Employment Law Newsletter > September 2010

Transcription

1 Employment Law Newsletter > September 2010 In this issue Expansion of possibility to extend employment agreements for young people Legislative bills Amendment of vacation legislation and Expiration date of unemployment benefits not involving sickness sent to House of Representatives! End of the paper pay slip Broad application of the Directive on the transfer of companies Longer maternity leave costs more than it yields Christian Trade Union Federation (CNV) develops code of behavior for social network sites Expansion of possibility to extend employment agreements for young people As of July 9, 2010 employers have the possibility to enter into successive fixed-term employment agreements with employees younger than 27 years more frequently and for longer periods. Before July 9, the rule was that the fourth temporary employment agreement automatically became a permanent employment contract after three temporary employment agreements concluded in direct succession, or within three months of each other. This now applies to the fifth temporary employment agreement with young people up to the age of 27. The rule, furthermore, was that if a period of 36 months was exceeded during the second or subsequent temporary contract, this contract automatically changed into a fixed one. That now applies after a period of 48 months. When the age of 27 is reached, the new regulation no longer applies, and the employee falls under the old regulation. This law aims to keep young people employed longer during the current economic crisis. By making it possible to enter into fixed-term employment agreements more frequently and longer, an employer will be able to maintain the employment relationship with young people. At issue is a temporary law that expires on January 1, 2012, which can, however, be extended. Source: Staatsblad [Statute Book] 2010, 274 attorneys tax lawyers civil law notaries Employment Law Newsletter > September 2010

2 Legislative bills Amendment of vacation legislation and Expiration date of unemployment benefits not involving sickness sent to House of Representatives! In our previous edition we wrote about two bills that were approved by the cabinet. The first bill makes sure that employees who are sick for a long time are entitled to the same number of vacation days as employees who are not sick. The bill furthermore provides that employees will have to take their legal vacation days within one and a half years. This expiration deadline does not apply to employees who were not reasonably able to take their vacation days. Employers and employees can decide by mutual agreement to extend the deadline. The second bill provides that the expiration date of the right to unemployment benefits does not change with the period during which the (soon-to-be) unemployed person is sick. This will make it less financially appealing for employees to call in sick. It is also provided that the wage and remedy sanctions apply to the employer of people who claim sick benefits if the employer has not complied with his reintegration obligations. The bill also proposes a new way to offset income from labor performed during the period of entitlement to benefits based upon the Sickness Benefits Act. Both bills have, in the meantime, been submitted to the House of Representatives. Source: Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, August 27, 2010 End of the paper pay slip As part of a reduction of the administrative burden, it will be possible as of July 1, 2010 to provide employees pay slips digitally. Also the statement of employment conditions, which is obligatory for the employer, such as the name and the address of the employer and employee, the employee s position or the nature of the work, and the amount of salary and the payment schedule can be sent electronically from now on. Two conditions are imposed upon providing the pay slip and the employment agreement electronically. First of all, the employee needs to explicitly consent to sending the statement electronically. Such consent can be given by the employee once, at the commencement of employment. For current employees this can be achieved by sending an or letter. The employee can withdraw his consent at any time, incidentally.

3 Secondly, the new regulation requires that the electronic statement be provided in such a way that employees can store it and that it will be accessible to them, so that they can take note of its contents at a later time. In this way the electronic statement becomes tantamount to the actual delivery of a statement. In the process, two functions are fulfilled: Employees receive a legible written document with information regarding the salary amount, and they can save the document and consult it later. Source: Statute Book 2010, 205 Broad application of the Directive on the transfer of companies Earlier we reported about the Heineken case in which the Magistrate s Court judge ruled that hired employees are transferred if the activities they performed for the person who hired them are transferred to a third party. In a prejudicial question to the European Court of Justice, the Court of Appeals in Amsterdam raised the question of whether the directive pertaining to the (the directive) also affords protection to the employees in the event of a transfer from one company belonging to a conglomerate to another, if the employees work permanently for this company but have another company which belongs to this group as their legal employer. Advocate General Yves Bot confirmed this on June 3, The AG is of the opinion that in view of the object and system of the guideline, the manner of organization of the employment relations within a conglomerate, as in the case of Heineken, should be treated as if the employer (company) would enter into the employment agreements of the employees of the group company for each of the operating companies where they are employed. The circumstance that the employment agreements of those employees who are employed at the transferred company are entered into with another company of the conglomerate cannot, therefore, according to the AG, prevent the rights and obligations that arise from these agreements from passing to the acquiring party. These employees also need to be protected. The AG deems the application of the directive necessary in such situations to prevent conglomerates from organizing as a result of their employment relationships, as in the case of Heineken, to be able to avoid the application of the guideline. It is now up to the European Court and a decision is expected at the end of Source: EU CoJ Opinion Findings AG , no. C-242/09

4 Longer maternity leave costs more than it yields At the request of the House of Representatives, research was conducted as to the costs and benefits of a possible expansion of pregnancy and maternity leave. The research shows that the social benefits of a possible extension of the maternity leave to 18 or 20 weeks are outweighed by the social costs. The research concludes that longer leave has limited effects on its use and on absence due to illness on the mother s part, and no effect on the health of children. Most of the costs may be attributed to the fact that no work is performed during the period of extended leave while the salary continues to be paid. The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) does compensate the lion s share of these costs, but employers pay a premium for this. The employers also incur costs because they often have to find replacements. This fall the European Parliament will vote on an extension of the maternity leave to eighteen or twenty weeks. The Netherlands is against this extension. Minister Donner sees greater benefit in flexible parental leave and better possibilities to combine work and private life. Source: Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, July 14, 2010 Christian Trade Union Federation (CNV) develops code of behavior for social network sites The Christian Trade Union Federation has developed a code of behavior for social media, such as Hyves and Twitter. The code of behavior is developed for CNV s own employees but it can also serve as a model for other employers. The idea behind the code of behavior is that it is allowed to be active on social media, provided that the employer does not suffer from it. Social media can make a meaningful contribution to an organization, as and internet have done and continue to do. It offers employees opportunities to show that they are proud of their work. In this way, they can contribute to a better image for customers and job applicants. At the same time (dissatisfied) employees can also cause lots of damage via social networks. For this reason, questions have arisen about the use of social media in organizations. Can you write about work-related matters in your private blog? Does an employer have a say about what someone writes during his free time on Facebook? Is that person also representing the company and its views outside of work hours and should he therefore always be mindful of the boss s interests? How much time can one spend twittering during work hours?

5 All these questions are answered by the behavior code of the CNV. The code of behavior is published on the CNV website. In the past few weeks many reactions have been received. In the coming weeks the CNV will work on an improved version of the protocol based on these reactions and publish an updated version of the CNV Social Media Protocol. Source: CNV, July 22, 2010

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