Working in hospitality requires a certain degree of flexibility. You know this when you start working in hospitality. Hospitality staff do not mind working overtime occasionally if the situation demands it. There are inevitably peak moments you did not foresee, and you certainly do not leave a full restaurant just like that.
Employers, however, do not see overtime in hospitality as overtime. They have maximum flexibility in this regard. Overtime in hospitality is calculated annually, and the employer only needs to compensate for the overtime after a calendar year. These overtime hours are initially compensated in time, and the compensation must take place within 13 weeks. If this compensation in time is not possible, the employer must still pay the remaining overtime within 4 weeks after these 13 weeks.
In most industries, it is customary to review overtime on a monthly basis, and employees are rewarded extra for overtime. According to Dutch law, an overtime allowance is not mandatory, but compensation for a longer working duration than usual is reasonable. You are expected to be flexible and make extra efforts for the company outside your scheduled time. There is nothing wrong with that, but a little extra appreciation for the employee would not hurt.
For FNV hospitality, this is an important point in the CLA negotiations. Employers can now require employees to work up to 60 hours a week. Overtime can easily accumulate over an entire calendar year. When the overtime is eventually paid out, the employee receives no extra allowance for the first 208 overtime hours, just 100% of the hourly salary. An employee puts in extra effort but receives no extra compensation for it. The remaining overtime hours are compensated at 150% of the hourly salary.
Flexibility must come from both sides. We think it is reasonable to actually compensate overtime as overtime. Therefore, we propose the following:
- Overtime starts after an average of 38 hours per week.
- To prevent disputes over hours: overtime is calculated per calendar quarter (13 x 38 hours = 494 hours).
- Overtime is compensated after this quarter in free time or money at 150%, with the principle being: overtime = overtime.
In the CLA concluded on 1 August 2012, the above negotiation point was not included. Download the Updates CLA.
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