Netherlands: strict conditions for the reduction of working time and partial unemployment

In order to prevent all kinds of abuses, the government announced, on November 24, 2008, rather strict modalities so companies could be assisted in reducing working time or even forcing their employees into partial unemployment when faced with economic troubles. (Ref. 080934)
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This “assistance in reducing working time”
plan was discussed between the social partners over the past few weeks (see our
dispatch No. 080871
) to avoid mass layoffs in the sectors most badly affected
by the crisis, following a proposition presented on October 17 by the Federation
of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV). The union was asking for the establishment of measures of “temporary
dismissal” to enable businesses to
remove their employees from the company’s workforce for a few weeks with no
pay. The

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