How Do Min-Max Contracts Work Under Dutch Law?
A min-max contract (min-maxcontract) guarantees an employee a minimum number of hours and lets the employer call on them for more hours up to an agreed maximum. Under current Dutch law it counts as an on-call contract (oproepovereenkomst), because the working hours are not fixed as one number of hours per period (Article 7:628a(9) of the Dutch Civil Code). That brings the four-day call rule and the obligation to offer fixed hours after 12 months. From 1 January 2028 the Act on more security for flexible workers replaces it with the "bandwidth contract": a minimum plus a maximum of at most 130% of that minimum per quarter, and existing min-max contracts are converted.
Min-max contracts in the Netherlands at a glance
- Now: legally an on-call contract (Article 7:628a(9)(a) of the Dutch Civil Code).
- Guaranteed pay: at least the agreed minimum hours.
- Calls: the employee need not respond to a call made less than four days in advance (Article 7:628a(2)).
- After 12 months: the employer must offer fixed hours at least equal to the average worked (Article 7:628a(5)).
- From 1 January 2028: bandwidth contract with a maximum of 130% of the minimum per quarter (Article 7:628ab).
- Existing contracts: converted into bandwidth contracts on 1 January 2028, with a minimum equal to the average hours worked in the previous 12 months, unless an exception applies.
On this page
What Is a Min-Max Contract Under Dutch Law?
An employment contract with a guaranteed minimum number of hours and a maximum up to which the employer can call on the employee. Because the working hours are not agreed as one fixed number of hours per period, it is an on-call contract within the meaning of Article 7:628a(9)(a) of the Dutch Civil Code, and all on-call rules apply.
The legal definition covers a contract in which the working hours are not fixed as a single number of hours per period of at most a month, or per period of at most a year with the wages spread evenly over that period. A contract for "12 to 24 hours a week" does not meet that test, so it is an on-call contract, not a part-time contract with overtime. The min-max worker is a full employee, with the same rights as other employees. For the other on-call forms, see on-call contracts and zero-hours contracts.
What Rules Apply to Calls, Cancellations and Minimum Pay?
The employer must pay at least the agreed minimum hours. For hours above the minimum, the on-call rules of Article 7:628a of the Dutch Civil Code apply.
| Rule | Content |
|---|---|
| Four-day call rule | The employee is not obliged to respond to a call if the employer did not give the working times at least four days in advance, in writing or electronically (Article 7:628a(2)) |
| Late cancellation | If the employer cancels or changes a call within four days before the work starts, the employee keeps the right to wages for the work as called (Article 7:628a(3)) |
| Shorter period by collective agreement | A collective agreement may shorten the four days, but not below 24 hours (Article 7:628a(4)) |
| Three-hour minimum | For each period of less than three hours worked, the on-call employee is paid for three hours (Article 7:628a(1)) |
These rules cannot be set aside to the employee's detriment, except as the article itself allows (Article 7:628a(12)).
When Must the Employer Offer Fixed Hours?
Each time the contract has lasted 12 months, the employer must within one month offer, in writing or electronically, fixed working hours at least equal to the average hours worked in the preceding 12 months (Article 7:628a(5) of the Dutch Civil Code).
- The fixed hours must start no later than the first day after two months have passed since the 12-month point.
- The employee has one month to accept.
- Contracts that follow each other with gaps of at most six months count together, also with successive employers (Article 7:628a(5) to (7)).
- As long as the employer fails to make the offer, the employee is entitled to wages over the hours that should have been offered (Article 7:628a(8)).
The employee may decline the offer and remain on the min-max contract.
What Is the Presumption of Working Hours?
If an employment contract has lasted at least three months, the agreed work in any month is presumed to equal the average monthly hours in the three preceding months (Article 7:610b of the Dutch Civil Code).
This is a rebuttable presumption. It helps an employee who has regularly worked more than the minimum to claim wages over the higher average when the employer suddenly reduces the calls. The employer can rebut it with evidence of what was actually agreed.
