Flexible working in the Netherlands: the Flexible Working Act and the new rules for flexible workers

Under the Dutch Flexible Working Act (Wet flexibel werken, Wfw), an employee with at least 26 weeks of service can ask the employer to change their working hours, their working times or their place of work, in writing at least two months in advance. A request to change the number of hours or the working times must be granted unless serious business or service interests stand in the way. A request to work elsewhere, for example from home, only has to be considered and discussed. If the employer does not decide one month before the requested start date, the request is granted automatically. Separate rules apply to flexible workers on on-call, zero-hours and temporary contracts, and these change substantially on 1 January 2028.

Flexible working in the Netherlands at a glance

• Who: employees with 26 weeks of service, at employers with 10 or more employees (Article 2 Wfw).
• What: working hours (more or fewer), working times, and place of work.
• How: a written request at least two months before the desired start date.
• Hours and times: granted unless serious business or service interests prevent it.
• Place of work: the employer must consider the request and consult if it refuses.
• No decision in time: the request is granted as requested.
• Flexible workers: from 1 January 2028 the Act on more security for flexible workers restricts zero-hours and on-call contracts.

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What Does the Dutch Flexible Working Act Provide?

The Flexible Working Act gives employees a right to request an adjustment of their working hours (arbeidsduur), their working times (werktijd) or their place of work (arbeidsplaats), for fixed or varying periods (Article 2 Wfw).

The three types of request are treated differently. For working hours and working times the employer must in principle say yes; for the place of work the employer only has to take the request seriously. The Act applies to employees under an employment contract and to civil servants. It does not replace the terms of the employment contract or a collective agreement, which may give employees more room.

Who Can Make a Flexible Working Request?

An employee who has been employed for at least 26 weeks before the requested start date, save for unforeseen circumstances. Consecutive periods of work with interruptions of no more than six months count together (Article 2(1) Wfw).

• Small employers: the Act does not apply to employers with fewer than 10 employees; they must make their own arrangement for employees' right to adjust their working hours (Article 2(18)).
• State pension age: the right to adjust working hours does not apply once the employee has reached state pension (AOW) age (Article 1a).
• Parents and carers: for an employee with a child under eight, or who cares for a seriously or life-threateningly ill person, these limitations do not apply, nor the one-year waiting period between requests (Article 2a). The employer may ask the employee to show that the situation applies.

How Does an Employee Make a Flexible Working Request?

In writing, at least two months before the desired start date, stating the start date and the desired number of hours per week, the desired place of work or the desired distribution of the working times (Article 2(3) Wfw).

1. Written request, two months in advance, save for unforeseen circumstances.
2. Consultation: the employer discusses the request with the employee (Article 2(4)).
3. Written decision: the employer gives its decision in writing; a refusal, or a decision that departs from the employee's wishes, must state reasons (Article 2(8)).
4. Deadline: if the employer has not decided one month before the requested start date, the working hours, place or times are adjusted as requested (Article 2(12)). In unforeseen circumstances the employer must decide within five working days.
5. New request: after a request has been granted or refused, the employee can make a new request after one year, save for unforeseen circumstances (Article 2(3)).

When Can the Employer Refuse a Request?

A request to change the working hours or the working times must be granted as to its start date and extent, unless serious business or service interests (zwaarwegende bedrijfs- of dienstbelangen) prevent it (Article 2(5) Wfw). The Act lists situations in which such interests exist in any event.

Once the hours have been set, the employer determines their distribution in line with the employee's wishes. It may depart from those wishes only if its own interest is such that, by standards of reasonableness and fairness, the employee's wishes must give way (Article 2(7)). A collective agreement, or an agreement with the works council, may deviate from these rules only for requests for more hours, a different place of work or different working times, not for requests to work fewer hours (Article 2(17)).

Is There a Right to Work From Home in the Netherlands?

