A fifth of employees (18%) are union members in the Netherlands, and the proportion has been gradually falling in recent years. There are two main confederations, the FNV – the larger of the two – and the CNV, with a third smaller organisation, the VCP primarily representing more senior and professional staff.

Figures published by the Netherlands statistical office (CBS), using statistics provided by the unions, indicate that there were 1,601,500 trade unionists in the Netherlands in 2019.[1] However, 281,100 (17.6% of the total) are older than 65, and the total not working is probably higher. Separate CBS statistics based on National Survey of Working Conditions (NEA) found that 18.4% of employees were union members in 2018.[2] This figure is higher than the ICTWSS database of union membership, which put union density at 16.4% in 2018.[3]

The largest trade union confederation in the Netherlands is the FNV, which had 1,014,100 members in 2019.[4] The other main union confederation, the CNV, is considerably smaller with 235,700. Both the FNV and the CNV organise manual and non-manual workers.[5]

The FNV and CNV trace their roots back to organisations with a clear religious or political orientation. The FNV emerged from the merger of the socialist and the catholic union federations in 1975; the CNV still describes itself as a Christian union and comes from a tradition of Protestant trade unionism. The third major union grouping is the VCP (formerly MHP), which was set up in 1974 to represent senior staff facing increasing pressure at the workplace. It has 163,500 members.

These three union groupings are all represented in the major tripartite body, the Social Na Economic Council (SER), where they sit with representatives of the employers and the government.

There are also a number of smaller unions, often representing specific occupational groups, which together have a total of 188,200 members. The largest of these is the Ambtenarencentrum (AC), which has around 60,000 members[6] and is a confederation of primarily public sector unions, one of the most important of which is the FBZ, which itself is a federation of specialist health service union with a total of 36,000 members.[7] Other smaller unions which have been involved in some collective agreements are the LBV, which argues for a “good, fair and appropriate income for everyone”, and the AVV, which presents itself as alternative to traditional trade unionism and states that it aims to involve non-union members in decisions on collective agreements.

In January 2015, following a major discussion and a series of decisions in individual union congresses, five, previously separate, FNV affiliates, including the three largest, merged into a single union. The remaining12 FNV affiliates remained outside this single union structure but continued to be affiliated as before. The current position, as the FNV reported in September 2019, is that the single union accounts for just over 800,000 of FNV’s membership, while the independent affiliates make up just under 200,000.[8] There are now13 independent affiliates, most covering specific occupations such as journalists, the police military personnel and professional footballers. The largest independent affiliate is the teachers’ union AOb, which has around 85,000 members (2017).[9]

The CNV lists eight affiliates, including a separate youth union. However, four of them in the public sector, covering education, care and welfare, government and public services(including some which have been privatised) are grouped together as CNV Connectief, with around 120,000 members, while most private sector employees are in CNV Vakmensen with around 135,000 members.[10]

The third union grouping, VCP, has more than 50 individual union organisations linked to it, although 37 are affiliated indirectly through the union federation CMHF, and another 15 are part of another union grouping UOV.[11] CMHF affiliates include a number of unions representing managers and more senior staff in central and local government and state institutions, as well as NU’91, a specialist nurses’ union with around 30,000 members.[12] The direct affiliates of VCP include the police union ACP, which was previously an affiliate of the CNV but left in 2012, the pilots’ union, VNV, and VHKP, a union representing senior staff at the airline company KLM, as well as Unie, a union which organises across a wide range of industries and services, and ANBO, a pensioners’ union, although increasing numbers also work.

The VCP gained a significant boost in 2017, when Unie, UOV and ANBO joined it in June.[13] Unie had previously been part of MHP, VCP’s predecessor organisation, but left it in 2013. ANBO had previously been part of the FNV, which it also left in 2013.

Neither the FNV nor the CNV has formal ties with any political parties although the FNV is closer to the Dutch labour party PvdA, and the CNV to the Christian democrats. The VCP emphasises that it is a body without religious or political connections.

The proportion of employees organised in unions appeared to have stabilised in recent years, although it is well below the levels of the period 1950 to 1980 when it was above 35%. It fell steadily over the period 2001 to 2011, dropping from 24% to 20% according to a study by the statistical office CBS in 2013.[14] However, a more recent study by the CBS in 2018, noted that union density was broadly stable in the period 2012 to 2016, at 19%.[15] This is despite the fact that this study, unlike the earlier one, included employees working fewer than 12 hours a week, who are much less likely to be union members. Only 6% of employers working fewer than 12 hours a week are in unions, compared with 19% of those who work 12 to 35 hours a week and 22% for those who are full-time.

It is unclear whether this more positive picture for unions has continued. The most recent membership figures – for 2019 – show 100,000 or 6% drop in total union membership – down from 1,702,700 in 2017 to 1,601,500 in 2019 – at a time when the number of employees in the Netherlands increased by 2.1% – from 7,829,000 to 7,994,000.[16]

The 2018 CBS study shows that men are more likely to be in unions than women – 22% of men who are employees are union members but only 17% of women. Of the 1,601,500 union members in 2019, 983,500 were men and 617,900 were women. The 2018 study did not publish figures on union density by industry, but it is unlikely that much has changed in this respect since the 2013 study which found that union density was highest in public administration, at 34%, and lowest in hotels and catering, at 7%.

[1] Statline Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=80598NED&D1=a&D2=a&D3=0&D4=a&D5=a&VW=T (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[2] Vakbondsleden onder werknemers naar regio, 2018 CBS, 28 October 2019 Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden

https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/maatwerk/2019/44/vakbondsleden-onder-werknemers-naar-regio-2018 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[3] Jelle Visser, ICTWSS Data base. Version 6.1. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies AIAS. October 2019

[4] Membership figures for FNV, CNV, VCP and the total of other unions taken from the CBS statistics for 2019 quoted above

[5] For a detailed examination of unions in the Netherlands, see Dutch unions in a time of crisis by Paul de Beer and Maarten Keune, in Rough waters: European trade unions in a time of crises, edited by Steffen Lehndorff, Heiner Dribbusch and Thorsten Schulten, ETUI, 2018

[6] Welke vakbonden zijn er voor de rijksoverheid? Ambtenarensalaris.nl https://ambtenarensalaris.nl/kennisbank/rijksoverheid/vakbonden-rijksoverheid/ (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[7] Jaarverslag FBZ 2019 https://issuu.com/fbz4/docs/fbz-jaarverslag-2019-15-04 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[8] Ledental nipt beneden miljoen, FNV September 2019 https://www.fnv.nl/nieuwsbericht/algemeen-nieuws/2019/09/fnv-ledental-nipt-beneden-miljoen (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[9] Ledenaantal AOb groeit fors AOb website, November 2017 https://www.aob.nl/nieuws/de-aob-groeit-fors/ (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[10] CNV websites https://www.cnvconnectief.nl/ and https://www.cnv.nl/over-cnv/bonden/cnv-vakmensen/ (Accessed 06.10.14)

