Netherlands Senate approves Flexible Workers Increased Security Act

On 7 July 2026, the Dutch Senate approved the Flexible Workers (Increased Security) Act (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers), which addresses abuses of flexible employment arrangements and provides workers with greater certainty regarding income and working hours.

The legislation is considered important given that nearly three in ten employees in the Netherlands work under a flexible employment contract, and there has been long-running debates on how to reform the labour market to provide greater security for flexible workers.

The key changes in the legislation are outlined below.

On-call contracts to be abolished

One of the most significant changes is the abolition of on-call contracts, including zero-hours contracts and min-max contracts. These contracts will be replaced by a new type of contract known as a bandwidth contract (bandbreedtecontract). Under a bandwidth contract, employers and employees must agree on both a minimum number of working hours, which may no longer be zero, and a maximum number of working hours.

The traditional zero-hours contracts will effectively cease to exist.

The maximum number of hours may not exceed 130% of the agreed minimum number of hours. For example, if an employee is guaranteed a minimum of 10 hours per week, the maximum cannot exceed 13 hours. If an employer asks the employee to work beyond the agreed maximum, the employee may refuse those additional hours. The rationale behind the bandwidth contract is to provide employees with greater certainty about their income and workload while still allowing employers flexibility in workforce planning.

Certain groups remain exempt from these rules. Under specific conditions, school pupils, students and persons entitled to an old-age pension may continue to work under the current on-call contracts.

Changes to the provisions on succession of fixed-term employment contracts

A key principle underlying the new legislation is that structural work should be performed under a permanent employment relationship. To support this objective, the rules governing successive fixed-term employment contracts have been substantially tightened.

The basic rule remains unchanged. An employee is entitled to a permanent employment agreement after either three consecutive fixed-term contracts or three years of continuous employment. What has changed is the interruption period required before a new chain of fixed-term contracts may begin.

Currently, an employer can restart the chain after an interruption of six months. Under the new legislation, this interruption period will increase from six months to three years. This means that a new series of fixed-term contracts can only begin if there has been no employment relationship between the parties for at least three years. The legislator intends to prevent the "revolving door arrangements", whereby employees repeatedly return on temporary contracts after relatively short breaks. 

Under the new legislation, it will become considerably more difficult to engage workers on a long-term temporary basis.

Exceptions will continue to apply. For certain categories of recurring temporary work, including seasonal work, a shorter interruption period may still be permitted. Students are also subject to a specific exception.

Changes to deployment phases for temporary agency workers

The temporary agency work sector will also face significant changes. First, the well-known agency deployment phases will be shortened. Phase A will be capped by law at a maximum of 52 weeks, and collective bargaining agreements will no longer be permitted to extend this period. During Phase A, a temporary employment agency clause (uitzendbeding) may still be included. Phase A will be followed by Phase B, which may last for a maximum of two years and include no more than six fixed-term contracts.

As a result, a temporary agency worker can work on a temporary basis for a maximum of three years, after which the worker will, in principle, become entitled to an employment contract for an indefinite term. By limiting the duration of temporary agency work, the law provides agency workers with greater employment security at an earlier stage.

Equal employment conditions for temporary agency workers

Under current legislation, temporary agency workers are already entitled to the same essential employment conditions as employees directly employed by the hirer. These include salary, certain allowances, and arrangements relating to working and rest periods. The Flexible Workers (Increased Security) Act expands this principle. Going forward, the requirement of equal treatment will also apply to all other employment terms and conditions. Temporary agency workers must receive employment conditions that are at least equivalent to those of employees performing the same or a comparable role with the hirer. While the overall package does not need to be identical in every respect, it must be comparable in value.

Effective date and implications for employers

The provisions concerning equal employment conditions for temporary agency workers will enter into force first on 31 December 2026. The other elements of the Flexible Workers (Increased Security) Act are expected to take effect on 1 January 2028.

Although most new rules will not apply immediately, employers should begin assessing their workforce arrangements now, identifying which existing on-call contracts will need to be converted into bandwidth contracts and which fixed-term employment relationships may be affected by the new interruption period.

Preparation today can prevent unexpected challenges once the Flexible Workers (Increased Security) Act takes effect.

For more information on how these changes could affect your organisation or business, contact your CMS client partner or the CMS experts who contributed to this article.