Employers who help sacked workers to find a new job should be rewarded by paying lower unemployment benefit premiums, while firms that are lax in this area should pay higher premiums, says Christian Democrat MP Eddy van Hijum in today’s Volkskrant.

Van Hijum says his proposal is in line with the plans that of his party’s social services minister who wants to reform redundancy laws.
The government’s socio-economic advisory council (SER) – which includes representatives from employers’ organisations and trade unions – made a similar recommendation in 2005.