[11] VCP website https://www.vcp.nl/over-ons/aangesloten-vakbonden/ (Accessed 06.10.14)

[12] NU’91 Jaarverslag 2017 https://www.nu91-leden.nl/upload/file/jaarverslag%20nu'91%202017.pdf (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[13]Ook De Unie, UOV en ANBO verbinden zich aan de VCP, 22 June 2017 https://www.vcp.nl/%e2%80%8book-de-unie-uov-en-anbo-verbinden-zich-aan-de-vcp/ (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[14] Vakbeweging en organisatiegraad van werknemers, by Dick ter Steege, Esther van Groenigen, Rob Kuijpers and Jo van Cruchten, CBS, 2012 https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/onze-diensten/methoden/onderzoeksomschrijvingen/korte-onderzoeksbeschrijvingen/organisatiegraad-werknemers (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[15] Wie is er nog lid van een vakbond? By Willem Gielen and Jeanine Floris, CBS, June 2018 https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/achtergrond/2018/25/wie-is-er-nog-lid-van-een-vakbond- (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[16] Figures for employees from Employment; economic activity, quarterly, National Accounts, 2020 CBS

The vast majority of employees in the Netherlands are covered by collective bargaining, mostly at industry level. However, many large companies negotiate their own deals. Negotiators generally follow the recommendations agreed at national level and recent pay increases have been moderate.

The framework

The pay and conditions of most employees are set through collective agreements (CAOs) reached either at industry or at company level, although industry-level agreements cover many more employees.[1]

Collective agreements must be registered with the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment and its report on collective agreements in 2018, published in June 2019, shows that there were 651 current collective agreements, covering normal pay and conditions issues.[2] (Current is defined as having an expiry date on or after 31 December 2017.)

The 651 agreements on normal pay and conditions issues in 2018 covered 5,615,500 employees and, with the CBS official statistics office showing that there were 7,829,000 employees in the Netherlands in 2018,[3] this suggests that 72% of all employees were covered by collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining coverage has fallen since the start of the decade, when, based on the same series of statistics, it was 86%. This is largely because the number of employees covered by collective agreements has fallen by 12% from 6,372,100 in 2010 to 5,615,500 in 2018 but also because the number of employees has increased by 6% from 7,397,000 in 2010 to 7,829,000 in 2018.

Agreements at industry level account for the vast majority of those covered by collective bargaining. In 2018, the 176 agreements covering normal pay and conditions issues signed at industry level covered 5,133,700 employees – 91% of all employees. There are many more company agreements – 475 in 2018 – but they only accounted for 9% of all employees whose terms and conditions were set by collective bargaining in 2018. However, these agreements cover many of the country’s largest companies, such as Philips, DHL, Heineken, ABM AMRO, ING and the railway company NS.

Dutch legislation allows the government (the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment) to extend – to declare generally binding – industry-level agreements to all the employers in the industry concerned, although even where they have been extended the government can give companies may sometimes an exemption (dispensatie) from their terms.in certain circumstances. The decision to extend is taken in line with a regulated framework which requires that the agreement must already apply to a “significant majority” of those working in the industry.[4] This is automatically the case if 60% are covered and will normally be the case if the agreement covers 55% of the industry’s employees, unless the coverage is skewed in some way. Agreements which cover fewer than 55% will only be extended in special circumstances.

In practice, most industry-level collective agreements are declared generally binding – 60% in 2018, according to figures from the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment.[5] However, extending agreements in this way has a relatively modest impact on the numbers of employees covered. Overall, in 2018, extensions only added around a fifth (19%) to the numbers already covered by industry collective agreements. The bulk of those whose pay and conditions were set by industry-level agreements – 4.3 million out of 5.1 million – were covered because their employers belonged to employers’ associations which had signed the agreements.

Collective agreements apply to all the employees in an industry or company covered by the agreement, not just union members. However, there are possibilities of varying their terms. A study by the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment, looking at 171 industry-level agreements covering 3.4 million workers, found that more than half (54%) allowed employers to diverge from the terms of the agreement.[6] However, almost all of these agreements (48% of the total) made clear that divergence was only possible in ways that were positive from the employees’ point of view. The remaining 46% of the agreements examined either stated that generally their terms were not simple minimum requirements and had to be implemented (34%) or were not specific (12%). However, even in this group, two-thirds left some aspects of the agreement open for local settlement, with working time the issue most frequently decided at company level.

With industry-level pay settlements normally very moderate, at least in the past (see below) this leaves room for companies to pay above the agreed rates leading to a situation where industry level agreements are framework agreements, with higher pay and many of the detailed provisions relating to conditions, particularly working time being set at company level. Around three-quarters of employers say that the agreements that cover them provide for local arrangements to be agreed with the works council and the vast majority make use of this option (see section on Workplace representation).[7]

Union negotiators at both industry and company level work within a framework of recommendations coming from the confederations centrally, which are largely observed. These follow the traditional autumn meeting between unions, employers and the government who meet at national level in the Labour Foundation (see below) to exchange views about economic prospects. The result for many years was a series of relatively moderate pay demands. However, in autumn 2018, the largest union grouping FNV called for a 5% increase for 2019, at a time when inflation was 1.9%, the highest union pay demand for 30 years.[8] This was followed by the same demand in 2019 for bargaining in 2020, and appears to indicate a more muscular approach to pay bargaining.

Unions, employers and independent experts come together in the Social and Economic Council (SER), which is a statutory body, whose task is to provide advice to the government and the parliament on economic and social issues. The SER consists of 11 union representatives (eight from the FNV, two from the CNV and one from VCP), 11 employers’ representatives and 11 experts, known as crown members. Representatives of government departments also attend as observers.[9] Its reports play an important role in developing public policy.

Unions also participate in the Labour Foundation (Stichting van de Arbeid) which is a bilateral body involving only the employers’ associations and the union confederations, with three representatives from the FNV and two each from the CNV and VCP. It was here that the influential Wassenaar Agreement, which removed direct state invention in pay and committed the unions to wage moderation was signed in 1982.

Who negotiates and when?

Collective bargaining is normally conducted between employers or employers’ federations on one side and trade unions or groups of unions on the other.

