Zero-hours contracts and the new flexible work act from 2028

Reference date: 16 September 2026

The rules for zero-hours contracts will change on 1 January 2028. This follows from the published commencement decree for the More Security for Flexible Workers Act (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers). The main rule will become an employment contract with a fixed number of hours greater than zero or a capped range-of-hours contract. For school pupils and students with limited average working hours, among others, there will remain room for on-call work under certain conditions.

Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 17 September 2026.

On 16 September 2026, zero-hours contracts have therefore not yet been generally prohibited by this new act. Your current rights to wages, call-in protection and an offer of fixed hours remain important in the meantime. Waiting for the new rules may mean that you leave existing entitlements unused.

In this article you will read which dates have been set, what a range of 130% means, how the student exception is worded and what to look out for when you receive a proposal to amend your contract.

What is the current state of the legislation

The Senate (Eerste Kamer) passed the More Security for Flexible Workers Act on 7 July 2026. The act was published in the Bulletin of Acts and Decrees (Staatsblad) 2026, 205. The separate decree setting the commencement dates was published in Staatsblad 2026, 206. As a result, the discussion can no longer be based solely on old plans or earlier target dates.

The various parts do not all enter into force at the same time. According to the decree, the amendments to the Dutch Civil Code concerning on-call contracts, temporary agency contracts and the rules on successive fixed-term contracts take effect on 1 January 2028. Certain amendments to the Waadi, the Dutch act on the placement of workers by intermediaries, concerning workers made available to others start earlier.

This timeline is based on the published commencement decree. For your contract, it must also be examined which transitional law or exception applies. A headline about new flexible work rules from 2027 therefore does not automatically tell you when your zero-hours contract will change.

What rights do you already have until then

With a zero-hours contract you already have an employment contract and statutory protection. The employer must take into account the call-in notice period, wages for protected cancellations and the conditions for a minimum of three hours’ pay. During illness, existing call-ins and the actual scope of your work can provide a basis for wages.

After at least three months of employment, the legal presumption of working hours can help to substantiate structural hours. After twelve months of on-call work, there is in principle a mandatory offer of fixed hours. These rules were not devised only for 2028 and may not be postponed because new legislation is on its way.

Under current law, a written exclusion of the ordinary obligation to continue paying wages is only possible subject to conditions. Current dismissal law also continues to apply. Your employer cannot end the employment solely by removing your name from the schedule. Read more about this in no longer being called in with a zero-hours contract.

The new main rule is a fixed number of hours above zero

The new Article 7:628aa of the Dutch Civil Code is based on a single agreed number of hours greater than zero, per unit of time of no more than one year. Where the hours are set over a period longer than one month, additional rules apply, including an even spread of wages and arrangements that provide certainty about availability.

In addition, Article 7:628ab of the Dutch Civil Code introduces a range-of-hours contract. This allows flexibility to be retained, but within a limited ratio between minimum and maximum hours. The employer must therefore set out more clearly how much work and pay is guaranteed as a minimum and how much additional work can be requested.

These main rules are subject to statutory exceptions. The new act also contains a rule for contracts that, contrary to the requirements, do not have a correct fixed number of hours above zero. In that case, an average number of working hours with a statutory floor may apply. An employer therefore cannot simply avoid the new protection by continuing to use an incorrect contract.

What does a maximum of 130 per cent mean

Under a range-of-hours contract, the maximum may not exceed 130% of the minimum over the same unit of time. The minimum must be greater than zero and the unit of time is no more than one quarter. A maximum of 130% means that no more than thirty per cent on top of the minimum falls within the agreed range.

Fictitious example. With a minimum of twenty hours per week, the maximum under this main rule can be no more than twenty-six hours per week. A contract of twenty to forty hours does not fit within that. What matters is the ratio within the same unit of calculation, not an arbitrary percentage of your old wages.

A smaller difference is permitted; 130% is an upper limit. The rules on working hours and agreed availability also remain relevant. More certainty about the minimum does not mean that any maximum schedule can be imposed without further conditions.

Availability is capped more specifically

The new rules link the possibility of being called in to days and hours specified in advance. The employee cannot be required to work outside those specified times. Moreover, the specified availability may not comprise more hours than the agreed maximum. This is intended to prevent a limited contract from nonetheless requiring almost full availability.

Protection against a call-in that comes too late or is withdrawn also remains in place under the range-of-hours regime. The main period is four days, which can be shortened by a collective labour agreement (cao) to at least twenty-four hours. Specific seasonal exceptions must be checked separately.

