The Author 3
Abbreviations 11
Introduction 13
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL BACKGROUND 13
1. Geography, Population and Economy 13
2. Economic Growth and Employment 14
3. The Composition of the Labour Force 16
4. Wealth and Poverty 17
CHAPTER 2. THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND 21
1. General Observations 21
2. Political Parties, Coalition Cabinets 21
CHAPTER 3. THE SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 24
CHAPTER 4. GENERAL ASPECTS OF LABOUR LAW 26
1. Origins, Functions and Prospects of Labour Law 26
2. Definitions and Notions of Labour Law 30
CHAPTER 5. SOURCES OF LABOUR LAW 32
1. Constitutional Law 32
2. International Law 33
3. Legislation 34
4. Collective Agreements 34
5. Agreements with the Works Councils, Company Rules and Rules Unilaterally Imposed by the Employer 35
6. The Contract of Employment and Custom and Practice 36
7. Judge-made Law 38
8. The Conflict of Rules and the Hierarchy of Sources 38
CHAPTER 6. THE COURT SYSTEM 40
1. Introduction 40
2. The Ordinary Courts 40
3. Special Courts 42
4. Alternatives 42
CHAPTER 7. THE LABOUR INSPECTORATE 43
CHAPTER 8. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 44
Part Ⅰ. The Individual Employment Relationship and Labour Market Regulation 45
CHAPTER 1. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS 45
1. The Contract of Employment 45
2. Different Categories of Workers 48
Ⅰ. Seamen 48
Ⅱ. Commercial Agents and Commercial Representatives 48
Ⅲ. Atypical Work Contracts 49
Ⅳ. Temporary Agency Workers 49
Ⅴ. Apprentices 50
Ⅵ. Home-based Work 50
Ⅶ. Company Directors 51
3. Different Kinds of Individual Contracts of Employment 51
Ⅰ. Contracts of Employment for an Indefinite Period 51
Ⅱ. Contracts of Employment for a Definite Period 51
Ⅲ. Labour on Call 52
4. Requirements Necessary to Conclude a Valid Contract of Employment 53
Ⅰ. Formal Requirements 53
Ⅱ. Legal Capacity 54
5. Restrictions on the Work of Children, Young Persons and Foreigners 54
Ⅰ. Child Labour 54
Ⅱ. Young Persons 55
Ⅲ. Foreigners 55
CHAPTER 2. DUTIES OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT 57
1. Duties of the Employee 57
Ⅰ. Duty to Work 57
Ⅱ. Duty to Obey Lawful and Reasonable Orders 57
2. Duties of the Employer 58
Ⅰ. Duty to Pay Wages 58
Ⅱ. A Duty to Provide Work? 58
Ⅲ. Duty to Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination 59
A. Handicapped Persons 60
B. Women 60
C. Immigrants 61
3. The Bona Fides Principle 61
CHAPTER 3. REMUNERATION 63
1. General Observations 63
2. Manner of Payment 63
Ⅰ. Calculation of Payment 63
Ⅱ. Payment in Currency or in Kind 65
Ⅲ. Periods of Payment 65
3. Prohibition of Truck System, Deductions, Seizure and Transfer; the Itemized Pay Slip 65
4. The Amount of the Wage 66
5. Minimum Wage 67
6. Equal Pay 68
7. Remuneration and Work 68
Ⅰ. Absence Due to Sickness 68
Ⅱ. The Employer's Risk as Regards the Impossibility of Performing Work 69
8. Rights to Remuneration in Case of Employer's Insolvency 70
CHAPTER 4. WORKING TIME 73
1. Limitation of Working Time 73
Ⅰ. Statutory Regulation 73
Ⅱ. Collective Agreements 76
2. Part-time Work and the Adaptation of Working Time 78
3. Holidays 79
4. Leave Regulations 80
CHAPTER 5. HEALTH AND SAFETY 82
1. Duty to Provide Safe and Healthy Working Conditions on the Premises 82
2. Health and Safety Regulations under Public Law 84
3. Number of Persons Benefiting from Sickness and Disability Schemes 85
CHAPTER 6. MISCELLANEOUS 87
1. Changing the Terms and Conditions of the Contract of Employment 87
2. The Privacy of the Employee 87
3. The Principle of Respondeat Superior 88
4. The Duty to Provide a Testimonial at the End of the Contract of Employment 89