There are few rules governing those who are entitled to bargain. The only requirement placed on trade unions is that the union should have a legal personality and that its rules should give it authority to bargain. This lack of restrictions on trade unions' freedom to negotiate is matched by similar freedoms for the employers. Dutch employers and employers' organisation have no legal obligation to negotiate with trade unions. Collective agreements between unions and employers depend entirely on both sides' willingness to negotiate. Normally bargaining is conducted on the union side by the full-time trade union officials, with the involvement of lay union representatives.

There are no rules on which unions have the right to take part in negotiations and sign agreements. It is for the parties to decide who they want to negotiate with. In recent years, there have been reports that some employers have bypassed the FNV to reach less onerous agreements with smaller unions. A study by the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment looking at 600 industry and company agreements in effect in August 2018 found that 80% had been signed by the FNV and FNV affiliates, 60% by CNV affiliates and 21% by De Unie, a union covering a range of industries which is now part of VCP.[10] Around a tenth (9%) of the agreements in force had not been signed by any of these unions but had involved other unions, both specialist occupational unions, such as VNV, the pilots’ union, and smaller unions like the AVV and LBV. Asked about this development the Ministry suggested that this was not a concern and that “experience has shown that unions that did not participate earlier are often sitting round the table again during the next collective bargaining negotiations”. However, it did undertake to look at the issue further.[11]

Works councils do not normally negotiate pay increases with employers, although they are involved in negotiations to implement elements of industry level agreements such as pay structures and the organisation of working time. The 2018 report on collective bargaining by the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment referred to media reports that some companies preferred to negotiate with works councils and listed two retail chains – Action and Jumbo as examples.[12]

The same report also provides information on the length of time that agreements normally last. The legislation limits the maximum length to five years, but the report shows that only 5% run for five years, with the most common period for a collective agreement being 24 months: – 39% of agreements last this long. Around one in six agreements (17%) last for a year; 9% last for three years and 3% last for four years, with the remaining 27% of agreements having other durations. On reason why two years is the most common duration may be that two years (subject to a one-off one-year extension) is the maximum length of time that an agreement which has been declared generally binding can last.

There is often a gap between the end of one agreement and the start of another, although agreements maintain their validity over this period. On average 97% of agreements are registered after the previous agreement has expired and the average length of time before a new agreement is registered is nine months.

The subject of negotiations

Collective agreements in the Netherland cover a wide range issues. Normal pay and conditions agreements deal with pay, hours and holidays, as well as linked topics like salary systems, overtime and shift rates, working time arrangements and special leave. However, they also cover broader issues like early retirement, educational leave, the organisation of leave over the whole of an employee’s working life, the position of women, protecting those with disabilities and the environment. In addition, increasingly agreements provide for a range of benefits, from which individual employees can choose. Agreements also cover procedural issues like the powers and status of members of works councils and union groups at the workplace.

The 2018 report on collective bargaining by the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment shows that as well as 651 normal pay and conditions agreements there were also 255 specific agreements covering other issues, primarily pensions and early retirement, education and training and social funds at industry level and more specific company issues at company level.

The Netherlands has a national minimum wage which is increased twice a year, in January and July, in line with the average increase in negotiated pay.

[1] For a detailed examination of collective bargaining in the Netherlands see The Netherlands: decentralisation and growing power imbalances within a stable institutional context by Wike Been and Maarten Keune, in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019

[2]CAO-afspraken 2018 Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, May 2019 https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2019/06/20/rapportage-cao-afspraken-2018 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[3] Figures for employees from Employment; economic activity, quarterly, National Accounts, 2020 CBS

[4] Toetsingskader algemeenverbindendverklaring cao-bepalingen (AVV) 2019

[5] CAO-afspraken 2018 Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, May 2019 https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2019/06/20/rapportage-cao-afspraken-2018 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[6] Karakter van bedrijfstakCAO’’s by Ad van den Ameele and Martin Schaeps Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid September 2015 https://www.uitvoeringarbeidsvoorwaardenwetgeving.nl/mozard/document/docnr/52967 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[7] Naleving van de Wet op de Ondernemingsraden: Stand van zaken begin 2017 – Eindrapport, by Ignas Wajon, Paul Vlug and Elsbeth Enneking, June 2017 https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/rapporten/2018/03/05/eindrapport-onderzoek-naleving-wet-op-de-ondernemingsraden/eindrapport-onderzoek-naleving-wet-op-de-ondernemingsraden.pdf (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[8] FNV legt hoogste looneis in dertig jaar op tafe, FD.nl https://fd.nl/economie-politiek/1270647/fnv-schroeft-centrale-looneis-op-tot-5 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[9] Council members https://www.ser.nl/nl/ser/raad/raadsleden (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[10] Included in the 2018 report on collective bargaining: CAO-afspraken 2018 Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, May 2019

[11] Antwoorden op de schriftelijke vragen van het lid Van Kent (SP) van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal aan de Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid over het bericht dat werkgevers in zee gaan met kleine vakbonden om cao’s te sluiten met voor hen gunstige voorwaarden https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/kamerstukken/2020/04/20/beantwoording-kamervragen-over-cao-afspraken-werkgevers-en-kleine-vakbonden/beantwoording-kamervragen-van-het-lid-van-kent-sp-over-het-bericht-dat-werkgevers-in-zee-gaan-met.pdf (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[12] CAO-afspraken 2018 Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, May 2019 https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2019/06/20/rapportage-cao-afspraken-2018 (Accessed 06.05.2020)

Employee representation at the workplace is essentially through works councils elected by all workers. They must be set up in all workplaces with at least 50 workers and two-thirds of workplaces of this size have them. There are other arrangements for smaller workplaces.

The main channel for employee representation in the Netherlands is through the works council, a body elected by and representing all employees. Some collective agreements, including the major metal working agreement, give trade unions limited rights at work, largely relating to the unions’ own activities, but this is not universal.

Every undertaking in the Netherlands with at least 50 workers is obliged to set up a works council (OR) with a range of information and consultation rights. In addition, undertakings with between 10 and 50 employees are required to set up a personnel delegation (PVT), a body with some of the powers of the works council, if a majority of employees request it, although this is relatively rare (see below).

The extent of the works council's powers varies according to the issue involved. In broad terms the works council must be informed and consulted about economic issues but on social issues it must approve any changes (see below).

Works councils were first introduced by law in 1950 and their extent and powers have gradually been extended since then. The bulk of the current legal framework for works councils is set out in the Works Councils Act of 1979, which was extended to smaller companies in 1981, and has been revised in relatively minor ways on a fairly regular basis since that date. For example, changes, which came into effect in January 2019, imposed a new obligation on larger employers to discuss directors’ pay with the works council, and strengthened works councils’ rights in relation to pension agreements.

