On 1 January 2020, a significant law came into effect, the Balanced Labour Market Act (WAB). This new law curtails excessive flexibility. The WAB includes new rules for on-call contracts (zero-hours contract and min-max contract). As an on-call worker, you gain more rights, and an employer cannot offer you only on-call contracts indefinitely, unless that is what you specifically want. Since the hospitality sector cannot function without flexibility, some agreements have been made in the CLA hospitality 2020 that deviate from the WAB.
Long-term on-call in hospitality
If you have an on-call contract, your employer can no longer require you to come to work unless they inform you at least 24 hours in advance of the times you are needed. They must also notify you in writing or electronically. This does not prevent you from voluntarily accepting a 'late' call, for example, if they call you in the morning to work on the terrace that afternoon because it’s a sunny day. However, they cannot oblige you.
Another important change is that if your employer asks you in writing or electronically on Thursday to work on Saturday morning, but then cancels on Friday afternoon due to a change in weather, you are still entitled to the pay you would have received if the work had proceeded. The cancellation or change of times must occur more than 24 hours in advance, otherwise, your employer must pay you for the agreed hours.
Note: the cancellation must be in writing or electronically (e.g., WhatsApp or email). An oral cancellation is not a legally valid withdrawal, as it is called, and does not exempt your employer from paying wages for the times you were called to work.
Offer of employment contract for fixed hours
Under the WAB, your employer is obliged to offer you a contract for a fixed number of hours after a certain period. Each time your employment contract has lasted 12 months, your employer must offer you in the 13th month a written or electronic offer for a fixed working hours, meaning a fixed number of hours. When calculating the 12-month period, it concerns the duration of the employment contract(s) and not the number of weeks worked. Employment contracts that have followed each other with intervals of no more than six months are added together.
The offered hours must be at least equal to the average number of hours in the preceding 12-month period. If your employer makes you an offer, you have at least 1 month to accept the offer. You may also decline it if you wish to retain flexibility, for example, if you combine work with studies. In that case, you keep your on-call contract, and your employer will have to make another offer for fixed working hours after another 12-month period. The choice for flexibility thus effectively lies with you after the first 12 months. If you accept the fixed hours offer, it is no longer an on-call contract. This means you receive your contracted hours paid, and the hours are settled via the plus and minus hours scheme. It ensures a fixed and stable income. A guarantee of income also reduces uncertainty, even if you become ill for an extended period. It might also mean that a bank is now willing to grant you a mortgage. If you choose to keep your on-call contract, you must decline the fixed hours offer in writing.
Transitional law
Do you have an on-call contract that has lasted more than 12 months as of 1 January 2020? Then your employer must make the offer for a fixed working hours before 1 February 2020. The offer must be at least equal to the average scope in 2019.