers will not respect the intentions of the law."

How sustainable is this labor market? According to Wilthagen, it takes a lot more to really change something. Not only a much wider rule change, but also the support of employers. "If not, a new law will be needed in five years: the labor market law will be fully balanced".