Although the legislation states that any “enterprise in which normally at least 50 persons are working shall … establish a works councils”, they do not exist in all undertakings of this size, although they are normally present. A study undertaken on behalf of the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment shows that, in 2017, two-thirds (67%) of workplaces with more than 50 employees had a works council.[1] Works councils are more common in larger than smaller workplaces. Almost all (95%) of workplaces with more than 200 employees had a works council but only 54% of those with 50 to 74 employees, 66% for those with 75 to 99 employees and 79% for those with between 100 to 199 employees. There are also difference between industries, with only half (50%) of establishments with at least 50 employees in retail, wholesale, repair, hotels and catering having a works council, compared with 99% of establishments of a similar size in government and related services.

In workplaces with between 10 and 49 employees – in other words, below the obligatory works council threshold, 12% had a works council and 19% had a personnel delegation. Where personnel delegations have been established this had normally been the result of a voluntary decision of by the employer (71% of cases). The study found that only 7% had been set up solely because of a request of the majority of employees, while another 21% had been the result of a common wish of both the employer and a majority of employees to have a personnel delegation.

Comparisons with elsewhere in Europe, taken from Eurofound’s 2013 European Company Survey indicate that employee representation at workplace level is found more frequently in the Netherlands than in most of the rest of the EU28. In 2013, more than half (55%) establishments in the Netherlands with at least 10 employees had some form of employee representation, either through a works council or a personnel delegation, well above the EU28 average of 32%.[2]

These Eurofound figures date from 2013, and the national study for the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment indicates that the proportion of establishments with 50 or more employees which have a works council has fallen since the last comparable study six years earlier. In 2011, 71% of establishments of this size had a works council compared with 67% in 2017.

Examining why, despite a legal obligation, so many establishments with 50 or more employees did not have a works council, the 2017 study found that the reason most frequently mentioned by the employer was that the “staff don’t need one”. Two-thirds of employers (66%) without a works council stated this was the reason why they did not have one, followed by 53% who said that there were “sufficient other forms of consultation” with employees. (More than one answer was possible.) However, the view of employees in establishments without a works council was different. Less than a quarter (23%) said it was because the employees did not need it while more than four in ten (43%) said it was because the employer or director did not need it.

Works councils are not trade union bodies, although the unions have nomination rights (see below) and many works council members are also union members. There is also a connection between the existence of a works council and the level of union density. Where union density was below 10%, only two-thirds (66%) of establishments with 50 or more employees had a works council. But where union density was above 50% almost all (96%) had one. It is, however, very common to find that some of the works council members are not in a union and in some cases trade unionists are in a minority, or even not present at all. The proportion of trade unionists among works council members was not examined in the 2017 study for the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment, but a joint German-Dutch study looking at works councils in the two countries found that 39% of works council members in the Netherlands were union members compared with 68% in Germany.[3]

Trade unionists have a basic right to organise at work but, unlike the situation in other European states, such as France, Spain or Italy, in the Netherlands they have no statutory right to specific facilities. However, in some areas, collective agreements give unions some additional rights at the workplace.

Numbers and structure

A works council should be set up once there are 50 people working in the enterprise “as a rule”. This number of those working includes employees but also temporary agency workers, if they worked there for at least 24 months. It can also include other individuals who regularly perform work for the business, but who do not have an employment contract, but only if the employer and the works council jointly decide that this should be the case. The “as a rule” reference potentially means that some temporary workers could be excluded but part-timers are counted in exactly the same way as those working full time.

An employer with two enterprises, which separately have fewer than 50 workers but together have more than 50, is required to set up a joint works council “if this is in the interest of the proper implementation of the Act”. It is also possible to set up a separate works council for part of an enterprise with at least 50 workers, again “if this is in the interest of the proper implementation of the Act”.

The numbers of members of the works council varies with the number employed, as set out below.

Thereafter there are two additional members for each 1,000 employees up to a maximum of 25. In practice, the 2017 study for the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment found that not all works councils had this number of members, with the difference largest in the 100 to 200 bracket, where 45% of works councils had fewer members than the number set out in the legislation.

The works council consists entirely of employees (up to the 1970s the employer took the chair), who are elected by the entire workforce. The works council elects its own chair and one or more deputies. It draws up its own rules of procedure, but management must have an opportunity to comment on them and they must be approved by the joint union/management commission set up in each industrial sector.

In terms of frequency, the only legal requirements are that the works council must meet the employer at least twice a year to discuss the overall state of the business in the presence of one or more members of the supervisory board, and that the works council must meet the employer within at least two weeks of either side expressing a wish to do so. In practice, most works councils meet once a month, and the 2017 study for the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment shows half of all works councils (52%) also have a joint meeting with the employer once every two months. (19% have joint meetings more frequently than this and 30% less frequently.)

The works council can also set up standing-committees to deal with specific issues, such as health and safety, subcommittees covering specific parts of the undertaking, and temporary or ad hoc committees, set up to deal with specific issues. These committees can include non-works council members, although at least one member must also be on the works council. The 2017 study indicates that almost half of works council (47%) have no standing committees, with a third (34%) having a committee managing day-to-day issues and setting the agenda of the works council and a quarter (26%) having a committee dealing with health and safety and the environment.

Companies with between 10 and 50 employees can voluntarily choose to set up a works council if they wish, and they must set up a personnel delegation – a kind of mini-works council with more limited rights – if this is the wish of a majority of employees. The personnel delegation must have at least three members.

The rules governing the operation of workplace trade union groups, where these exist, are set out in the appropriate collective agreements.

Tasks and rights

The purpose of the works council is not simply to represent the employees. The legislation makes clear that "consultations with and representation of" the employees are "in the interests of the sound functioning of the enterprise in all its objectives". It is this that explains the frequency of joint meetings between the works council and management.

The law provides the works council with three main types of right: information rights; consultation rights and approval rights. In addition, the works council has powers to make proposals to which the employer must respond – the right of initiative. Works councils are not normally involved in collective bargaining on pay, although there are some exceptions and they also have a role in agreeing how some aspects of industry agreements, particularly those relating to working time are implemented at enterprise level (see section on collective bargaining).

The information rights mean that management is obliged automatically to give the works council information on a range of financial/economic issues. At the beginning of each terms of office for the new works council (every three years – see below) management must provide information on the legal form, the names and addresses of the key decision makers (such as partners of directors), the structure and organisation of the business, its links (including international links) with other businesses and the power relations between them and the make-up of the management.

