Good employer and good employee

(NL: Goed werkgeverschap en goed werknemerschap).

By F. Jager, 31-02-2022 , HR4Expats

The Dutch labour law is complicated, the Dutch labour market is enormous, and the number of problems on the work floor is huge.

Perhaps you have already heard about this term, or it might even be written in your contract. It sounds a bit obvious, but we all like to believe we are ‘good’ employees and employers. Then why is it so important to specify this term?

In Dutch labour law, many obligations for employers and employees are defined. However, as with any type of law, not everything can be covered or disclosed. These are the so-called grey areas. The Netherlands implemented a general standard to create a structure for this grey area. This general standard has become the backbone of labour law in the Netherlands.

This so-called standard regarding the 'goed werkgeverschap en goed werknemerschap' means that both employer and employee are obligated to interact with each other as a good employer and good employee.

I know that this all sounds a bit vague. In practice, the standard means that you should respect each other, the Dutch law, and other people’s beliefs. This standard should create a basis for a trusting work environment.

This ‘goed werknemerschap’ will result in you, as an employee, understanding that sometimes you can be asked to work overtime even though your contract mentions nothing about working overtime. The tasks/assignments you execute outside your contract agreements are part of the general standard. You can accept to do these assignments/tasks if the request of your employer is reasonable.

This standard means your employer must respect you as an employee. To illustrate, your employer must reward and appreciate employees with a flex contract just as much as full-time employees. Also, the employer is expected not to abuse power in his position. Moreover, he must explain and account for drastic decisions. For example, he cannot just move the headquarters 50 kilometres away without any explanation. Furthermore, an indication of a good employer (in my eyes) is an employer that pays the transition allowance automatically without the employee having to claim it.

As you can see, respect and fairness are the foundation of the general standard ‘good employer and good employee’. Most conflicts can be resolved if both parties can reach a mutual understanding and treat each other with common respect. If you do not feel respected or treated fairly, please contact your HR department or confident employee (NL: vertrouwens persoon).

Source:

• G.A. Diebels, De Kleine Gids voor het Nederlandse arbeidsrecht, Deventer: Wolters Kluwer 2020.
• Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 611 (2021)