The number of people with a call-out or zero hours contract in the Netherlands has risen by 33% over the past five years, the national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday. In total, some 545,000 people have a contract without fixed hours, accounting for about 7% of the jobs on offer. Around half of them are at school or college and under the age of 25. Of the students with a call-out contract, 64% want the flexibility of variable hours. By contrast, just 35% of the 25 to 35-year-olds appreciate the flexibility and around half say they have been unable to get a full-time job with a regular contract. A quarter of the call-out contacts involve working in cafes, restaurants and elsewhere within the hospitality sector. Five years ago, the hospitality sector accounted for one in five call-out jobs. More >
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Dutch unemployment rate drops to 5.8%
The jobless total in the Netherlands fell by 20,000 to 521,000 in August, a bigger drop than in previous months. The decline in benefit claims takes the official unemployment rate in the Netherlands to 5.8%, down from its February 2014 peak of almost 8%. Over the past six months, the number of people without work in the Netherlands fell by 60,000. All age groups benefited from the rise in employment but the improvement was biggest among the over-45s, the national statistics office CBS said. The construction sector and farming booked the biggest drop in unemployment benefit claims. There was a rise in the number of unemployed teachers but this is a season issue due to contracts for a single academic year expiring, the CBS said. More >
High court shreds foreign worker fines
Social affairs minister was wrong to fine five companies for using foreign workers to build a railway bridge over the IJssel river, the Council of State said on Wednesday. Rail operator ProRail, two Dutch companies, a German firm and one from Macedonia were each fined €552,000 after inspectors found 62 workers from Macedonia and Bulgaria working on the project in 2009 and 2010. The social affairs ministry argued the men were employed by the Macedonian firm and should have had a work permit to be employed on projects in the Netherlands. The companies, however, insisted the men were employed via the German firm and did not therefore need a work permit. The Council of State on Wednesday agreed with the reasoning and said the minister had not proved they were employed by the Macedonian company. In addition, the workers had German residency permits which allowed them to travel and work throughout the European Union, the court said. More >