On an ongoing basis, management must provide information on the activities and financial results of the business and the prospects for the futures, including investment plans (both at least twice a year). Management must also give the works council copies of the annual report and accounts, including consolidated accounts of the group, where this is relevant, and details of the specific results for the part of the business the works council covers, if the annual report relates to a larger entity. It must also provide the works council with information on its long-term corporate plan if it prepares such a document.

At least once a year management must give the works council details of the numbers employed, broken down by groups, and the business’s social policies towards them, covering issues like pay, training and working time. The works council should also be given forecasts on staff numbers and social policy for the coming year, and at least once a year management must provide information on the number of temporary agency workers and the plans for their use in the coming year. The works council must also be told if the business plans to bring in an outside expert in relation to issues such as pay, training or working time, and if it makes specific changes to pension arrangements. In addition, as a result of changes introduced in January 2019, the employer must provide the works council with information on the pay and conditions of different groups of employees within the organisation, including senior management. This new provision, which only applies to organisations with a 100 or more employees, is intended to improve transparency on the issue.

As well as these specific information rights, the works council has the right to ask for all the information it reasonably needs to carry out its tasks.

The works council’s consultation rights are wide ranging, and an important element of these rights is set out in article 24 of the Works Councils Act. This states that “the general operation of the enterprise shall be discussed at least twice a year in consultation meetings” and that at these meetings the works council will be informed of the employer’s plans in relation to a range of key issues (see lists below) and that these meetings “agreement will also be reached about when and how the works council will be involved in the decision-making process”.

These “Article 24 meetings” are seen as particularly important as a member of the supervisory board (or a representative), which in larger companies normally agrees the overall strategy for the business (see section on board-level representation) should be present along with management and the works council.

As well as this requirement to have a general consultative meeting at least twice a year, management must consult the works council if it plans to:

• sell all or part of the business;
• set up, take over or sell other organisations (does not apply to international transactions which are unlikely to have a significant effect on employees in the Netherlands);
• end all or a large part of the organisation’s activity;
• significantly reduce or expand or change in some other way the enterprise’s activities;
• make major changes to the power structures within the organisation;
• relocate the organisation;
• undertake large scale recruitment or the recruitment of temporary workers;
• make major investments;
• seek large loans;
• extend more credit than is normal;
• make important technological changes;
• make changes which will affect the environment;
• change arrangements providing insurance to cover sickness and death in service; and
• commission external advice (also normally does not apply to international operations).

On all these issues the employer must seek the views of the works council and delay taking action for at least a month if the works council disagrees with the proposal. If the management disagrees with the works council’s views, it must set out its reasons in writing. During this period, the works council can appeal to the Companies Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam, and if the court considers that the employer’s decision is unfair it can forbid the employer for acting or require that actions that have already been taken be reversed.

The views of the works council must also be sought when a director is being appointed but the works council cannot delay this decision.

The approvalrights, where the employer cannot act without the agreement of the works council, relate to company/workplace regulations on a range of topics including:

• pension insurance, profit-sharing or savings schemes;
• working hours, rest periods and leave;
• pay and job grading systems;
• working conditions, sick leave and return to work after sickness;
• policy on appointments, dismissals and promotion;
• rules on staff training;
• rules on staff appraisals;
• arrangements for helping employees with social problems;
• rules on work consultation meetings (normally between employees and line-management);
• complaints procedures;
• the handling and protection of employees’ personal data;
• the monitoring or surveillance of employees’ attendance, behaviour or performance; and
• procedures relating to the protection of whistleblowers.

Regulations on these issues cannot be introduced, changed or ended without the approval of the works council unless they are covered by a collective agreement. If the works council fails to give its approval the employer can appeal to joint union management commissions set up in each industry, and then to the district court.

The so-called right of initiative – allowing the works council to make proposals to which the employer must respond – is set out in much less detail in the legislation, which simply states that the employer must discuss proposals from the works council in a meeting and must not take an decision on these proposals before this discussion.

All the rights set out in the legislation can be extended by collective agreements. The works council also has powers to ensure that the provisions of collective agreements are being properly applied.

In practice there are differences in how each of these types of rights are used. There seem to be fewest difficulties with the provision of information, at least in medium and larger undertakings. The consultation rights are more problematical with companies sometimes claiming that the changes they propose are not sufficiently important to warrant consultation or asking for the works council to respond too quickly. As, in any case, the Court is likely to agree to the company's plans unless procedural mistakes have been made, or employees’ interests have not been sufficiently taken into account. The real importance of these rights is to enable the employer and works council to reach an agreement without a court case. The approval rights are also heavily used, particularly in dealing with working time arrangements, but sometimes a works council will fail to give its approval but then not take action when the company goes ahead with its plans anyway. It requires the works council to initiate legal action to nullify the company's plans.

The right to take the initiative and make proposals to which the company must respond is used relatively infrequently. On the other hand, the possibility of the works council agreeing the specific implementation at company level of the terms of an industry level collective agreement is widely used. The 2017 report on works councils for the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment found that in companies covered by collective agreements – the vast majority - three-quarters (73%) had agreements which allowed for this possibility and 78% of employers made use of this option.

The key task of the trade union groups is to be active on behalf of the union in the workplace, including recruiting new members, to represent union members in problems with management and to report back to the union outside the plant on developments. Often this is backed up by the terms of the collective agreement. In some unions the trade union plant group is also the lowest level of democratic decision making in the union.

The trade union group will support the union's candidates for the works council election, who will mostly be members of the group. Once elected the trade union group will work closely with those of its members who are on the works council, feeding members' problems and union concerns into the works council's discussions. In bigger companies each of the union confederations as well as those not affiliated to a union may have a faction meeting before the works council itself. However, overall, compared with many other countries, unions are not particularly prominent at company level – including in the works council.

The trade union group also has a role in collective bargaining, at least when it is conducted at company level. This is still primarily left to union full time officials, but they are often accompanied by representatives of the trade union groups who have an input into the claim and help decide whether or not it is acceptable to the members.

Election and term of office

Works council members are elected as part of a list of candidates, with the choice made according to the percentage of votes which each list receives. Lists can be proposed either by unions or by a single employee or group of employees. To make a valid nomination, a union must meet certain conditions:

• it must have a constitution which states that part of its purpose is to protect its members as employees;
• it must have been in existence for at least two years;
• it must have members in the enterprise; and
• it must have consulted them on the make-up of the list of candidates being proposed.

