10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10779
The Netherlands is in an “intelligent” lock down, which means that social and economic activities are limited, but not to the extent that people are locked in their houses. The main labour law related measure, NOW, aims to protect jobs by compensating the costs of wages when the employer suffers a loss of turnover of more than 20%. Self-employed can apply for a relaxed regime on income support (TOZO). The regular labour law measures have not been altered, with the exception of the driving time for truckdrivers delivering essential goods. Via the Labour Foundation social partners work closely together with the government.
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Beryl ter Haar
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: The Netherlands
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National Reports
2020-04-15
2020-04-14
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2020-09-15
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Beryl ter Haar
2020/04/15
10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10779
Leiden University
1561-8048
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Income protection
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: The Netherlands
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: The Netherlands                                        Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Beryl ter Haar                                                                 Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
b.p.ter.haar@law.leidenuniv.nl                                   Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                             ISSN 1561-8048
                                                              https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10779




          COVID-19 and Labour Law: The Netherlands
                      Beryl ter Haar*

                                                Abstract
     The Netherlands is in an “intelligent” lock down, which means that social and economic
     activities are limited, but not to the extent that people are locked in their houses. The main
     labour law related measure, NOW, aims to protect jobs by compensating the costs of wages
     when the employer suffers a loss of turnover of more than 20%. Self-employed can apply for a
     relaxed regime on income support (TOZO). The regular labour law measures have not been
     altered, with the exception of the driving time for truckdrivers delivering essential goods. Via
     the Labour Foundation social partners work closely together with the government.

     Key words: Covid-19; Labour law; NOW; TOZO; Preservation of jobs; Income protection.



     Keywords: Covid-19; Labour Law; Sickness Benefit; Telework



    The first confirmed COVID-19 infected person was reported on 27 February 2020 and
 the first patient who died due to COVID-19 was reported on 6 March 2020. From that
 moment things changed very fast in the Netherlands. First people were told to take good
 care of their personal hygiene with extra cleaning in workplaces. Per 12 March 2020 this
 changed radically and economic and social life were sort of put on hold. There is no total
 lock down, but what is called an “intelligent” lock down. This means that we have to stay at
 home as much as possible, including working from home, social distancing (1,5 meter apart
 at least), no big gatherings or events of more than 100 persons, etc. Schools and
 universities are closed and education is done remotely. Restaurants, cafes, gyms, concert
 halls, etc. are also closed. And professions that involve direct contact between persons have
 also been stopped, this includes hairdressers, physiotherapy, etc. Initially these measures
 would last till 6 April 2020, but as per 31 March 2020 they have been extended to 28 April
 2020, schools stay closed till 4 May 2020, and gatherings of 100 persons or more are
 forbidden till 1 June 20201. The aim of these measures is “to flatten the curve” of the rise
 of the number of infected persons in order to prevent that the healthcare system cannot




 *
   Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator Adv. LL.M. Global and European Labour Law at Leiden
 University and Visiting Professor at the University of Warsaw, ORCID 0000-0002-3401-1272.
 1 See for a full overview of all the measures at: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-

 19/tackling-new-coronavirus-in-the-netherlands
    Beryl ter Haar                                                              Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                               Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                                  Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                    Section: National Reports




deal with it anymore. Given that there are first signs the “curve is flattening”2 the measures
seem to have effect.

    On 17 March 2020 the Dutch Government announced an ‘Emergency Package Jobs
and Economy’. The Package holds three types of measures: 1) safeguarding income and
salaries; 2) postponement of taxpaying; and 3) relaxation of credit provisions. A full
overview of these measures can be found at www.business.gov.nl.
    With regard to labour law the most relevant measure falls within the first category of
measures and is called “NOW”, which is the abbreviation of the Dutch title “Noodfonds
Overbrugging Werkgelegenheid”, in English translated as “Temporary Emergency Bridging
Measure for Sustained Employment”3. The NOW provides financial support for businesses
when it suffers a loss in the turnover of at least 20% due to the government’s measures on
COVID19. The higher the loss in turnover, the higher the financial support - with a 100%
loss of turnover 90% of the wage costs will be compensated. The wage compensated is the
wage for social insurance purposes as it is known by the UWV4, up to a maximum of
€9538,- per employee per month. To this wage sum 30% is added for pension premiums,
holiday allowances and other costs/benefits.
    An advance of 80% will be paid upon the application for the scheme and will be
followed by a calculation of the actual loss of turnover afterwards, which may lead to a
correction. The compensation can be requested for a period of three months within the
period March-July 2020 and, under certain conditions, can be extended once for another
three months. The measure applies to a wide range of workers, including all kinds of
flexible workers, such as part-timers (including zero-hour contracts), fixed term employees
and other workers employed by other forms of temporary contracts5. The measure also
applies to temporary works agencies6 and staffing agencies7.
    An interesting condition of the NOW is that when the employer applies for it he
commits to not terminate employment contracts for economic reasons. If the employer
does nonetheless the wage compensation will be claimed back plus fifty percent of the


