Amsterdam: The Dutch government's move to make work from home a 'legal right' is in its final stages. The lower house of the Dutch Parliament passed the amendment in this regard. Foreign media reported that work from home will become a legal right if approved by the Senate.
With the passage of the law, the Netherlands will become one of the first countries to establish work from home as a 'legal right'. The government is making a move to make work from home a legal right by amending the Flexible Working Act of 2015, which allows for seasonal changes in working hours.
As long as the employers allow, the facility to work from home will be available. Under current law, an employer can reject a request to allow work from home. However, with the new law coming into effect, the employer must explain the reason and circumstances for rejecting the demand. Employers must provide a clear explanation for rejecting work-from-home requests from employees.
The Netherlands is one of the leading countries in protecting and enforcing workers' rights. Last month, the authorities had instructed government employees to work only four days a week with the aim of increasing efficiency. However, people came forward for and against this decision. The reason for the opposition was the government's proposal to deduct the salary for non-working days along with the order that four days of work is enough.
The Netherlands is moving to make work from home a 'legal right' when various companies are ending the work from home system to recover from the Covid crisis. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had instructed the workers to return to the office or else they would be fired. With the ultimatum, the employees started returning to the company.