The only stipulation on employees or groups of employees making a nomination is that they must be eligible to vote in the election and they may not be a member of a union that has submitted a list of candidates.

The right to vote is limited to those who have been working in the enterprise for at least six months and candidates must have been working there for at least 12 months.

Works council members normally serve for three years, although the works council's own rules of procedure can reduce the term of office to two years or extend it to four years.

The trade union group consists of the union's members on the works council and other trade union activists, who are more likely to volunteer to do a particular job than be elected, although elections are possible.

Protection against dismissal

Works council members can only be dismissed if the worker himself or herself agrees in writing, or if it has been authorised by a magistrate. This authorisation will only be given if there are serious reasons for immediate dismissal or the company, or part of it, closes. Any connection between the dismissal and works council membership makes the dismissal unlawful. Members of the works council may also not be disadvantaged because of their membership and the works council can ask the court to require that the employer must comply with this provision.

Members of the trade union group have no specific protection against disciplinary measures, including dismissal, unless they are on the works council. However, like other trade unionists, they cannot legally be discriminated against because of their trade union activity and some collective agreements specifically spell this out.

Time off and other resources

The exact amount of paid time-off for works council duties is left to be agreed between the works council and the employer. But as a minimum, works council members are entitled to 60 hours’ time off a year, in addition to time off for meetings. In practice, in larger companies, some works council members have substantially more. The 2017 study on works councils for the Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment found that the issue of time off for works council duties was dealt with informally in just over half of all works councils (54%), with only 44% having formal arrangements. This is significantly different to the situation in 2011, when two-thirds had formal arrangements.

The employer is obliged to provide facilities necessary to enable the works council to function. These could include an office, photocopying, telephones etc. In addition, the works council can call on outside experts to take part in meetings to give advice on a particular agenda point and/or to provide consultancy reports. These experts are paid for by the employer, provided the employer has been informed in advance. The works council can also ask the union for advice and to be present at meetings.

The exact rights of the trade union group depend on the collective agreement covering the workplace. Typically, they include a number of hours paid time-off, time-off to attend union conferences or union training, although this may be subject to an overall limit. In addition, the trade union group may be allowed to: use a company room to meet members or union officials; distribute information about the union; and accompany members in grievance cases.

Training rights

Works council members have a right to at least five days’ training a year, although again agreements can improve on this. Members of sub-committees of the works council also have a right to three days’ training a year and those who are both members of the works council and a sub-committee have a right to eight days’ training a year. Time spent training is paid as working time and all training costs are borne by the employer. The employer and the works council can also agree that the works council should have its own training budget, which it can spend as it wishes.

In practice, the 2017 study for Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment found that the amount of training was generally less than that permitted by the legislation. Only 11% of works councils got the required five days of training every year, although 52% got some training each year, but not five days. Another 21% got occasional training as works council members and 9% got no training at all. On the other hand, almost six out of 10 works councils (58%) had their own training budget.

Representation at group level

Where several companies belong to a single parent company, a central works council (COR) must be set up covering all the companies “if this is in the interest of the proper implementation of the Act”. It is also possible to set up an group works council (GOR) for only some of the companies in the group, if this would make more sense. The choice between these options depends on the specific circumstances.

The central works council is made up of members of the individual works councils, or group works councils, if these exist, and the central works council determines in its own rules of procedure how many members will come from each works council and how they will be elected.

Central and group works councils only deal with issues that are common at central or group level, and for these issues the central and group works councils have the same rights as local works councils.

[1] Naleving van de Wet op de Ondernemingsraden: Stand van zaken begin 2017 – Eindrapport, by Ignas Wajon, Paul Vlug and Elsbeth Enneking, June 2017 https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/rapporten/2018/03/05/eindrapport-onderzoek-naleving-wet-op-de-ondernemingsraden/eindrapport-onderzoek-naleving-wet-op-de-ondernemingsraden.pdf (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[2] Eurofound (2015), Third European Company Survey – Overview report: Workplace practices – Patterns, performance and well-being, Figures for Table 44

[3] Works councils in Germany and the Netherlands compared by Annette van den Berg, Yolanda Grift, Saraï Sapulete, Wolfram Brehmer, Martin Behrens and Arjen van Witteloostuijn WSI, January 2019 https://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_wsi_studies_17_2019.pdf (Accessed 06.05.2020)

Works councils have the right to nominate up to one third of the members of supervisory boards or a third of the non-executive directors in larger companies. However, neither employees of the companies nor trade unionists dealing with them can be nominated, so the works council nominees are often distant from employees’ day-to-day concerns.

In the Netherlands, public limited companies (NV) and private limited companies (BV) can choose between a single-tier (monistic)and a two-tier (dualistic) corporate governance structure.

In the single-tier structure, there is a single board of directors, which can be made up entirely of executive directives or be a combination of executives and non-executives. In the two-tier structure, there is a management board and a supervisory board. The management board runs the company and the supervisory board, is regularly informed of developments, appoints and dismisses the management board and approves major management decisions. Large companies – defined as those with issued capital of more than €16 million, at least 100 employees in the Netherlands and a works council (obligatory for companies with more than 50 employees) – must either have a supervisory board or include non-executive directors in the single-tier board of directors. (International groups with the majority of employees outside the Netherlands are exempt from this obligation.)

In these “large” companies, other than those who are exempt, the works council has a right to nominate a third of the board members, either to the supervisory board or among the non-executive directors, although in both cases the process is somewhat complicated.

Where there is a two-tier structure, the works council’s nominations go first to the supervisory board and then to the general meeting of shareholders. (All nominations to the supervisory board must come from the supervisory board.) The works council’s nominations must be accepted by the supervisory board, unless there are good grounds for not doing so, such as that the person was unfit or that the appointment would unbalance the board. (If there are objections the two bodies attempt to reach an agreement, with the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court taking the final decision.) These nominations, along with all others then go to the general meeting of shareholders. The general meeting can reject the nominations from the supervisory board, including those which originally came from the works council, but it cannot make its own nominations, as these must come from the supervisory board.

The general meeting of shareholders also has the right to dismiss the entire supervisory board by a majority vote, provided this vote represents at least one third of the issued share capital. However, the meeting must hear the views of the works council before taking a decision.

Finally, the legislation also permits the supervisory board, general meeting of shareholders and the works council to agree other arrangements if they wish, although the right of the shareholders to reject a nomination cannot be removed.

Where a “large” company opts for a single-tier structure (with just one board), many of the duties which in a dualistic structure are carried out by supervisory board become the responsibility of the non-executive directors, who must make up a majority of the board. For example, the non-executive directors appoint the executive directors. The non-executive directors are appointed at the general meeting of shareholders and in “large” non-exempted companies (that is those required to have employee representation at board level) the works council continues to have special nominating rights for up to a third of the non-executive board members.

