On-call contracts under Dutch law: the current rules and the changes from 1 January 2028

An on-call contract (oproepovereenkomst) is an employment contract without one fixed number of hours, such as a zero-hours or min-max contract. Until 31 December 2027, Article 7:628a of the Dutch Civil Code protects on-call workers with a minimum of three hours' pay per call in certain cases, the right to refuse calls made less than four days in advance, pay when a call is cancelled late, and an offer of fixed hours after 12 months. From 1 January 2028, under the Act on more security for flexible workers, most employees must have a fixed number of hours or a bandwidth contract; on-call contracts remain possible only for employees working on average at most 16 hours a week who are under 18, pupils, students or of state pension age.

On-call contracts in the Netherlands at a glance

• What it is: a contract in which the hours are not fixed as one number per period, or in which the employee is only paid for hours actually worked (Article 7:628a(9)).
• Minimum pay per call: at least three hours' pay for each period of work of less than three hours, where the contract is on-call or for less than 15 hours a week without fixed times (Article 7:628a(1)).
• Four days: the employee need not respond to a call made less than four days in advance, and keeps the wages if a call is cancelled or changed within four days (Article 7:628a(2) and (3)).
• After 12 months: the employer must offer fixed hours at least equal to the average of the past 12 months (Article 7:628a(5)).
• From 1 January 2028: on-call only within the exception of Article 7:628ac; otherwise fixed hours (Article 7:628aa) or a bandwidth contract (Article 7:628ab).

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What Is an On-Call Contract Under Dutch Law?

An on-call contract exists if the working hours are not laid down as one number of hours per period of at most a month (or per period of at most a year with wages spread evenly), or if the employee is only entitled to wages for the hours actually worked (Article 7:628a(9) of the Dutch Civil Code).

In practice this covers the zero-hours contract (nulurencontract), in which no minimum is agreed, and the min-max contract (min-maxcontract), in which a minimum and a higher maximum are agreed. It also covers a contract with a fixed number of hours in which the employer has excluded the obligation to pay wages for hours not worked. The on-call worker is a normal employee: the minimum wage, holiday, holiday allowance and dismissal protection apply in full. These rules cannot be set aside to the employee's disadvantage (Article 7:628a(12)).

See also zero-hours contracts and min-max contracts.

Is an On-Call Worker Paid for a Minimum Number of Hours per Call?

Yes. If the contract is an on-call contract, or provides for less than 15 hours a week without fixed working times, the employee is entitled to at least three hours' wages for each period of work of less than three hours (Article 7:628a(1)).

An employer who calls an employee in for one hour therefore pays three hours. This protects employees against very short calls that are hardly worth the journey.

How Does the Four-Day Rule Work?

The employee does not have to respond to a call if the employer did not announce the working times in writing or electronically at least four days in advance (Article 7:628a(2)). If the employer withdraws or changes a call within four days of the start, the employee keeps the right to the wages for the hours of the original call (Article 7:628a(3)).

• The employee may still accept a call made at shorter notice; the rule protects the right to say no.
• A withdrawal or change of a call must be made in writing or electronically.
• A collective agreement can shorten the four days, but not to less than 24 hours (Article 7:628a(4)).
• For certain seasonal jobs that can only be done for at most nine months a year because of climatic or natural circumstances, a collective agreement can exclude these rules and the fixed-hours offer (Article 7:628a(11)).

When Must the Employer Offer Fixed Hours?

Each time the contract has lasted 12 months, the employer must within one month make a written or electronic offer of fixed hours, at least equal to the average hours worked over those 12 months (Article 7:628a(5)).

• The fixed hours start at the latest on the first day after two months have passed since the 12-month point.
• The employee has one month to accept; accepting is not compulsory.
• Successive contracts with gaps of at most six months count together, also with successive employers (Article 7:628a(5) to (7)).
• If the employer does not make the offer, the employee is entitled to wages over the hours that should have been offered for as long as the failure lasts (Article 7:628a(8)).

Which Presumptions Protect On-Call Workers?

Two statutory presumptions help an on-call worker prove their position. The employee may rely on them; the employer can rebut them.

