Purpose and structure of the Working Hours Act

Brief explanation of the purpose and structure of the Dutch Working Hours Act

1. Why are there laws and regulations on work and rest periods?

   1. The purpose of Dutch working hours legislation on work and rest periods is twofold:

   2. Purpose 1: protecting the safety, health and well-being of all employees

      Working consumes energy, at a mental as well as a physical level. Working too long without breaks or taking too few days off increases the risk of accidents. It also increases the risk of occupational and other illnesses.

   3. Purpose 2: making it easier to combine work and private life

      Examples include care responsibilities or studies.

2. Working hours legislation: What does it say, and who does it apply to?

   1. What regulations does working hours legislation contain?

      • It regulates that the the hours worked must be registered properly. This means that the hours worked must be recorded somewhere. This allows the Netherlands Labour Authority to carry out checks.
      • It also specifies the work and rest periods for special groups such as young people and pregnant women.
      • It specifies the type of work that a child (a person under the age of 16) is allowed to do and how many hours the child is allowed to work.
      • Exceptions are made for certain professions because otherwise they would not be able to do their work properly.

      Employers must implement the best possible policy with regard to the work and rest periods of employees. This means that employers must, among other things:

      • Set the work and rest patterns. Employers must also ensure that every employee is aware of this (for example, by reading about it).
      • Take the personal circumstances of employees into account as much as possible.
      • ensure consistency with working conditions policies (as referred to in the Dutch Working Conditions Act).
      • Adjust policies if necessary, for example because the policies currently in place are not working entirely as intended, or because there are new insights into the organisation of work and rest periods.

   2. For whom and where?

      Working hours legislation:

      • Applies to almost all employers and employees. The majority of working hours legislation does not apply to employees who earn more than three times the statutory minimum wage.
      • Sometimes also applies to self-employed persons.
      • Applies to all ages, i.e. adults, young people (aged 16 and 17) and children (up to the age of 15).
      • Also covers child labour, i.e. what kind of work a child is allowed to do and how many hours a child is allowed to work. The rules on the type of work and safe working conditions for young people and adults are laid down in the Dutch Working Conditions Act.
      • Applies within the Netherlands. This includes, for example, ships sailing under the Dutch flag anywhere in the world. It also applies to mining and diving work on the Dutch coast within the European Economic Area.
      • Special rules apply to certain professions. More information can be found in the Dutch Working Hours Act and the Dutch Working Hours Decree.

   3. What is the relationship between Dutch working hours legislation and the Dutch Working Conditions Act

      Working hours and working conditions cannot be viewed separately:

      • Working hours legislation contains rules on the total number of hours an employee is allowed to work.
      • The Dutch Working Conditions Act contains additional rules on the duration of certain types of work. Examples include working at a computer screen or working in extreme cold or heat.

3. What can be found where? The most important documents about working hours legislation

   1. Working hours legislation consists of several laws and regulations.

   2. Dutch Working Hours Act

      The Dutch Working Hours Act outlines the framework and broad principles. It includes rules on work duration, Sunday work, night work and on-call duty. It also contains rules on rest periods, such as breaks and the minimum number of hours of rest before and after a shift. The rules of the Dutch Working Hours Act apply to everyone aged 18 and over who works for an employer, including interns, temporary workers and posted workers. There are separate rules for children (up to the age of 15) and young people (aged 16 and 17). It also sets rules for pregnant women and women who have recently given birth.

   3. Dutch Working Hours Decree

      The Dutch Working Hours Decree contains additional rules, for example for on-call duty. It also contains exceptions to the Dutch Working Hours Act. For example, there are exceptions and additions to work and rest periods for:

      • Certain sectors and for certain types of employees or professions, such as healthcare, transport, mining and a few other sectors.
      • Certain sudden or dangerous situations.

   4. Dutch Working Hours (Transport) Decree

      The Dutch Working Hours (Transport) Decree contains additional rules for road transport (e.g. lorries, buses or taxis), rail transport, aviation, inland waterway transport, maritime transport, sea fishing and pilotage. However, the Netherlands Labour Authority does not carry out checks on compliance with the rules contained in the Dutch Working Hours (Transport) Decree: these checks are carried out by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate.

   5. Policy Rules

      Policy Rules on the Imposition of Fines under the Dutch Working Hours Act and Working Hours Decree 2013

      These rules specify the situations in which the Netherlands Labour Authority takes enforcement action (i.e. for which types of violations). They also explain how any fines are calculated. The amount of the fine depends on factors such as the seriousness of the violation and the number of employees a company has.

      Policy rules on exemption from the prohibition of child labour

      Children under the age of 13 are not allowed to work in the Netherlands. This is the prohibition of child labour. Exceptions are sometimes possible. A permission is required for this. These policy rules set out the types of work for which an exception may be made and what is required for this. Such permission is called an exemption from the prohibition of child labour.

   6. Regulations

      Further regulations on child labour

      These regulations specify which part-time jobs and artistic work a child aged 13 to 15 is allowed to do.

      They set out the types of work that are prohibited for children, for example if there are machines that a child could cut themselves on, or work that requires the child to lift or push heavy objects. The regulations also specify how long and how often a child is allowed to work.

      Regulations tightening enforcement and sanctions policy under working hours legislation

      These regulations entered into force on 1 January 2013. One of the purposes of these regulations is to deal strictly or more severely with violations of working hours legislation. The standard fines are higher than before. And if a company commits a violation more than once, the fine can be doubled or tripled.