Uncertainty over legislative proposals

At the start of summer 2023, the Dutch Coalition Government fell apart, which means elections are upcoming in November 2023. The current administration is now acting as a caretaker government which leaves significant uncertainty in relation to legislative initiatives which had already been proposed or put in train. Now the summer recess is coming to an end, the House of Representatives will decide in the coming weeks which measures are sufficiently non-controversial to continue and which to shelve. The labour market reforms under consideration include:

• Self-employment: a proposal to legislate to provide clearer criteria to assess whether an employer has the level of authority required for an employment relationship; to combat false self-employment; to reduce tax benefits;  and to introduce a legal presumption of employment. An internet consultation on this proposal was planned, but hasn’t happened yet.
• Non-compete provisions: a proposal to reform use of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, with the potential for a legal limit on the duration and geographical scope of non-compete clauses and payment of compensation while an ex-employee is subject to a restraint. Internet consultation on this had been scheduled for late 2023.
• Discrimination in recruitment: a legislative proposal on discrimination-free recruitment was passed by the House of Representatives in March 2023. This legislation would require employers with more than 25 employees to draw up a written procedure containing their recruitment process (which must be transparent, verifiable, and systematic) and explaining how the process prevents discrimination.

We will provide a further update once the House of Representative reaches its decision on whether these measures will proceed.