The ‘Flexible Working Act’ will give employees more opportunities to work outside the office and outside office hours. Under what conditions can the employer reject such adjustments? Is it possible to derogate from the statutory regulations?
The new ‘Flexible Working Act’ (in full: ‘The Working Hours Adjustment Act to promote Flexible Working’ includes an adjustment of the already existing Working Hours Adjustment Act (WAA). In short, employees will be granted more opportunities than just increasing or decreasing the hours of work. As from (probably) 1 July 2015, the right to adjust the place of work and the right to adjust the working hours will also be laid down in law. The new law will only apply to businesses with more than 10 employees.
Under the previous scheme (WAA), employees were allowed to submit a request for the adjustment of the hours of work after one year of service. Pursuant to the new law, a request for adjustment can already be made after 26 weeks for:
Pursuant to the new law, a request for adjustment must be made two months before the intended commencement date instead of the four months under the previous scheme of the WAA. Both granting and rejecting a request must be done in writing.
A request for adjustment of the number of hours of work or working hours can only be rejected under certain circumstances. This will only be possible for substantial business- or service interests.
The law provides that it’s a matter of substantial business- or service interests regarding the decrease in the working hours if this will lead to serious problems:
It’s a matter of substantial business- or service interests regarding the increase of working hours if this will lead to serious problems:
It’s certainly a matter of substantial business- or service interests regarding the adjustment of working hours if this adjustment will lead to serious problems:
The rules are less strict when it comes to a request for adjustment of the working place. In this case, an employer only has to take the application into consideration. Any substantial business or service interests are not required for rejecting an application.
If an employer rejects the request by an employee, the rejection must be substantiated. Besides, employees will have to wait one year before they can submit a new request after a request for adjustment of the number of working hours, working place or working hours has been granted or rejected.
The new law can be derogated from by a collective labour agreement or by a written agreement with the works council or, if this doesn’t exist, with the employee representative body.
List the potential problems (including legal issues) and possibilities which may arise in your business or organization by adjusting the working hours or working place. That way you will be prepared in case an employee submits a request for adjustment.
Would you like to know more about the Flexible Working Act? Or do you have any other questions regarding the adjustment of working hours, working place or the adjustment of employment conditions and employment contracts? Please contact:
Statutory directors enjoy less protection against dismissal, but there must still be reasonable grounds for the dismissal. Otherwise, the employer must pay fair compensation. This can be substantial, as a recent ruling has shown. Why was the employer required to pay this compensation?
The European AI Act requires employers to ensure that employees have sufficient knowledge of AI systems. This can be achieved through training, but also through an AI policy tailored to the company. What should you include in such a policy? What role does the works council play in the implementation of the AI policy?
Reinier W.L. Russell, LL.M. has published an article on The benefits of a works council for entrepreneurs in the “Off the record” section of Primerus Weekly on March 3, 2026. Below you will find the text of this article.
Employees who are underperforming may be dismissed. However, they must first be given the opportunity to improve their performance through a performance improvement plan (PIP). What requirements must such a plan meet?
The works council has the right of consent when establishing, amending or withdrawing a remuneration system. Is an amendment to a share scheme an amendment to the remuneration system?
The salary thresholds for highly skilled migrants and European Blue Card holders are adjusted annually. What will be the amounts for 2026? Also, stricter rules for the highly skilled migrant scheme are proposed. What might change?
