Remote work in the Netherlands: rights, contracts and obligations

There is no general right to work from home in the Netherlands. Under Article 2 of the Flexible Working Act (Wet flexibel werken), an employee with at least 26 weeks of service may request a different place of work, and an employer with ten or more employees must consider that request, consult the employee before refusing and decide in writing; if the employer does not decide at least one month before the requested start date, the request is granted by law.

Once homeworking starts, ordinary employment law continues to apply in full: the employer remains responsible for working conditions, working time, privacy and pay, and the contract should describe the arrangement. This article explains the request procedure, the contract, health and safety, costs, monitoring and cross-border homeworking.

Is there a right to work from home in the Netherlands?

No. Dutch law gives you a right to ask for a different place of work, not a right to get it. The bill for a stronger right (Wet werken waar je wilt), which would have required employers to have weighty business grounds for refusing, was never enacted, so the Flexible Working Act still applies.

How do you make a request?

Under Article 2(1) of the Flexible Working Act, you must have been employed for at least 26 weeks on the intended start date. Under Article 2(3), you submit the request in writing at least two months before that date, stating the start date and the desired place of work. After the employer has granted or refused a request, you can submit a new one after one year.

The procedure does not apply to employers with fewer than ten employees (Article 2(18)). Those employers are still bound by good employership and by any rules in the applicable collective labour agreement (CAO).

When may the employer refuse?

For a request about the place of work, the employer must consider the request and consult you if it intends to refuse (Article 2(6)), and must give the decision and the reasons in writing (Article 2(8)). It does not need the weighty business or service interests (zwaarwegende bedrijfs- of dienstbelangen) that Article 2(5) requires for refusing a change of working hours or working times.

Timing matters for the employer. Under Article 2(12), if the employer has not decided at least one month before the requested start date, the working hours, place of work or working times are adjusted as you requested. This also applies to a request to work from home.

A refusal remains subject to good employership, the prohibition of discrimination and the duty to make adjustments for an employee with a disability or chronic illness. A blanket policy applied without looking at the individual case is where disputes usually start; see our article on disputes about remote work.

What must the employment contract say about remote work?

A remote worker has an ordinary employment contract, with the same statutory protection as office staff. Under Article 7:655 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), the employer must provide the main terms in writing, including the place or places of work.

Under Article 7:655(3) BW, the core information must be provided no later than one week after the start of work and the rest within one month. If there is no fixed place of work, the employer must state that the employee may choose the workplace or works at different locations. Record the agreed number of home working days, equipment, expenses and availability, and update the document when the arrangement changes.

A homeworking arrangement that has been applied for years without a written record can become an employment condition that the employer can no longer change on its own. A CAO may also regulate homeworking directly, for example the number of remote days and an expense allowance.

Does the works council have a say?

Yes, in most cases. Under Article 27(1) of the Works Councils Act (WOR), a regulation on working hours, on the processing of employee personal data or on facilities for monitoring attendance, conduct or performance requires the prior consent of the works council. A homeworking policy usually touches at least one of these subjects, and a policy introduced without consent is void if the council invokes the nullity.

Who is responsible for health and safety at home?

The employer. The Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) applies to the home workplace, and the employer cannot transfer that responsibility by contract; the employee must use the equipment and instructions provided properly.

The Working Conditions Decree (Arbeidsomstandighedenbesluit) contains a lighter regime for location-independent work, so the employer does not have to inspect the living room. The core duties remain: an ergonomically arranged workstation as far as can reasonably be required, information and instruction about working safely at home, and inclusion of homeworking risks in the risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E). Psychosocial workload, such as isolation and constant availability, belongs in that assessment.

The Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) also applies in full: maximum working hours, minimum rest periods and breaks do not change at home. The Netherlands has no statutory right to disconnect, so agree core hours and response times in the contract, the CAO or a policy; see our article on the right to disconnect.

Who pays for the costs of working from home?

There is no statutory duty to pay a homeworking allowance, but many CAOs and contracts provide one. Under the payroll tax rules, the employer may pay a fixed untaxed allowance per day worked at home; the maximum amount is indexed every year and published by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst).

The untaxed homeworking allowance and an untaxed commuting allowance cannot both be paid for the same day. Work equipment such as a screen or chair can often be provided untaxed if the conditions are met. The rest of the pay package is unaffected: the holiday allowance is at least 8% of the salary under Article 15 of the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (WML), and statutory holiday entitlement is at least four times the weekly working hours per year under Article 7:634 BW.