• Employment contract: a person who works for another for pay for three consecutive months, weekly or for at least 20 hours a month, is presumed to work under an employment contract (Article 7:610a).
• Contracted hours: if an employment contract has lasted at least three months, the agreed work in any month is presumed to equal the average monthly work in the three preceding months (Article 7:610b).

The second presumption is often used by on-call workers whose hours are reduced: they can claim wages based on their average hours, and the employer must then show that fewer hours were agreed.

Can an On-Call Worker Ask for More Predictable Work?

Yes. An employee who has worked for the employer for at least 26 weeks can ask in writing for a form of work with more predictable and secure working conditions, for example a contract with 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. If the employer does not decide in time, the form of work is adjusted as requested. See flexible working in the Netherlands.

What Changes for On-Call 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 for these rules (Bulletin 2026, 206). As a rule, an employment contract must then state one number of hours greater than zero per period of at most a year (Article 7:628aa(1)).

A contract that does not state fixed hours when it should is treated as a contract for the average weekly hours worked in the three preceding months (Article 7:628aa(5)). For the rules on chains of temporary contracts, which also change, see the chain rule.

What Happens to Existing On-Call Contracts on 1 January 2028?

An employment contract that on 1 January 2028 qualifies as an on-call contract under the old rules (Article 7:628a(9) and (10)) becomes a bandwidth contract within the meaning of Article 7:628ab(1) by operation of law from that date (Article 228 of the Transitional Act for the new Civil Code, inserted by the Act on more security for flexible workers).

• Exceptions: the conversion does not apply if on that date a derogation is permitted under Article 7:628ac(5), (7) or (9), or under Article 7:691(7), or if the contract already meets the conditions of Article 7:628ab(1) and (2)(a) (Article 228(1)).
• Minimum hours: the minimum equals the average hours worked in the 12 preceding months; for a contract that has lasted less than 12 months, the average over the originally agreed remaining term. Contracts that followed each other with gaps of at most six months count together (Article 228(3)).
• First offer of fixed hours: for converted contracts, the employer makes its first offer under Article 7:628ab(5) 12 months after 1 January 2028 (Article 228(2)).

Who Can Still Work on an On-Call Contract From 2028?

From 1 January 2028, the fixed-hours requirement can be departed from in writing only for employees who work on average at most 16 hours a week for the employer and who are under 18, a pupil or a student while enrolled, or of state pension age (Article 7:628ac(1) and (9)).

• For these employees, a written agreement can still exclude the obligation to pay wages for hours not worked during the first six months of the contract (Article 7:628ac(5)).
• If the employee no longer meets the conditions, for example because they finish their studies or work more than 16 hours a week on average, the contract becomes a bandwidth contract from that moment.
• The minimum hours of that bandwidth contract equal the average hours worked in the preceding 12 months, or since the start if the contract is shorter (Article 7:628ac(10)).

What Should Employers With On-Call Workers Do Now?

1. Make an inventory of all on-call, zero-hours and min-max contracts, and of the average hours actually worked.
2. Check which employees will fall within the exception of Article 7:628ac from 2028 and which will not.
3. For the others, prepare fixed-hours or bandwidth contracts in time for 1 January 2028.
4. Keep complying with the current rules until then: the three-hour minimum, the four-day rule and the 12-month offer.
5. Check the collective agreement, which may shorten the four-day term or contain its own rules.

Temporary agency work has its own rules, which also change in 2028; see temporary agency work. For fixed-term contracts in general, see fixed-term and permanent contracts.

Which Legal Sources Govern On-Call Contracts?

• Article 7:628a of the Dutch Civil Code, on-call contracts
• Articles 7:610a and 7:610b of the Dutch Civil Code, presumptions of an employment contract and of the contracted hours
• Wet flexibel werken, Article 2b, request for more predictable working conditions
• Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205), Articles 7:628a, 7:628aa, 7:628ab and 7:628ac as of 1 January 2028; entry into force Bulletin 2026, 206
• Article 228 of the Transitional Act for the new Civil Code (inserted by the Act on more security for flexible workers, Article V), conversion of existing on-call contracts