No. An employee can ask to work from home under the Flexible Working Act, but the employer only has to consider the request and consult the employee if it refuses, giving written reasons (Article 2(6) and (8) Wfw). The strict test of serious business interests does not apply to the place of work.

A private member's bill to give requests to work from home the same weight as requests about working hours, the Wet werken waar je wilt (Parliamentary papers 35 714), was rejected by the Senate on 26 September 2023. The employer must nevertheless deal with a request carefully and give reasons. Practical matters such as a home working allowance and equipment are covered on working from home in the Netherlands.

Can a Change Be Temporary or Reviewed Later?

Yes. A request may be for a limited period; at the end of the agreed period the employee has the right to return to the original work pattern (Article 2(15) Wfw). If circumstances change, the employee may ask to return earlier (Article 2(16)).

The employer may also review a decision or an automatic adjustment later, but only on the basis of interests that arose afterwards: for the place of work, new interests; for working hours and times, new serious business or service interests. It must consult the employee first and give its decision with reasons in writing (Article 2(13) and (14)).

Is an Employee Protected After Making a Request?

Yes. The employer cannot end the employment because the employee requested an adjustment of working hours, place or times (Article 3 Wfw), and may not disadvantage the employee for asserting these rights, assisting someone else, or complaining about it within the company (Article 3a).

The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights can investigate whether an employee has been disadvantaged in this way (Article 4a). On dismissal protection in general, see prohibitions of dismissal.

Can an Employee Ask for More Predictable Working Conditions?

Yes. An employee with at least 26 weeks of service can ask in writing for a form of work with more predictable and secure working conditions, for example a fixed number of hours instead of an on-call contract (Article 2b Wfw).

An employer with 10 or more employees must decide in writing, with reasons, within one month; an employer with fewer than 10 employees within three months. If it does not decide in time, the form of work is adjusted as requested. A new request can be made after one year, and the employee may not be disadvantaged for making it.

Are Part-Time Workers Protected Against Unequal Treatment?

Yes. The employer may not treat employees differently because of a difference in working hours in the conditions under which an employment contract is entered into, continued or terminated, unless the difference is objectively justified (Article 7:648 of the Dutch Civil Code). A clause contrary to this rule is void.

In practice this means that a part-time employee is entitled to pay, holiday and other conditions in proportion to their hours. See also working hours under Dutch law.

What Rules Apply to Flexible Workers, and What Changes in 2028?

"Flexible workers" (flexwerkers) are employees on on-call, zero-hours, min-max, fixed-term or temporary agency contracts. The Act on more security for flexible workers (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers, Act of 8 July 2026, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205) changes their position; most of it enters into force on 1 January 2028 (Decree of 13 July 2026, Bulletin 2026, 206).

Under the current rules, an on-call worker must be called at least four days in advance, is paid if a call is cancelled or changed within those four days, and is paid for at least three hours per call in certain small contracts (Article 7:628a). Some amendments to the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Waadi), which governs temporary agency work, enter into force earlier, on 31 December 2026 and 1 January 2027. For the details of each contract type, see on-call contracts, zero-hours contracts, min-max contracts, temporary agency work and fixed-term and permanent contracts.

What Role Does the Works Council Play?

The employer needs the works council's consent for any decision to adopt, change or withdraw rules on working and rest times (Article 27(1)(b) of the Works Councils Act).

Company-wide policies on hybrid working, schedules or working times therefore often require works council consent, and an agreement with the works council can, within the limits of Article 2(17) Wfw, set its own rules for requests. See the works council.

Which Legal Sources Govern Flexible Working?

• Wet flexibel werken (Flexible Working Act), Articles 1a, 2, 2a, 2b, 3, 3a and 4a
• Article 7:648 of the Dutch Civil Code, equal treatment regardless of working hours
• Article 7:628a of the Dutch Civil Code, on-call workers
• Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205) and its entry into force (2026, 206)
• Article 27 of the Works Councils Act, consent on working time rules