However, one very important element of the Dutch approach is that employees of the company or of a union involved in collective bargaining with it are specifically excluded from being members of the supervisory board or non-executive directors. The thinking behind this relates to a core feature of the Dutch system – that members of the supervisory board and non-executive directors should act in the interests of the company as a whole and not as representatives of partial interests, whether they are shareholders, banks or employees. This also means that works council members, for example, cannot be on the supervisory board or become non-executive directors. Those who are chosen are probably somewhat distant from the day-to-day concerns of the workforce. They are sometimes academics, perhaps with a broad sympathy for trade unions positions, individuals with a human resources background, people from the voluntary sector, and in some cases former senior trade unionists.

In practice, it appears that works councils do not make full use of their right to nominate members of the supervisory board. A report in 2012 found that in almost half of the cases examined (four out of nine) the works council had not taken up their nominating rights.[1]

Dutch companies are also only making slow progress in increasing the number of women on management and supervisory boards. Since 2013, the government has required “large” companies to appoint women to at least 30 percent of the seats on their management and supervisory boards. However, by 2019 in 4,700 large companies there were only 19.8% where women made up 30% of the management board and only 32.3% where this level had been reached on the supervisory board.[2] The government is considering introducing legislation which will invalidate any appointment which does not contribute towards the 30% figure. This would also affect nominations coming from the works council.

Supervisory board members and non-executive directors nominated by the works council have the same rights and responsibilities as any other members and directors. This includes their period of office. The Dutch Corporate Governance Code provides that members the supervisory board should be appointed for an initial period of four years, which can be extended by a second four years, with extensions after that only for a period of two years, possibly extended by a further two.[3] The Code does not specify the term of office for non-executive directors, but in general they are treated in the same way as members of the supervisory board.

Since July 2010, works councils in public limited companies (NV) have had the right for their views on certain issues to be heard at the shareholders’ general meeting. The works council can comment on resolutions approving the management board, including appointments and dismissals, on major changes in the identity of a company and on remuneration policy. There is no requirement for the shareholders to take account of the views of the works council.

[1] De samenstelling en het functioneren van de raad van commissarissen in het boekjaar 2011 alsmede het verslag van de raad van commissarissen by J Biesheuvel-Hoitinga and AA Bootsma, Instituut voor Ondernemingsrecht, October 2012

[2] Diversity in the boardroom: Time to accelerate, Summary - SER-advisory report September 2019

https://www.ser.nl/-/media/ser/downloads/engels/2019/diversity-boardroom.pdf (Accessed 06.05.2020)

[3] The Dutch Corporate Governance Code, December 2016.

It is the works councils who choose employee representatives from the Netherlands on bodies related to European Works Councils and European Companies, with clear a hierarchy running from the central works council to individual works councils.

European Works Councils

Dutch members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for the EWC are appointed, in order of priority, by the central works council (COR), if one exists; by the group works council (GOR) or councils; or by the individual works councils (ORs). Where not all works councils are covered by the central or intermediate bodies, they should be included in the process. If there is no works council the employees themselves elect the members with unions having nomination rights. The legislation is silent on the possibility that non-employees could be chosen as members of the SNB.

The position is the same for members of an EWC set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, although here the legislation specifically states that only employees may be elected.

European Company

Dutch members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for the European Company are appointed, in order of priority, by the central works council (COR), if one exists; by the group works council (GOR) or councils; or by the individual works councils. Where not all works councils are covered by the central or intermediate bodies, they should be included in the process. If there is no works council the employees themselves elect the members with unions having nomination rights. The legislation is silent on the possibility that non-employees could be chosen as members of the SNB.

The position is the same for members of the SE representative body (described in the Dutch legislation as a European Works Council) set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, although as with normal EWCs, the legislation states that only company employees may be members.

The same rules apply to the choice of employee representatives at board level coming from the Netherlands, although the legislation does not specify that they must be employees.

In the Netherlands, the works council is the key body representing employees’ interests in the area of health and safety, which it deals with alongside its many other responsibilities. It can delegate its powers to a health and safety committee but a majority of the members of this committee must also be works council members.

Basic approach at workplace level

The employer must ensure that the health and safety of employees is protected and is particularly required to operate a policy aimed at preventing or eliminating “employment-related psychosocial pressure”. There should be an active exchange of information between the employer and the employee representatives on working conditions.

Employee health and safety bodies

The key body representing employees in the area of health and safety is the works council (ondernemingsraad) or in smaller organisations the personnel delegation (personeelsvertegenwoordiging), sometimes also known as the staff representation body, where this exists. Both bodies also have a wide range of other responsibilities.

In addition works councils will often set up a standing committee (vaste commissie) to deal with health and safety issues. This committee is normally known as a safety, health, well-being and environment committee (Veiligheid, Gezondheid, Welzijn en Milieu Commissie – VGWM-commissie), although sometimes it does not include the environment. A majority of the members of the committee must also be members of the works council.

Numbers and structure

Works councils should be set up in all organisations employing at least 50 people and its size increases with the number employed (see table).

The works council, which is a purely employee body, should elect both a chair and a deputy chair.

A personnel delegation should be set up in organisations with between 10 and 49 employees, where the employer decides to set it up, or where a majority of employees request it.

The decision on setting up a health and safety committee is taken by the works council, although a majority of the committee’s members must be works council members and it is also an entirely employee body.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in 2014 found that 12% of workplaces in the Netherlands had a health and safety committee. This is below the EU-28 average of 21% (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.)[1] However, a separate EU-OSHA report on worker participation in 2017 suggested that 2014 results might be based on some “confusion” between different forms of employee representation, leading to the figures for separate health and safety committees being overstated.[2]

Separate national figures for 2016 found that only 8% of workplaces had either a works council (OR) or a personnel delegation (PVT). However, the frequency with which they were found increased with the number employed. While only 3% of workplaces with fewer than 10 employees had a personnel delegation, this increased to 18% for workplaces with 10 to 49 employees. At workplaces with 50 or more employees, where the law states that works councils must be established, 71% had them.[3]

Tasks and rights

The employer should consult the works council or personnel delegation on issues relating to “working conditions policy” (health and safety) and its implementation. The legislation states that this should involve “an active exchange of information”. Where there is no employee representation, the employer should consult employees directly.

Importantly, the works council can, if it chooses, delegate all or part of its powers in the area of health and safety to the committee, which can then exercise all the rights set out below. The only exception is the power to institute legal proceedings.

