Contracts

By F. Jager, 30-07-2022 , HR4Expats 
Last updated 08-09-2023

The piece of paper that is the basis of your employment. There are many different variations of employment contracts. In this article we will cover the three most common contracts.

Before we can speak about different types of contracts, we must define what it means to be employed. 

As mentioned, there are many kinds of contracts, and sometimes the line between employed, self-employed, and external employee becomes blurry. Good thing the Dutch labour law has defined when someone is employed and when not. To be employed, you must be able to check all four of these boxes (see picture below).

If you can check all these boxes, it is almost 99% certain that you are employed. If that is the case, you might have one of the following contracts.

Definite contracts
Most people have the definite contract (NL: contract voor bepaalde tijd). This contract states a clear start and end date of the contract. The contract's duration can differ from 1 day to 3 years (yes, it sounds weird, but there exist contracts of 1 day). However, your employer can only give three definite contracts in 36 months.

These can be three definite contracts for 12 months or even one definite contract for three years. You must receive an indefinite contract when your contract is extended for the fourth time. In HR terms, we refer to this as the ‘chain rule’ (NL: ketenregeling).
Little side note: the chain is broken when you leave the company for 6 months or longer and then come back. That would mean if you had two definite contracts and you quit your job to go backpacking for 6 months, your employer has the right to give again three definite contracts if you return.

NOTE: There can be an exception to this rule. Your CAO is allowed to negatively differ from the ‘chain rule’ to a maximum of 6 definite contracts in 48 months (these can also be 3 contracts for 16 months or 6 contracts for 8 months).

Indefinite contract
When you are extended after three definite contracts (unless the CAO states differently), you will receive an indefinite contract (NL: contract voor onbepaalde tijd). As the word says, the contract is indefinite and has no end date. That makes it very difficult for an employer to terminate your contract (not impossible, so don’t act like you can “miss behave” now). Therefore, it is the most desired contract to have. Since with an indefinite contract, it's easier to apply for a mortgage or rental house.

Flex contracts
Then, there is the flex contract (NL: oproepcontract / 0-uren contract). This type of contract can vary in different industries: the hospitality industry, vacation jobs, post offices, supermarkets, etc. However, to not be “screwed” over, there are a few things you must be aware of.

Flex worker defined: A flex worker has no fixed number of hours per month (or week). Moreover, the flex worker only receives a salary for the hours he/she has worked.

As a flex worker, you do not have to respond to work possibilities if you received the notice 4 days in advance. Again, a CAO can differ from this.
Another very important thing to know is that in some cases, you have the right to be paid the agreed-upon hours if the company cancels too late.

To illustrate: John works at the X-Store as a flex worker. His manager called him on Monday and said he is expected to work 4 hours on Wednesday. However, this is a notice shorter than 4 days. Therefore, John has the right to refuse the work. However, John is nice and says he will come to work on Wednesday. Then on Tuesday, the manager texts John again, saying he is not needed after all. John gets a bit frustrated. After all, he canceled his plans on Wednesday so that he could work. John tells the manager; he has the right to get paid for 4 hours. Since the store notified the cancellation too late. The cancellation must be written or electronic (Burgerlijke Wetboek 7:628a).

A little side note: You can check the rules and regulations for this in the CAO applicable, personnel handbook or your contract. When this is not stated, the rule as mentioned above is applicable.
Further, your employer must offer you a contract for fixed hours after one year. This is according to the law WAB (NL: Wet Arbeidsmarkt in Balance). Dutch law is not fund of flexible contracts. Therefore, the employer must offer a fixed-hour contract (like an 8-hour per week contract) after one year. In addition, you have one month to think about this offer.

Then for the minors who are reading this article. I can imagine you have questions about whether you are allowed to sign a contract. If you are older than 16, you are allowed to sign a contract. If you are younger than 16 (theoretically speaking), your parents must agree for you to sign a contract. However, if you worked for 4 weeks in a row (without any resistance from your parents), the law assumes your parents have approved your contract. That means that in the 5th week, your parents can legally not prevent you from working. Please note that there are hour, wage, and task restrictions for minors.

As I mentioned before, this is a brief description of contracts. There are many different types of contracts and even more exceptions to those contracts. If I discussed all the exceptions and contracts, you would get bored quickly. Once again, I cannot stress enough how important it is to read the CAO applicable to your company. I hope this article has given you an overall understanding of the three most common contracts.

Sources:

• G.A. Diebels, De Kleine Gids voor het Nederlandse arbeidsrecht, Deventer: Wolters Kluwer 2020.
• Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 610, 612 & 628a (2021)