Step-by-step guide to hiring on-call employees with a zero-hours contract

1. Be aware of the rules for on-call workers

Employees with a zero-hours contract have the same rights as other employees. For instance:

• advance notice of work;
• continued payment when a call is canceled;
• the right to be offered a fixed-hours contract after an on-call contract of 12 months.

Read the general rules for on-call workers.

2. Choose between a fixed or temporary zero-hours contract

As with other employment contracts, with a zero-hours contract you must choose between a permanent or temporary contract. But you do not set the mumber of hours that will be worked. You must always follow the rules regarding employment contracts. For instance:

• All employees are entitled to a transition payment if you dismiss them.
• With a permanent contract a cancellation period applies. You can agree on a trial period and/or a non-competition clause.
• A notice period applies to a temporary contract. You must inform your employee at least 1 month before the end of the contract term whether you want to continue with them or not.
• An employee is entitled to a permanent contract after 3 consecutive temporary contracts or after 3 years of temporary contracts.

3. Comply with employment conditions

An on-call worker is entitled to the same employment conditions as your other employees. For example, working hours, salary and payslip, and holiday entitlement.This is always based on the number of hours that your employee has worked for you.

4. Keep in mind the on-call period of at least 4 days

You have to notify your on-call worker of a call to work at least 4 days in advance. Do you cancel a call or change the working hours less than 4 days in advance? Then your on-call worker is entitled to payment for the hours they were called for.

Do you call for work less than 4 days in advance? Then your on-call employee does not have to come to work. A collective labour agreement (CAO) may contain agreements on a shorter on-call period. For example, 1 day instead of 4 days.

5. Calculate leave and holiday entitlement

• Your employee does not have a fixed number of working hours per week. Therefore a certain percentage per working hour is used to accumulate leave hours. That percentage is stated in a CAO or in the employment contract.
• Your employee is entitled to a minimum of 8% holiday allowance of their gross yearly wage of the previous year. If your on-call employee worked for less than a year, you calculate the holiday allowance from the start of the employment.
• For parental leave, you calculate 26 times the number of hours worked per week. Since the number of hours are not stated in a zero-hours contract, you take the average number of hours worked per week in the past 3 months. Are the past 3 months not typical due to a peak or drop in work? Then you may also calculate the average over a longer period of time.

6. Pay at least 3 hours’ wages with every call

You must pay your on-call worker at least 3 hours’ wages per call. Even if your employee was only needed for 1 or 2 hours. However, you must only pay at least 3 hours if:

• You have chosen a contract for less than 15 hours per week and you have not made agreements about working hours.

OR

• There is a pre-agreement (voorovereenkomst, in Dutch) in place where the agreement only applies when the on-call worker accepts the assignment.

7. Always continue to pay the salary after 6 months

For on-call workers on zero-hours contracts, the Continued Payment of Wages Obligation (loondoorbetalingsverplichting, in Dutch) comes into force after 6 months. This means that if a zero-hours worker works for you for 6 months or more, you must continue to pay wages even if you do not call them up. That wage is the average of the number of on-call hours in the past 3 months. This ruling applies if:

• you have insufficient work for reasons that are your responsibility. For example, because a customer cancels an order.
• work is available, but you fail to call them in.
• you call up your employee, but they cannot perform the work because of something that is your responsibility. For example, because your equipment stopped working.

The CAO may contain the possibility of an extension to the 6 month period. But this only applies if the work is occasional and has no set structure. In that case, the on-call worker is entitled to the wages for the hours they are called for. Check these conditions in your CAO.

8. Continue to pay wages during illness

If your on-call worker becomes ill during a call, you must continue to pay their wages. You pay for the hours of the call. You must pay 70% of the amount owing. If this is lower than the minimum wage, you must supplement it up to the minimum wage level. Read more about continued sick pay for on-call workers (in Dutch)

9. Monitor the number of hours that your on-call employee works for you

If your on-call worker works a number of hours on a structural basis, they can demand that you adjust their contract. This is called Legal Presumption of Employment Duration (rechtsvermoeden van arbeidsomvang, in Dutch). The average number of hours worked per month in the past 3 months counts as the number of hours.

Your employee may then demand that you change their zero-hours contact into a contract with a fixed number of hours per week.Do you not want to change the contract? Then you must be able to prove that the need for overtime was a temporary situation. For example, with a written agreement or a shift roster showing it was a peak period.

10. Observe the employee’s notice period for a zero-hours contract

The notice period for your employee with a zero-hours contract is the same as the on-call period. That is, 4 days. If a shorter on-call period has been agreed in your CAO, this period applies as the notice period.

11. Working without a contract

If you let an employee work for you without a written contract, you automatically have an oral employment contract with your employee. In addition, 1 month after your employee has started working for you, you are legally obliged to have a number of things written down. Keep in mind that some agreements are only valid if they are confirmed in writing. This is why most employers prefer a contract.