The works council (or health and safety committee – see above) or personnel delegation has the right to have confidential discussions with labour inspectors when they visit the workplace, as well as to accompany them in their inspections, unless this would hinder the inspectors’ work. The works council or personnel delegation have the right to submit requests to the health and safety authorities that they should intervene and they should also be sent reports produced by the inspectors.

The works council or personnel delegation should also be informed by and cooperate with the employer’s own health and safety experts about measures that have been taken or are being planned to improve working conditions as well as how they are implemented. The works council or personnel delegation should also be given a copy of any advice on risks and risk assessment and the results of employees’ medical examinations provided by the occupational physician, although in a form which prevents individuals being identified.

Specifically, the legislation provides a clear role for the works council in being informed about, and having the opportunity to express its view on, a wide range of potential hazards, including asbestos, biological agents, noise and radiation.

The works council’s agreement is required where the employer wishes to make changes to internal regulations relating to working conditions. And, since legal changes in July 2017, the works council or personnel delegation has the right to approve the appointment of the prevention worker (preventiemedewerker), an employee who has a key health and safety role (see below).

More generally, in order to provide greater flexibility, employers and the works council can reach agreements on health and safety issues, which differ from the precise requirements of the legislation, provided there is no worsening in the level of protection.

The requirement for the expert health and safety service, occupational physician and prevention worker to cooperate with the works council or personnel delegation in health and safety issues has been strengthened by the 2017 legal changes.

Frequency of meetings

The works council itself decides how frequently both it and the health and safety committee – if one has been set up – will meet. However, it must also meet the employer at least twice a year to discuss the general operation of the organisation.

Election and term of office

Works council members are elected by the whole workforce on the basis of lists of nominations from the unions present in the workplace or nominations from the non-union members. The term of office is normally three years, although it can be shortened to two or extended to four.

The personnel delegation, where it exists, is elected by a direct ballot of all employees.

It is up to the works council to decide whether to set up a committee to cover health and safety (it can also set up committees on other issues). This is done by a formal resolution and the works council must also inform the employer in writing of the intention to do so, as well as setting out the duties, composition, rules of procedure and powers of the committee. The works council chooses the membership of the committee and the membership ends with the term of office of the works council.

Resources, time off and training

The exact amount of time off for members of the works council and the health and safety committee is to be agreed with the employer, but as a minimum members of the works council and the health and safety committee are entitled to 60 hours paid time off per year, in addition to time in meetings.

The employer is required to provide the facilities necessary for the works council and the health and safety committee, where this has been set up, to function. Both the works council and the health and safety committee are entitled to invite experts to their meetings and to ask the expert to provide written advice. These experts are paid by the employer, provided he or she has been informed in advance.

Members of the works council and the health and safety committee are also entitled to paid time off for training. Employees who are just members of the health and safety committee are entitled to three days a year; those who are just members of the works council are entitled to five days a year; and those who are on both the works council and the health and safety committee are entitled to eight days a year. The Works Council Act contains provisions for an employer levy to pay for the training of works council members.

Protection against dismissal

Members of the works council and the health and safety committee, if it has been set up, should not be disadvantaged because of their role. Works council members and members of the health and safety committee can only be dismissed if the worker himself or herself agrees in writing, or if it has been authorised by a magistrate. This authorisation will only be given if there are serious reasons for immediate dismissal or the company, or part of it, closes. Any connection between the dismissal and works council membership makes the dismissal unlawful.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

Employers are obliged to obtain assistance from an expert health and safety service (arbodienst) or an occupational physician in carrying out the health and safety tasks that the legislation requires. This includes carrying out a risk assessment, advising employees who are unable to work because of sickness and conducting an occupational health review. This expert assistance can be provided internally or it can be provided by an external qualified occupational health service. In both cases the arrangements must be agreed by the works council or personnel delegation. Where it is provided externally a “basic contract” must be drawn up, setting out the rights and duties of the two sides. Changes to the legislation introduced in July 2017 added additional elements to this contract, such as the right for the occupational physician to visit the workplace and right of an employee to make a complaint about the health and safety service.[4]

As well as an expert health and safety service or occupational physician, the employer must also appoint a so-called “prevention worker” (preventiemedewerker). This is an individual who is not a health and safety expert (as defined by the legislation), but who supports the employer in health and safety matters. In smaller companies, those with no more than 25 employees, the employer can take this role. Since 2017, the works council or personnel has the right to approve the appointment of this prevention worker.

Organisations can also decide to appoint a so-called person of confidence (Vertrouwenspersoon), whose role is to give support to fellow employees who have suffered violence, bullying or sexual harassment. It is not obligatory to appoint such a person, and, where it is done, the ministry responsible (see below) suggests that the works council is consulted.[5]

National context

The ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid). The body responsible for ensuring compliance with Dutch health and safety law is the Ministry’s Inspectorate (Inspectie SZW) which also monitors compliance with labour and social security law more generally.

Trade unions and employers are able to influence health and safety policy at national level through their membership of the Social Economic Council (Sociaal-Economische Raad– SER) as well as in the Council’s health and safety committee, the Committee for Working Conditions (Commissie Arbeidsomstandigheden – known as ARBO). The Social Economic Council is a tripartite body with 11 members from the unions, 11 from the employers and 11 so-called “crown” members, who are independent experts nominated by the government. It has a very important consultative role.[6]

Dutch health and safety law (Working Conditions Act, 1999) was amended in 2007 to include a specific reference to “employment-related psychosocial pressure” (psychosociale arbeidsbelasting). It requires the employer to operate a policy with the aim of preventing this, or limiting it, if prevention is not possible (Article 3.2).

Key legislation

Act of 18 March 1999, containing provisions to improve working conditions (Working Conditions Act), as amended

Works Council Act 1971, as amended

Wet van 18 maart 1999, houdende bepalingen ter verbetering van de arbeidsomstandigheden (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet - Arbowet)

Wet op de ondernemingsraden 1971

[1] Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2016

[2] Worker participation in the management of occupational safety and health — qualitative evidence from ESENER-2: Country report – the Netherlands, by Jan Popma, Bernard van Lammeren, EU-OSHA 2017

[3] Arbo in Bedrijf 2016, Inspectie SZW, March 2016

[4] See OSH system at national level – Netherlands, by Jan Harmen Kwantes and Wendela Hooftman, OSH Wiki, https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_Netherlands

[5] See https://www.arboportaal.nl/onderwerpen/vertrouwenspersoon

[6] For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – Netherlands, OSH Wiki