Can a Min-Max Worker Ask for More Predictable Work?
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, such as fixed hours (Article 2b of the Flexible Working Act).
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. Without a timely decision, the form of work is adjusted as requested. See flexible working in the Netherlands.
What Changes for Min-Max Contracts on 1 January 2028?
The Act on more security for flexible workers (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205) enters into force on 1 January 2028. As a rule, every employment contract must then state a fixed number of hours greater than zero (Article 7:628aa), and a flexible range is only possible as a bandwidth contract (Article 7:628ab).
| Topic | Until 31 December 2027 | From 1 January 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Legal form | On-call contract (Article 7:628a(9)) | Bandwidth contract (Article 7:628ab) |
| Maximum | No statutory ceiling | At most 130% of the minimum |
| Period | Freely agreed | Per period of at most a quarter |
| Offer of fixed hours | After 12 months; gaps up to six months count together | After 12 months; gaps up to 36 months count together |
| Four-day call rule | Yes | Yes |
Employees who work on average at most 16 hours a week and are under 18, pupils, students or above state pension age can still agree to more flexible arrangements (Article 7:628ac). For the wider changes for flexible workers, see flexible workers and the 2028 rules.
How Does the Bandwidth Contract Work?
The parties agree a minimum number of hours greater than zero and a maximum, per period of at most a quarter, with the maximum no more than 130% of the minimum (Article 7:628ab(1) of the Dutch Civil Code).
- The employee can only be required to work on the days and at the hours stated in the information the employer must provide (Article 7:628ab(2)(a)).
- The four-day call rule and the right to wages on late cancellation continue to apply; a collective agreement may shorten the four days to no less than 24 hours (Article 7:628ab(2) and (3)).
- Gaps of three hours or less between the hours stated count as hours on which the employee can be required to work (Article 7:628ab(4)).
- After 12 months the employer must offer fixed hours at least equal to the average worked, and contracts that follow each other with gaps of up to 36 months count together (Article 7:628ab(5)).
What Happens to Existing Min-Max Contracts in 2028?
An employment contract that is an on-call contract under the current rules on 1 January 2028 then becomes a bandwidth contract by operation of law (Article 228(1) of the Transitional Act for the new Civil Code, inserted by the Act on more security for flexible workers).
This does not happen if, at that moment, the contract may lawfully deviate under the exceptions for young people, pupils, students and pensioners or for agency work (Articles 7:628ac and 7:691(7)), or if the contract already meets the requirements of a bandwidth contract. For a converted contract, the minimum hours equal the average hours worked in the preceding 12 months, and the first offer of fixed hours is due 12 months after 1 January 2028 (Article 228(2) and (3)). Employers who use min-max contracts should review them before that date.
How Does This Work in Practice?
Take an employee on a contract of 12 to 24 hours a week who has worked on average 18 hours a week over the past year.
- Today: the employer must pay at least 12 hours a week. It can call the employee for up to 24 hours, but a call made less than four days in advance can be refused.
- After 12 months: the employer must offer a contract for at least 18 fixed hours a week. If it fails to do so, the employee can claim wages over 18 hours.
- On 1 January 2028: if no exception applies, the contract becomes a bandwidth contract with a minimum of 18 hours a week, the average of the previous 12 months. A new bandwidth contract would be limited to a maximum of 130% of the minimum, for example 234 hours in a quarter against a minimum of 180 hours.
Which Legal Sources Govern Min-Max Contracts?
- Article 7:628a of the Dutch Civil Code, on-call contracts (current text)
- Article 7:610b of the Dutch Civil Code, presumption of working hours
- Wet flexibel werken, Article 2b, request for more predictable work
- Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205): Articles 7:628aa, 7:628ab and 7:628ac of the Dutch Civil Code and Article 228 of the Transitional Act, in force from 1 January 2028 (2026, 206)