Netherlands: collective agreements contain more and more provisions on flexible working hours and telework

A report published on April 23rd by the Department for Labor and Social Affairs shows that the possibilities of working from home are booming as part of collective agreements. From only 6% in 2007, the part of employees working from home one or several days a week went up to 15% in 2008. The increase should be the same in 2010, since unions and employers met within a workgroup on mobility (Taskforce Mobiliteit) to recommend telework as a solution to the daily problem of traffic congestion in the Netherlands. In addition, 150 large businesses committed, at the end of 2008, to promote telework, at the rate of at least two days a week (see our dispatch No. 090043). 
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tion to the daily problem of traffic congestion in the Netherlands. In addition, 150 large businesses committed, at the end of 2008, to promote telework, at the rate of at least two days a week (see our dispatch No. 090043).

The recent report of the Department of Labor and Social Affairs covers 115 collective agreements (CAOs), i.e. 5 million employees out of an active population of 9 million. Clauses for more flexible working time, with an a la carte schedule, now affect 16% of employees. “The

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