For a student with lectures on fixed days, the combination of guaranteed hours and clear availability is important in practice. Discuss not only the total number of hours, but also when the work can be requested. A financially attractive minimum can still be difficult to fit in if availability is recorded unclearly.

The exception for school pupils and students

The new Article 7:628ac of the Dutch Civil Code contains an exception where the average amount of work performed for the employer is no more than sixteen hours per week and the employee belongs to one of the listed groups. The act lists minors, school pupils, students and employees who have reached state pension (AOW) age.

For school pupils and students, enrolment at an educational institution as defined by law is important. The published text lists various Dutch educational institutions and comparable institutions within the European Economic Area. It is therefore not simply a matter of someone stating that they occasionally take a course alongside their work.

The student category in this published provision does not simply have a general upper age limit of 27. Age and educational status must be assessed according to the correct statutory category. Old news reports or general terms such as youth contract may therefore misrepresent the conditions.

A student who meets the conditions can, under the statutory rules, agree in writing to terms that differ from what the general main rule of hours above zero prescribes. This means that on-call work will not disappear for every student. Nor does it mean that every business may treat anyone with a small side job as an exempt student.

Sixteen hours is a condition, not a label

The act looks at the average work actually performed for the employer. A contract that states sixteen hours on paper while someone structurally works much more is therefore not simply sufficient. The actual work performed and the way in which the applicable average is determined must be checked.

Fictitious example. An enrolled student works at a shop for an average of twelve hours per week. That situation may fall within the student exception. If the same student structurally works twenty-four hours per week, he does not meet the limit of no more than sixteen hours on that ground alone. His enrolment by itself does not exempt the higher workload.

An occasional busy holiday week must be placed carefully within the applicable calculation of the average. Do not conclude from a single week that every right immediately changes, but do not ignore prolonged extra work either. Keep records of hours worked and arrangements about holiday periods, so that the facts remain verifiable.

What happens after graduation or if you work more

The new act also regulates what happens when the relevant conditions are no longer met. For the situations described there, Article 7:628ac(10) of the Dutch Civil Code provides that the contract will from that moment be treated as a range-of-hours contract. The minimum number of hours is then based on the average work performed over the preceding twelve months or, in the case of shorter employment, the period since it began.

Graduation, the end of the relevant enrolment or a change in working hours must therefore be taken seriously. Ask the employer which date and calculation he uses. Keeping the old name student contract does not change the facts.

A statutory transition from one type of contract to another is no reason to unknowingly give up your length of service, accrued holiday or earlier wage claims. Compare any proposed new document with the existing contract. A new administrative form should not automatically mean a fresh start for all your rights.

What happens to existing zero-hours contracts

The act contains specific transitional law in Article 228 of the Transitional Act for the new Dutch Civil Code (Overgangswet nieuw Burgerlijk Wetboek). On entry into force, existing on-call contracts in principle fall under a conversion rule to the new range-of-hours regime, unless a listed exception applies or the contract already meets the relevant new requirements.

For the minimum number of hours, the average work performed over the preceding twelve months plays a role. For contracts that have existed for a shorter period, the transitional text contains a different calculation rule. That rule is not simply the same as the rule that applies when a student exception later ceases to apply. So make sure the two situations are kept separate.

This makes keeping your rosters in 2027 important for the transition on 1 January 2028. If you receive a conversion proposal, ask for the full calculation of hours and the statutory basis. An employer cannot simply introduce a lower minimum of its own choosing on the grounds that the law requires a new contract.

Will the offer after twelve months remain

The new act retains an offer scheme for a fixed number of hours within the range-of-hours regime. After twelve months, an offer must in principle be made within one month that reflects the average hours over the relevant period. The new rules also attach consequences if the employer fails to meet this obligation.

For the statutory conversion of existing contracts and for cases where an exception ceases to apply, the act contains rules on the first new moment at which an offer must be made. So calculate that moment on the basis of the correct transitional provision. The old start date may be important, but does not in every situation directly give the first date under the new regime.

Meanwhile, existing entitlements under the current offer scheme must be assessed under the law that applied in the relevant period. The arrival of a new scheme does not retroactively make an offer that was not made earlier correct. So keep older wage claims separate in your file.

What changes for temporary agency workers

In addition to on-call work, the act also changes temporary agency work. The published text includes, among other things, changes to the period during which the special temporary agency regime applies and to the subsequent contract phase. Invoking the temporary agency clause during illness will also be limited by law. These changes have their own conditions and transitional law.

