Booking can compel staff to spend two days in the office: court

A court has ruled that travel website Booking.com can compel its staff to spend at least two days a week in the office, settling a dispute with the company’s works council.

The decision was widely expected after the judge remarked at an earlier hearing that requiring employees to spend 40% of their contracted hours on site was “very normal”.

Just over a quarter of Booking.com’s 7,000 staff currently travel to its head office in Amsterdam twice a week. The company had advised its workers to spend two days in the office to promote better workplace relations, training and efficient working practices.

But when bosses tried to make the two-day guideline a mandatory requirement, the works council objected. It said the impact on people’s work-life balance, commuting times and travel costs was too great and questioned whether it would lead to improved performance.

The judge said the company had taken employees’ concerns into account and responded by introducing a six-month transition period and deciding to set the minimum office time at 40% rather than 50% or 60%.

Booking said it welcomed the judgment, pointing out that the two-day rule was not a new measure but a “strengthening of our current policy”.

“We value the relationship with our works council and will continue to hold constructive dialogue with them and our employees as we roll this policy out further,” a spokesman said.

Employment lawyer Pascal Besselink told RTL Nieuws other companies that wanted staff to spend more time in the office would be studying the judgment closely.

“They will always strive to maintain a good relationship with their employees and works council and consult thoroughly on arrangements about home working,” he said.