You only need to open the newsletter or the hospitality Info, or follow us on social media, and you'll regularly encounter the word CLA. That's not surprising, because a CLA is important for you as an employee and can really make a difference. But what exactly is a CLA and what does it mean for you?
What do the letters CLA stand for?
CLA stands for collective labour agreement, and it is a written agreement that outlines your employment terms. For example, it covers your salary, allowances, overtime pay, working hours, probation period, notice period, and/or pension. A CLA applies to a large group of people. These could be colleagues within the same company, known as a company or enterprise CLA, or agreements for all employees within a certain sector. Think of the CLAs for (day) recreation, swimming pools, catering, and hospitality that apply in our sectors.
What are the benefits of a CLA?
One of the major benefits is that the terms in the CLA are more favourable for you as an employee than if there were no CLA. For instance, the salary might be higher and/or you might receive more annual leave. In all the CLAs we have negotiated, you are entitled to 25 days of annual leave with a full-time contract, instead of the mere 20 days prescribed by law. That's an extra week's holiday thanks to the CLA!
Does my employer always have to follow the CLA?
A CLA applies firstly to you as a member of an organisation that has concluded the CLA, such as the union. Since your employer doesn't know whether you are a member or not, the CLA is often included in your employment contract. It is customary in our sectors that after concluding the CLA, the Minister of Social Affairs is asked to ensure that all companies in the sector apply the CLA. The minister must declare the CLA generally binding, as it is officially called. From the date the minister issues this general binding declaration (GBD), the CLA applies to all companies and employees in the sector.
Can my contract deviate from the CLA?
What is stated in your individual contract cannot be less than what the CLA offers. It can be more! Positive deviations are allowed. What is in the CLA must not conflict with the law. For example, the CLA cannot state that you receive a salary less than the statutory minimum salary or only 18 days of annual leave. However, the law can stipulate that certain legal rules may be deviated from by CLA. This happens, for example, in the (day) recreation CLA and hospitality CLA when it comes to seasonal workers. These CLAs have an exception clause regarding the period between temporary contracts until you are entitled to a permanent contract.
How are CLAs actually established?
The CLA for an entire industry is concluded between different parties: one or more employers, one or more employers' organisations, and one or more employees' organisations, which are usually the unions. If it concerns a company CLA, it is concluded between an employer and one or more employees' organisations/unions. We as a union negotiate on your behalf as a member. To know what members want, we regularly consult with the CLA committee of each sector, and when negotiations are approaching, we gauge in advance what you as a member think of the Updates CLA and which points should be improved. We incorporate this into a proposal letter that goes to the employers' organisation. And we receive a proposal letter from the employers. It will not surprise you that the starting points are often far apart. Then the negotiations begin. This does not happen without a struggle; several meetings are needed. We discuss the progress in between with our CLA committee. Once we have a preliminary agreement or negotiation result, we present it again to the CLA committee and our members. If the majority agrees, as well as the majority of the members of the employers' organisation(s), we sign the CLA.
What if the parties do not reach an agreement in time and the Updates CLA has already expired?
In most CLAs, it is stipulated that if the CLA is not terminated, it is tacitly extended for another year or remains applicable until a new CLA is in place. All provisions are usually still valid. If a new CLA is eventually reached and it includes, for example, a salary increase, it is often paid retroactively.
The CLA hospitality has been declared generally binding, so it applies to everyone working in hospitality, but it has not been signed by FNV hospitality. How exactly does that work?
In the CLA negotiations for a new hospitality CLA, other unions were also involved, such as CNV Vakmensen. FNV hospitality was excluded from the CLA negotiations because we could not accept the employers' association's proposals. Their proposals had no benefits for employees and even brought about deteriorations. Negotiating on that was not possible. FNV hospitality wanted to agree on improvements based on the wishes of its members and employees, such as decent employment conditions, a good salary increase, good training opportunities, etc. CNV Vakmensen, together with the employers' organisation KHN, did sign the CLA. After the CLA agreement, the CLA was declared generally binding and applies to everyone working in hospitality. Although the hospitality CLA is valid until the end of 2019, your employer can offer you and your colleagues much more than what is in the CLA. Not only in terms of salary but also by investing in training. Your employer can come to a company CLA with us. We have already agreed on excellent company CLAs and can assist you and your colleagues in agreeing on this for your company as well. Contact our Information and Advice Centre for this. If an employer wants to make better agreements with us and be attractive to new staff, we will recognise this employer as a good employer.
What if there really is no CLA, like a few years ago when there was no hospitality CLA?
If you start working during a period when there is no CLA or no own arrangements, you make agreements about your employment terms with your employer. The general rules of labour legislation apply here. These are included in the Minimum salary Act, the Working Hours Act, the Working Conditions Act, the Work and Care Act, and the Civil Code. We strongly recommend that you record these agreements in writing in an individual employment contract. Negotiating with your (new) employer can be quite a task. That is also an advantage of a CLA: a lot has already been agreed upon, and your employer cannot deviate from it. You can then focus entirely on agreeing on extras on top of the CLA. Because once again, the CLA is the starting point, not the endpoint!
Source: HorecaInfo number 6 2018