2 A specialized agency of the Government is registering the number of positive tested persons, how many
have been hospitalized and how many people have died due to COVID19. No statistics are available about
how many patients have recovered. The information is available at: https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-
coronavirus-covid-19/current-information-about-novel-coronavirus-covid-19
3 See for more details about NOW: https://business.gov.nl/subsidy/corona-crisis-temporary-emergency-

measure-now/
4 The Employee Insurance Agency, an administrative body responsible for, among others, social security

payments, such as unemployment benefits, sick pay, etc..
5 Although not included in the legislation, the accompanying letter to the NOW measure calls upon

employers      to    keep     their     flexible workers     employed     as     much     as     possible.
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-
19/documenten/kamerstukken/2020/03/31/tijdelijke-noodmaatregel-overbrugging-voor-behoud-van-
werkgelegenheid. Nonetheless, the trade unions report that the employment contracts of many flexible
workers have been terminated: https://www.fnv.nl/corona/verregaande-maatregelen-om-jou-door-de-
coronacrisi
6 In the Netherlands TWA’s can enter into a permanent employment contract with the persons they allocate

to the user undertaking.
7 In Dutch called “pay-roll companies”.



https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10779                                                                 2
    Beryl ter Haar                                                                Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                                 Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                                    Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                      Section: National Reports




amount of the wage8. Since employers have to get permission by the UWV for such
dismissals a control mechanism is automatically in place.
   Another interesting income preserving measure is a relaxed regime that enables self-
employed to apply for financial support, the Tozo. The support is available for at least
three months and will help out entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals who have a
viable business but are going through a rough patch. Self-employed professionals can apply
for support in the shape of additional livelihood support and/or a business capital loan9.
   Since schools and childcare facilities are closed and parents have to work from home as
much as possible, there is a serious challenge to combine work and care responsibilities.
Employers have been requested to be flexible with working schemes (starting later,
stopping earlier, working in the evening hours etc.). However, the employer may not
unilaterally change the working time schedule. Such requires either the consent of the
works council or from the employee10. In addition, a more relaxed regime of various forms
of (already existing) special leaves apply, which should make it more easy for the employee
to combine work and care responsibilities11. With respect to annual leave rights, in general,
the NOW should prevent the need for employers to force their workers to use their annual
leave days12. Nothing specific applies with respect to annual leave days that have already
been booked and seem to have lost their value due to the general situation created by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Based on existing rules the employer can only refuse the withdrawal
of the leave for serious business reasons. Whether not having enough work due to the
COVID-19 pandemic qualifies as a serious business reason is unclear13.
   Special school and childcare support are arranged for employees who work in so called
crucial professions or vital processes (as it is called in Dutch) which cannot be done from
home. What qualifies as crucial profession or vital processes is defined widely. The first
includes professions in healthcare, education, public transport, the food chain, transport of
energy sources, trash collection, media. In this group the working time for truck drivers in
the supply of essential goods, such as food and medication, has been relaxed. This means
for example that the daily maximum driving time is extended from 9 to 11 hours14. The
second, vital processes, includes processes that are essential in a democracy, public health
and safety, and security15. The childcare support is free of charge.
   Social Partners are involved in the design of the measures through the Labour
Foundation which is a national consultative body comprised by the three main trade unions


8 Article 11, sub b NOW.
9 https://business.gov.nl/the-coronavirus-faq-for-entrepreneurs/ - Tozo.
10 Article 27 Act on the Work Council.
11 https://www.fnv.nl/corona/werk-en-corona#thuiswerken
12 Nonetheless there are complaints filed with trade unions that employers force employees to take their leave

days: https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/item/dwingt-jouw-baas-je-nu-om-je-vakantiedagen-op-te-nemen-dit-
zijn-jouw-rechten/
13 Something which is not only the case in The Netherlands:

https://uklabourlawblog.com/2020/04/06/furloughing-and-fundamental-rights-the-case-of-paid-annual-
leave-by-alan-bogg-and-michael-ford/
14 This is done in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation 561/2006.
15-https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19/veelgestelde-vragen-per-

onderwerp/kinderopvang/cruciale-beroepen

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10779                                                                   3
     Beryl ter Haar                                                          Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                            Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                               Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                 Section: National Reports




and three main employer organisations of the Netherlands16. Part of their activities is to
advice the government on labour-related issues. With regard to the COVID19 situation the
Labour Foundation meets weekly with the government to discuss the Emergency Package.
In their support letter to the Emergency Package they call upon the employers and
workers’ representatives to report problems not (yet) covered by the Package, but do need
action by the central government. The same applies for sector specific issues on
occupational health and safety which cannot be solved due to conflicts with OSH-
legislation17.




Copyright © 2020 Beryl ter Haar. This article is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License




16   https://www.stvda.nl/en/labour-foundation
17-https://www.stvda.nl/-/media/stvda/downloads/publicaties/2020/coronacrisis-

noodpakket.pdf?la=nl&hash=290B8F57F6BA09AD9DB26B91FC27F9DE (p.4).

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10779                                                              4
