Fewer calls to work, no pay or uncertainty about your contract?
With a zero-hours contract or a min-max contract, you may be entitled to pay and to more certainty about your hours. Arslan Advocaten assesses your calls to work, your contract and your collective labour agreement, and helps you with a concrete claim.
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Written by Onur Arslan, employment lawyer at Arslan Advocaten. Updated on 20 September 2026.
If you work under an on-call contract, a zero-hours contract or a min-max contract, a number of specific rules apply in addition to the ordinary rules of employment law: on calls to work and cancellations, on the number of hours that belong to your contract and on pay when there is no work. This page brings those topics together, with for each question the article in which it is explained in full.
No longer being called in?
Stopping calling you in is not a dismissal: as long as your employment contract runs, it continues to exist. The question is then whether you receive pay for the hours during which you were available, and whether after twelve months you were entitled to an offer of fixed hours.
- When may your employer stop calling you in?
- No offer of fixed hours after twelve months of on-call work
- May your employer send a message saying you no longer need to come in?
Call cancelled or schedule changed
Under an on-call agreement, a written or electronic notice period of four days in principle applies to a call to work. A collective labour agreement can shorten that period to no less than 24 hours. If the call is withdrawn or changed within the applicable period, you remain entitled to pay for the original call. The rule of at least three hours’ pay per call applies if you have agreed on fewer than fifteen hours a week without fixed working times, or if the scope of your work has not been laid down, or not unambiguously.
How many hours belong to your contract?
After at least three months, the legal presumption of working hours can help: the agreed working hours are presumed to equal the average of the three preceding months. Your employer can rebut this presumption, for example if that period was not representative. This is a different claim from the offer of fixed hours after twelve months.
- The legal presumption for on-call workers
- The legal presumption of working hours explained
- Claiming fixed hours for structural extra work
Sick with an on-call contract
In the event of illness, your entitlements depend on your contract, the call period, your guaranteed or usual hours and the collective labour agreement. An empty schedule does not automatically rule out continued payment of wages. Report sick in accordance with the arrangements and keep the calls to work and schedules from before your sickness report.
- Sick with a zero-hours contract and entitled to continued payment of wages
- Reporting sick as a part-timer
Min-max contract
Under a min-max contract you have a guaranteed number of hours and an upper limit. The on-call rules apply to the hours above the minimum; for the guaranteed hours you simply receive your wages.
Giving notice and the notice period
For an employee with a zero-hours contract, the notice period on termination is in principle the call period: four days, or the shorter period under the collective labour agreement. That special short period does not automatically apply to every min-max contract. Under a temporary contract, termination before the end date must also be permitted. The employer is subject to different termination rules.
Wages that have not been paid
You claim hours that were worked but not paid per payment date. The statutory increase and statutory interest may be added to that.
What will change in the coming years?
The rules for on-call contracts are being overhauled. What will change, from when, and what that means for current contracts is set out here.
Help with a concrete dispute
Is it about wages that have not been paid, a contract that is ending or an employer who does not respond? Then take a look at our help with employment law. The first consultation is free of charge and without obligation.
Which on-call contract do you have?
- Zero-hours contract: no fixed hours have been agreed. Even so, calls to work, structural deployment and the statutory rules can give rise to claims to pay and to fixed working hours.
- Min-max contract: the minimum is guaranteed. The on-call rules may apply to additional work and to changes in calls. Working structurally above the minimum may be a reason to have your working hours assessed.
- Preliminary agreement: you agree on the conditions under which you may come to work. Accepting a call to work can create a separate employment contract. The chain rule and successive contracts may then also be relevant.
- On-call work through a temporary employment agency: in addition to the on-call rules, the temporary employment contract, the collective labour agreement, the phase and the agency clause may be decisive. In that case, also look at your rights as a temporary agency worker.
The title above your contract is not decisive. We also look at the arrangements and at how you actually work. For pupils and students we also have an overview of employment law for a side job.
No offer of fixed hours after twelve months?
Under an on-call agreement, the main rule is that after twelve months the employer must make a written or electronic offer of fixed hours within one month. That offer must at least match the average working hours in the preceding twelve months. There are statutory exceptions. Whether your agreement is legally an on-call agreement must also be established.
You may reject the offer. If you do, other claims, such as the legal presumption after three months, may remain relevant. If no offer or too low an offer was made, a wage claim may arise. So keep your contracts and all hours worked over the preceding year.
How we deal with your question
- Checking time limits and the contract. Is the contract still in force? Is there illness, a dismissal or an outstanding call? We determine what needs immediate attention.
- Substantiating hours and pay. We compare the agreed, called, worked and paid hours. For a legal presumption we look at a representative period; for the annual offer, at the twelve-month period.
- Formulating the claim. We discuss whether you should ask for a schedule, fixed hours, payment or an explanation about termination. With wage arrears, we also assess the increase and interest.
- Choosing the right next step. That may be consultation, a written demand or, if necessary, proceedings. You receive an explanation of the costs and of the balance between interest and risk in advance.
Bring this to the first consultation
- Your contract, extensions and the applicable collective labour agreement if you have one.
- Schedules, payslips and your record of hours, preferably covering the last twelve months.
- Calls to work and cancellations with the date and time of the message.
- Any offer of fixed hours and your response to it.
- Messages about illness, availability or the ending of the work.
Costs and accessibility
The first consultation is free of charge and without obligation. Further assistance is not automatically free. We discuss the fee arrangements in advance and look at whether legal expenses insurance or subsidised legal aid is possible. A legal aid certificate (toevoeging) depends on, among other things, your income, assets and the case, and may involve a personal contribution.
You can visit our offices in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Tilburg and Eindhoven. Assistance in Dutch, Turkish, Polish and English is available. Discuss your on-call contract or call 070 450 0300.
Frequently asked questions from on-call workers
Is no longer being called in the same as dismissal?
No. The contract does not automatically end as a result. Whether wages remain payable depends on, among other things, your agreement, fixed or usual hours, previous calls to work and any valid exclusion of continued payment of wages.
Do I always get three hours’ pay if I work briefly?
That minimum entitlement applies if the working hours have not been laid down, or not unambiguously, or if fewer than fifteen hours a week have been agreed without fixed working times. It is not a general rule for every short shift of every employee.
Do fixed hours mean that I also get a permanent contract?
No. Fixed working hours concern the number of hours. A contract for an indefinite period concerns the duration of your employment. For that duration, the chain rule and special rules for temporary agency work may be relevant, among other things.
Have zero-hours contracts already been abolished?
No. Assess your current rights according to the rules that apply now. We deal with the announced changes from 2028 and the exceptions for certain groups separately in the article on the new flexible work act.
Legal sources
This page is based on Book 7, Title 10 of the Civil Code, including article 7:610b on the legal presumption, article 7:628a on on-call agreements and article 7:672 on notice periods. The applicable collective labour agreement and statutory exceptions must always be taken into account. See also the Dutch government’s explanation of on-call contracts.