Bill to Provide Greater Security for Flexible Workers Passed by the House of Representatives

On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, the House of Representatives approved the bill “Greater Security for Flex Workers.” This marks a major step toward labor market reform. The aim of the law is to provide flex workers with greater security regarding income, working hours, and employment conditions, and to ensure greater flexibility for employers. If the Senate also approves the bill, the law is expected to take effect on January 1, 2028. In this article, we outline the most important changes in the law.

Stricter rules for temporary contracts

A key principle of the bill is that temporary contracts should once again be intended for temporary work. Employers will therefore have less leeway to deploy employees on a flexible basis for extended periods.

The current option to offer a new temporary contract after a six-month break will be significantly tightened. The House of Representatives has determined that after three temporary contracts, a new temporary contract may only be offered after three years. In the original bill, this period was even five years.

End of zero-hour contracts: introduction of the bandwidth contract

The bill replaces zero-hour contracts with so-called bandwidth contracts. In these contracts, the employer and employee agree on a minimum and maximum number of hours, with the maximum not exceeding 130% of the minimum.

This means, for example, that with a minimum of 10 hours, an employee can be scheduled for a maximum of 13 hours. The employee may refuse calls for work exceeding that maximum. In addition, employers must offer a contract with more hours if the employee consistently works more than what is contractually agreed upon.

The House of Representatives has only amended the law to ensure that on-call contracts remain an option for young people, high school students, students with part-time jobs, and those eligible for the State Pension (AOW).

Greater protection for temporary workers

In addition to the new collective labor agreement for temporary workers, which has been in effect since January 1, 2026, this law also provides temporary workers with greater protection. They are entitled to terms and conditions of employment that are at least equivalent to those of regular employees. Equal pay was already required based on a ruling by the European Court of Justice, but this is now enshrined in Dutch law.

Additionally, the phases of temporary work during which you can be dismissed on a daily basis or have no certainty regarding the number of working hours are being shortened from one and a half years to one year.

Although the law still needs to be considered by the Senate, it is clear that employers must prepare in a timely manner. Organizations that rely heavily on on-call workers, temporary contracts, or temporary agency workers will face stricter rules and less flexibility. It is therefore advisable for employers to take a critical look at this now.