The statutory rules on equivalent terms of employment are also being amended. According to the decree, that part takes effect on 31 December 2026. Do not confuse that statutory date with arrangements that already apply earlier under an applicable cao.

The collective labour agreement for temporary agency workers 2026–2028, for example, already contains arrangements on equivalent terms of employment. A temporary agency worker should therefore already have it assessed now which cao applies and what entitlements follow from it. You can submit your situation via our page on rights and help for temporary agency workers.

The rules on successive contracts and special exceptions

The new act extends the general interval that breaks a chain of fixed-term contracts to 36 months. That is the published final text; older information about a proposed period of five years does not describe the final rules. Exceptions exist for specific groups and situations.

For example, the act contains a derogation for certain school pupils and students with an average working time of no more than sixteen hours per week. Transitional law for fixed-term contracts already entered into and existing cao deviations is also relevant. A chain of contracts must therefore be assessed on the basis of dates and documents.

Separate transitional law applies to certain work in a private household that is paid from a personal budget (persoonsgebonden budget). The later date referred to there cannot be before 2030. That exception may not be generalised to all care workers or all students working in care.

What questions to ask about a new contract proposal

Ask your employer to state in writing whether the proposal concerns a voluntary change, a current offer of fixed hours or a future statutory conversion. Have the start date and the statutory provision used named. That information determines which calculation you need to check and whether consent is required for other changes.

Then ask which hours are guaranteed as a minimum, how the maximum has been calculated and on which days you must be available. If the student exception is relied upon, it must be clear which educational status and average workload are assumed. Also check whether the proposal changes anything about your hourly wage, holiday allowance, term or earlier entitlements.

Keep the version offered to you before you respond. If only a digital accept button is available, first ask for a readable copy of all the terms. A practical adjustment to the roster administration and an amendment to your employment contract should be clearly distinguishable from each other.

What you can do now

Keep your contracts, payslips and rosters and check whether your current hours are being paid correctly. Claim a missing offer after twelve months now. If you structurally work extra hours, have it assessed whether the legal presumption supports a higher number of hours. A future improvement does not replace a current wage claim.

If you work as a student, also keep track of your relevant enrolment and any changes to it. Record your availability and discuss in good time how extra work during holidays will be recorded. If you receive a new contract proposal, ask for a comparison of minimum hours, maximum hours, wages, availability and end date.

Arslan Advocaten can assess which current and future rules fit your contract. We can also check whether a proposed conversion affects your existing rights. For an employment law assessment, bring your current contract, the proposed change and an overview of your hours.

Frequently asked questions

Are zero-hours contracts already prohibited in 2026

No, according to the published decree, the new main rules for on-call contracts take effect on 1 January 2028. In September 2026, your contract must be assessed under the current law. Other existing obligations do already apply.

May every student keep a zero-hours contract from 2028

No, the exception is conditional. Among other things, the relevant educational enrolment and average work of no more than sixteen hours per week for the employer are important. Calling it a student side job is not enough.

Does 130 per cent mean my wages will rise by thirty per cent

No. The percentage caps the ratio between maximum and minimum hours within the range-of-hours contract. With a minimum of twenty hours, the maximum is no more than twenty-six hours. It is not a general pay rise.

Do I have to sign a new contract as soon as my employer asks

First read which parts are changing and which statutory rule is being applied. A conversion cannot simply be used to reduce wages, years of service or earlier entitlements. Ask for the calculation of hours and a comparison with your existing rights.

Can my employer wait until 2028 to offer fixed hours

Not solely because of the new act. The current obligation to make an offer after twelve months of on-call work already applies. If it has not been met, a wage claim may already arise now. The new transitional rules must be distinguished from this.

Have the new rules for temporary agency work all taken effect at the same time

No. The decree contains different commencement dates and the cao may already grant rights earlier. Always check whether a rule comes from the law, from the cao or from the individual contract, and for which period it applies.

All the rules on on-call work in one place, with the article that explains each question in full: on-call workers: your rights at a glance.

Sources and legal basis

• More Security for Flexible Workers Act in Staatsblad 2026 205, in particular new Articles 7:628aa, 7:628ab and 7:628ac of the Dutch Civil Code and Articles 228 and 229 of the Transitional Act.
• Commencement decree in Staatsblad 2026 206.
• Senate file 36746.
• Dutch government on the current on-call rules.
• ABU on the collective labour agreement for temporary agency workers 2026–2028.

State of legislation and sources checked: 16 September 2026. If you receive a contract proposal later, any further amendments and implementing rules must also be checked.

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