5. Covenants of Non-Competition 89
6. The Duty of Secrecy 90
7. Inventions by Employees and Copyright 90
8. Transfer of an Enterprise; Job Security 91
9. Retirement 92
10. Disciplinary Sanctions 94
11. Conflicts of Law 94
CHAPTER 7. THE TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT 97
1. The Development of Dutch Law on Dismissals 97
2. Redundancy Practices in The Netherlands 99
3. Methods of Terminating Employment 100
4. Termination by Mutual Consent 100
5. Dismissal with a Permit of the Public Authorities 101
6. Termination by Judicial Rescission 103
7. Compensation 105
8. Prohibited Dismissals - Special Protection for Certain Categories of Worker 106
9. Periods of Notice 108
10. Summary Dismissal 109
11. Dismissal During a Probationary Period (Trial Clauses) 110
12. Collective Dismissals 111
13. Social Plan 112
14. Dismissals in Case of Insolvency of the Employer 114
15. Fixed-term Contracts 115
16. Other Forms of Termination by Operation of Law 116
17. The Dismissal of Temporary Workers 116
CHAPTER 8. LABOUR MARKET SERVICES AND POLICIES 118
1. Introduction 118
2. The Public Employment Service 119
3. Reintegration Activities 119
4. Private Employment Services 120
5. Temporary Employment Agencies 121
6. Labour Pools 123
7. Vocational Training of Adults 124
8. Apprenticeship 125
9. Public Intervention for Corporate Restructuring or Reconversion 125
10. Subsidizing Jobs 126
11. Self-Employment Incentives 127
12. Finances 127
Part Ⅱ. Collective Labour Relations 129
CHAPTER 1. TRADE UNIONS AND EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATIONS 129
1. Trade Unions 129
2. Employers' Organizations 131
3. Trade Union Law 131
4. Representativeness 133
CHAPTER 2. THE NEO-CORPORATIST SYSTEM 135
1. History 135
2. Wage Formation Policies 136
3. Institutions 140
CHAPTER 3. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 141
1. The System of Collective Agreements 141
2. The Bargaining Process 147
3. Definition, Form and Publicity of Collective Agreements 148
4. Parties to Collective Agreements 148
5. A Right to Collective Bargaining? 150
6. Geographical, Temporal and Personal Scope of Collective Agreements 151
7. Regulatory Content of Collective Agreements 152
8. The Mandatory Force of Regulatory Provisions of Collective Agreements 153
9. Extension of Collective Agreements 154
10. Contractual Content of Collective Agreements 156
11. Diagonal Clauses 157
12. Interpretation and Appeal 157
CHAPTER 4. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 159
1. Introduction 159
2. Historical Development of the Right to Strike and Strike Action 160
3. Definition/Concept of the Legal Strike 161
4. Judicial Methods and Procedures 162
5. Disputes of Rights and Disputes of Interest 163
6. Strikes in Essential Services 164
7. Effects of Strikes 164
8. Other Types of Industrial Action 165
9. The Lock-out 165
10. Dispute-settlement Mechanisms 166
11. Strikes in the Public Service 167
CHAPTER 5. EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN THE ENTERPRISE 168
1. Introduction 168
2. Union Participation Rights 169
Ⅰ. Involvement in the Right of Company Inquiries 169
Ⅱ. Collective Dismissals 170
Ⅲ. The Merger Code 170
3. Workers' Influence on the Composition of the Top-level Management of Major Companies 172
4. Works Councils 175
Ⅰ. Legal History 175
Ⅱ. The Duty to Establish a Works Council 176
Ⅲ. Notions and Definitions 176
Ⅳ. Statutory and 'Autonomous' Arrangements 177
Ⅴ. Composition of the Works Council and Contact with the Employer 178
Ⅵ. The Electoral System 178
Ⅶ. General Powers 179
Ⅷ. Economic Powers 180
Ⅸ. Social Powers 183
Ⅹ. Other Powers 184
Ⅺ. Dispute Resolution 185
5. European Works Councils 185
Index 187