Elections and the labor market: what to choose?

The Lower House elections are just around the corner. All parties want to intervene substantially in the labor market. For business owners it can therefore be of extra importance to know what political parties think about various labor law issues. A few political plans relevant to employers are highlighted below. The focus is on the major parties.

Increase in minimum wage

As for raising the minimum wage, the major parties agree. The minimum wage must go up. However, the parties differ on how much should be added. This also applies to the question of whether benefits, the level of which is linked to the minimum wage, should also go up. The left-wing parties, PvdA, SP and GroenLinks, have all included 14 euros as the minimum hourly wage in their election program. The amount of 14 euros is the commitment of the FNV. D66 and ChristenUnie favor an increase in percent: minimum 10 percent and maximum 20 percent. VVD and PVV do not mention amounts or percentages, only that the minimum wage should go up. CDA advocates a 10 percent increase for a 40-hour work week. A large number of benefits, such as AOW and welfare, are linked to the minimum wage. If that rises, benefits rise with it. The left-wing parties and the Christian Union want to maintain this link. CDA, D66 and VVD only partially.

Fixed contract the norm, brake on flexible forms of contract

Almost all parties favor the permanent contract as a starting point. They are taking a variety of measures to make the permanent contract more attractive. At the same time, most parties want to curb the use of flexible contracts. FvD, on the other hand, advocates flexibilization of the labor market in which freedom of choice is central. GroenLinks, PvdA, ChristenUnie and PvdA believe that contract forms such as payrolling, contracting and on-call contracts should be abolished. SP even calls for the end of all "precarious contracts. VVD is the most explicit that all contract forms should remain possible.

All parties agree that the legal status of the self-employed needs to be strengthened. Parties want to reduce tax differences between employees and self-employed workers to prevent people from becoming self-employed or working with self-employed workers for the wrong reasons. The Rutte-III cabinet had already started to phase out the self-employed deduction. GroenLinks, PvdA, D66, ChristenUnie and CDA want to phase out to the point that working people are treated equally fiscally. VVD, CDA and D66 do believe that the other side of the coin of treating flex and zzp more strictly is that the permanent contract must become less rigid.

Retraining and development

Most parties do see something in individual learning rights, a personal development budget or a learning account. The question of how this should be organized (financially) is currently still unclear. Some parties push for a statutory system, while others place the responsibility with social partners. The VVD, PvdA, CDA and ChristenUnie believe that employers should at least also contribute financially. The details of this are not yet known. In any case, the VVD wants the tax exemption for employers to be adjusted accordingly. According to the CDA, development and retraining should become an integral part of employment contracts and collective bargaining negotiations.

Payroll continuation during illness

The parties agree that the sick pay obligation should be less onerous for employers. CDA, SGP, and FvD advocate limiting the duration of continued payment of wages; ChristenUnie, SP, PvdA, and D66 want to accommodate SMEs in particular. The VVD also wants to reduce the wage payment obligation to one year only for small employers. Most other parties see collective disability insurance as a solution for the second year of illness. The VVD and the PvdA believe that the government should compensate small employers/SMEs for the second year of illness.

Dismissal easing

To make offering permanent contracts more attractive, the VVD and the CDA want to "simplify" the dismissal law. For example, the VVD wants an employer who does not renew a contract within the first year not to have to pay a transition fee. The CDA also wants a simpler arrangement for severance payments. FvD believes that dismissal law should be relaxed for SMEs. The SGP is in favor of easing dismissal for small businesses. The Christian Union, SP, PvdA and PVV believe that the current dismissal protection should remain intact, and thus are of the opinion that the dismissal law should not be relaxed. DENK even advocates strengthening dismissal protection.

Work-life balance

Work-life balance is a prominent issue for many parties. The home working revolution resulting from the corona crisis plays an important role in this. Parties are especially concerned about the pressure on employees to combine different responsibilities, especially now that digitalization makes the division between work and private life less clear. Some parties seek a solution in granting additional leave. For example, the CDA advocates bereavement leave, extra calamity leave, volunteer leave and informal care leave. ChristenUnie joins in and is also pushing for statutory training leave. GroenLinks wants to expand short-term care leave and parental leave and is committed to paid long-term care leave. PvdA joins the plea for longer parental leave and for bereavement leave. DENK bets on more generous paid care leave, PvdD on longer parental leave. VVD especially wants to bring together different types of leave.

Another way to improve work-life balance is to give employees more control over working hours. For example, GroenLinks advocates giving employees rights to determine their own workplace for part of the time. GroenLinks and PvdA also favor a legal right to be unavailable. D66 and CDA, on the other hand, point to the collective bargaining agreement as the place to regulate this.

Reducing unemployment benefits

CDA list leader Hoekstra announced last week that the party thinks it is time to shorten the WW to one year. Both government and opposition parties are falling over Hoekstra's proposal. Especially the timing, given the corona crisis, does not go down well with the other parties.

We will certainly not venture into voting advice. If you do not yet know which party you will vote for on March 17, this blog may help you in your choice.

For more information, please refer to the parties' election manifestos.