May an employer monitor remote workers?

Only within strict limits. Under the GDPR, monitoring needs a legitimate interest, must be necessary with no less intrusive alternative, and must be proportionate; employee consent is rarely a valid basis because it is seldom given freely.

The employer must announce the monitoring in advance in a policy stating what is monitored, why, who has access and how long data is kept. Systematic monitoring of employees requires a data protection impact assessment (DPIA). Continuous measures such as keystroke logging, regular screenshots or a webcam that must stay on all day reach into the employee’s home and are very hard to justify. Emotion recognition of employees is a prohibited practice under the EU AI Regulation.

The works council must consent to monitoring facilities under Article 27(1)(l) WOR, and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) supervises compliance. For investigating a specific suspicion, see our article on whether your employer can read your emails.

What changes when you work from home across a border?

Three systems apply, and they need not point to the same country: the applicable employment law, social security and immigration. Tax and permanent establishment questions come on top and need a tax adviser.

Employment law. Within the EU, the Rome I Regulation applies. A choice of law cannot deprive the employee of the mandatory protection of the country where the work is habitually carried out. If you habitually work from a home in the Netherlands, Dutch rules on dismissal, minimum wage and working time apply even under a foreign-law contract. See our guide to cross-border employment.

Social security. Under the EU coordination rules, an employee working in two or more member states is insured in the country of residence if at least 25% of the work is performed there. A multilateral framework agreement on cross-border telework, applicable since 1 July 2023 between the signatory states including the Netherlands, allows homeworking in the country of residence for less than 50% of working time while remaining insured in the employer’s state. It only applies on request; the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) handles applications and issues the A1 certificate for the Netherlands.

Immigration. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals may work in the Netherlands without a permit. Under Article 2.38 of the Personal Records Database Act (Wet BRP), anyone expected to stay at least two-thirds of a six-month period must register with the municipality no later than the fifth day after arrival. Other nationals need a residence permit that allows work, for example as a highly skilled migrant through a recognised sponsor; the IND decides on those applications. The Netherlands has no digital nomad visa.

Can the employer end a homeworking arrangement?

Not at will once homeworking has become an employment condition. A unilateral change then requires a written unilateral variation clause and a weighty interest under Article 7:613 BW, or a reasonable proposal that the employee cannot reasonably refuse.

The court weighs the employer’s reason, the proposal offered and the employee’s circumstances; a transition period or a hybrid compromise often makes the change defensible. Working remotely is not a dismissal ground in itself. Ending the employment follows the ordinary Dutch dismissal routes: mutual consent, a UWV permit or dissolution by the subdistrict court (kantonrechter).

What should you check as an employee?

• Check whether you have 26 weeks of service and whether your employer has ten or more employees.
• Submit your request in writing at least two months before the desired start date, stating the place of work and start date.
• Note the date one month before your start date: without a decision by then, your request is granted by law.
• Check your CAO for homeworking days and an expense allowance.
• Ask for the monitoring policy and check whether the works council consented.
• If you live abroad, check how many days you work in your country of residence before you agree.

What should you check as an employer?

• Decide on every request in writing and in time, at least one month before the requested start date.
• Consult the employee before refusing and give written reasons.
• Record the place of work and homeworking days in the written information under Article 7:655 BW.
• Include homeworking risks in the RI&E and provide instructions and suitable equipment.
• Obtain works council consent before introducing a homeworking or monitoring policy.
• For cross-border staff, settle social security, payroll and immigration before the start date.

What can we do for you with remote work?

Our employment lawyers advise employers and employees on homeworking arrangements.

• We review a request under the Flexible Working Act or the employer’s decision on it.
• We draft homeworking clauses and a homeworking policy, including the expenses arrangement.
• We prepare the consent request to the works council for a homeworking or monitoring policy.
• We assess the employment law and social security position of cross-border homeworking.
• We advise on changing or ending an existing homeworking arrangement and conduct the procedure if needed.

Summary

• There is no right to work from home, only a right to request it under Article 2 of the Flexible Working Act (employers with ten or more employees).
• The employer must decide in writing at least one month before the start date; otherwise the request is granted by law.
• Health and safety, working time and privacy rules apply in full at home; monitoring needs works council consent.
• Cross-border homeworking can change the applicable law and social security; the 25% and 50% thresholds matter.
• An established homeworking arrangement can only be changed unilaterally under strict conditions.

Frequently asked questions