Legislative proposals for labour market reform

During the term of the Rutte IV Government (2022-2024), various legislative proposals aimed at reforming the labour market were submitted for internet consultation. Some of these legislative proposals have recently been presented to the House of Representatives, including the More Security for Flexible Workers Act and the Act Clarification Assessment Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (VBAR). The main points of these bills are outlined below.

More Security for Flexible Workers Act

• Submitted to the House of Representatives on 16 May 2025.
• The chain provision will be tightened in the sense that the current interval of six months, after which a new chain of temporary contracts can be created, will be replaced by an administrative expiry period of five years (60 months).
• In principle, on-call contracts (zero-hour contracts, min/max contracts) will be replaced by bandwidth contracts with a quarterly hour standard with a limited bandwidth of up to 30%; the maximum agreed working hours may not exceed 130% of the minimum agreed working hours.
• In the case of temporary agency work, phase A will be shortened to 52 weeks and phase B to 2 years. Furthermore, the total terms and conditions of employment for temporary agency workers must be at least equivalent to those of employees who are directly employed by the hirer.
• The intended date of entry into force for the parts relating to equivalent terms and conditions of employment for temporary agency workers is 1 July 2026. The planned date of entry into force for the rest of the measures is 1 January 2027.

Act Clarification Assessment Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (VBAR)

• Submitted to the House of Representatives on 4 July 2025.
• The criteria on the basis of which a person must be regarded as an employee or self-employed person are clarified.
• Introduction of a formula on the basis of which indications that point to working as an employee (main element W; work-related and organisational control) are compared with indications that point to working as a self-employed person (main element Z; working for one’s own account and risk). The assessment then revolves around the question of where the focus of the employment relationship lies: working in the service of another or working for one’s own account and risk. The presence of the main elements is assessed on the basis of indications to be designated by governmental decree.
• The VBAR also introduces a legal presumption, on the basis of which workers who earn less than €36 per hour (reference date 1 January 2025; this amount will be increased biennially in line with the increase in the minimum wage) can claim that they are employees and are entitled to employee rights. It will then be up to the client to demonstrate that there is no employment contract.
• The intended date of entry into force is 1 July 2026.

Due to the outgoing government and the formation of a new government after the elections on 29 October 2025, it is not yet clear how the discussion of these legislative proposals will proceed. For more information, please contact the Employment and Pensions Team at Van Doorne, Cara Pronk & Barbara van der Veen.