Cindy advises national and international entrepreneurs and employers.
cindy.ting@russell.nl +31203015555The government wants to improve the legal position of flex workers with a new law. What will it mean for employers and flex workers if the legislative proposal is adopted? What new rules will you need to take into account?
On 19 May 2025, the bill on greater security for flexible workers was submitted to the House of Representatives. The aim of this bill is to offer flexible workers, i.e. on-call workers, temporary agency workers and workers with temporary contracts, greater security regarding their income and working hours. Below, we list the most important measures for you.
The first measure concerns the abolition of zero-hour contracts. These will be replaced by so-called ‘bandwidth contracts’. In such a contract, a minimum and maximum number of hours is agreed, whereby the maximum number of hours may not exceed 130% of the minimum number of hours. For example, with a minimum of 10 hours per week, the maximum may be 13 hours per week. Employees may refuse calls above the maximum. If more hours are worked on a structural basis, the employer must offer a contract with a higher number of hours.
The second measure relates to the so-called chain rule, the regulation regarding successive fixed-term contracts. The main rule of the current chain rule is that employers can offer a maximum of three temporary contracts in a maximum of three years before a permanent contract is created. This chain is broken if there is an interval of at least six months between contracts, after which a new chain of contracts can be created. As a result, employers can offer the same employees a new temporary contract.
In the proposed bill, the interim period of six months is extended to five years, making it impossible for employers to start a new chain for five years. The bill also abolishes the existing possibility of deviating from the maximum duration and maximum number of temporary contracts in collective labour agreements. The exception for seasonal work (an interim period of three months instead of six months) remains unchanged.
Thirdly, the bill also aims to strengthen the position of temporary agency workers. They will be entitled to at least the same terms and conditions of employment as employees who are directly employed by the hirer. In addition, phase A, the period during which temporary workers can be dismissed on a daily basis, will be shortened from 1.5 years to 1 year. Phase B, the period during which temporary workers only receive a permanent contract after 6 temporary contracts, will be shortened from 3 years to 2 years.
The bill is currently being debated in the House of Representatives. The intention is for the law to come into force on 1 January 2027. The section on equal pay for temporary workers may come into force a year earlier, on 1 January 2026, so that it ties in with the new collective labour agreement in the temporary employment sector.
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