Help! Law changes are coming, what should I do?

A number of important and interesting legislative changes are on the horizon for this summer.

The "Prohibition of Ancillary Work" law and the "Work Where You Want" bill are two of them. To what extent must an employee disclose their side work? As an employer, how do you draw up a justification? And will an employee soon be allowed to work just six months from Bali?

In our Anders Denken Podcast, Suzanne Meijers answers. As an employment lawyer, she helps employers and employees with employment law issues. Meijers is also an entrepreneur and author of the book: 'No hassle with staff'.

Ban on prohibition of ancillary work

No, this headline does not concern a clerical error. We are indeed talking about a "ban on a ban. What does that mean? Meijers explains: 'Many employment contracts prohibit an employee, without the employer's consent, from performing outside activities in addition to his work. Such a general and unmotivated prohibition will soon no longer be possible. In fact, as of August 1, 2022, the employer will need a justification, i.e. a good reason, to prohibit ancillary activities.'

Sample....

Complicated? Quite. That's why Meijers gives examples: "Imagine you sell plastic cups. You do that about forty hours a week at Company A. Company B also sells plastic cups. Company A, of course, does not want you to work for its competitor, Company B, as a hired employee. Logical. That's a good reason. Now imagine, however, that you love soccer. In your spare time, you prefer to spend many hours volunteering in your clubhouse. Company A thinks: gee, my employee is working a lot of extra hours. I'm afraid he might get overtired or even burnout. In that situation, can your employer put a stop to all your volunteer work?

Curious about the answer? Listen to the Different Thinking Podcast now. In this session, Meijers also shares a few other example situations and risks posed by this new law.

Bill Working Where You Want

Also on the shelf at the time the podcast was recorded was an interesting bill: Work Where You Want. Meijers: 'Does an employee want to work for six months in Bali or from his vacation home in France? Then, according to that first bill, the employer must actually always say "yes" to that, unless there is a compelling business or service interest. I can tell you in advance that such an interest rarely exists! indicates Meijers.

The 'light' version

According to Meijers, there is already a law in the Netherlands that is quite similar to this proposal: 'The "Flexible Working" law states that if the employee wants to work in a place other than the office, the employer must seriously consider that. It is a kind of "light version" of this new proposal.

Meanwhile, the Work Where You Want bill has been modified, and passed in this modified form by the House of Representatives. Whereas the first version of the proposal was quite restrictive for the employer, it is now more focused on customization and there is room to look at interests of both parties. The proposal now means that the employer must assess the employee's request for another job "by the standards of reasonableness and fairness. The employer must weigh the proposal carefully, taking into account both the employer's and the employee's interests. The employee must have a good justification, or "sound reasoning," for this.

This modified version gives the employee a better position, but also gives the employer more room for assessment and customization. The proposal was approved by the House of Representatives in early July. An effective date is not yet known.

How does Meijers view this new legislation? Listen to the Anders Denken Podcast now. In this session, Meijers also shares tips for starting the conversation about hybrid work: how do you bring up the topic? And how do you conduct such a conversation?