Working from home is here to stay, even after Covid-19. But what are the rights and obligations of employers and employees in terms of compensation and working conditions? And how can the Works Council influence this?
- klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie van deze tekst -
Understandably, we get many questions about working from home (WFH). That is why we have written this article about the costs of working from home and whether employers are required to reimburse these costs. Working conditions are also important for working from home. Based on many forms of regulation and legislation, employers can be expected to contribute.
We want to clarify all this in this article. It is also essential to know what this means for your organisation's WFH policy, and what the Works Council's role can (or perhaps should) be.
reimbursement for working from home (WFH): what is allowed or required?
WFH allowance and the Nibud
The Netherlands Institute for Budget Education (Nibud) concludes that working from home costs an average of € 2 extra per day per person (Dutch). This is based on the additional costs of electricity, water, gas, coffee/tea, toilet paper, and office furniture depreciation.
WFH allowance and the government
The Dutch government has decided to establish a compensation policy for working from home. Almost all government employees receive a fee of € 363 net per half-year, which is laid down in several collective agreements.
WFH allowance and the current legislation
This scheme applies to government personnel, but there is (as of yet) no general law for all employees in the Netherlands. Under Dutch law, an employer is not required to compensate the extra costs of working from home.
government appeal to employers and trade unions
The government calls on employers and trade unions to make further agreements about a more generous WFH allowance. For example, the Dutch House of Representatives is in talks with trade unions and the AWVN (the largest employers association in the Netherlands) to arrange WFH compensation payments. The AWVN believes that financial compensation reduces absenteeism.
WFH allowance and good employership
There are no legal obligations for employers to compensate for working from home. Article 7:611 (Dutch) of the Dutch Civil Code states that employers must demonstrate 'good employership'. This obligation to be a good employer is quite extensive and can be invoked by employees in many situations.
But what is good employership? Does it include any compensation for additional WFH costs? There is, as yet, no case law for this. However, there are situations where you could say that it is good employership if the employer reimburses working from home. For example, in the following situations:
- when an employee needs to work from home but cannot afford the extra costs of working from home
- when the employer saves money on travel expenses, rental of office space, heating, lighting and coffee due to the large number of employees working from home
- when offering no compensation results in employees quitting their job because other employers do offer such compensation.
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