New legislation on redundancy and flexible employment has failed to boost jobs security for temps as it was supposed to do, according to research by labour market lawyers.

The new laws were introduced by Lodewijk Asscher a year ago and were aimed at encouraging companies to give more staff permanent contracts. However, the rules are so rigid that companies are actually being discouraged from taking on staff, according to the research, which involved over 1,000 lawyers and other specialists.

Employers had warned before the new law came into effect that it would not achieve its aims.

The new rules reduce the legal differences between traditional and temporary staff and give temps more rights to severance pay and a permanent contract. In particular, temps who have had three contracts in two years are entitled to a permanent job.

The research by lawyers’ organisations VAAN and VvA shows that the number of requests made in court to sack staff have roughly halved since the new laws were introduced and temporary staff are losing contracts more often.

The chairman of small firms’ organisation MKB-Nederland told the Financieele Dagblad the new rules are a ‘major confirmation’ of the earlier criticism.

Asscher has promised to make changes and ‘constructive’ talks are under way, MKB chairman Michaël van Straalen told the paper.