The Dutch government has passed legislation requiring businesses to consider employee requests to work from home if their jobs allow it. The Netherlands is one of the first countries to make remote working flexibility a legal requirement.
Steven van Weyenberg, a member of the pro-European D-66 Party, and Senna Maatoug, a Green Party legislator, sponsored the measure. The proposal was submitted to parliament by two Dutch legislators before the chamber went on summer holiday on July 3, 2022.
“We have the green light for this new law thanks to the support we received from both employees and employers’ unions,” Weyenberg had said. “We are very hopeful it will pass before the summer.”
On Tuesday, the lower house of the Netherlands’ bicameral parliament adopted the measure. It still has to be approved by the Dutch Senate before it can be implemented. Employers are required by law to consider employee requests to work from home as long as their professions allow it.
Although the proposal still needs approval from the Dutch Senate before it can go into effect, and it is unclear how the rule would operate in reality, employment experts say it might have repercussions in other European Union nations.
It comes as the Covid-19 epidemic has transformed people’s working and living habits, with many employees requesting greater flexibility from their companies. The pandemic has fostered a shift in workplace attitudes, with many workers hoping to retain some of the freedom they’ve enjoyed over the previous two years. However, as businesses strive to meet soaring demand as the pandemic fades, the question has become increasingly divisive.
Companies throughout Europe have already opted to abandon the regular nine-to-five office shift after a difficult effort to reintroduce full-time employees following lockdowns. Germany’s labour ministry, like the Netherlands’, is said to be working on regulations that might legally boost worker flexibility. According to employment attorneys, France and Portugal are also exploring similar safeguards.
