In the Netherlands, employees will soon have the legal freedom to work remotely. The lower house of the Dutch Parliament approved laws in this area last week. Currently, the European nation must wait for Senate approval.
In the Netherlands, companies are now free to reject any requests from employees to work from home without providing a justification. Employers are required by the new law to take into account all such requests and provide appropriate justification for any rejections.
The proposed measure modifies the Flexible Working Act of 2015 of the Netherlands, which permits employees to seek adjustments to their working hours, schedule, and even place of employment. The new regulation is being implemented as businesses around the world fight to get employees back to work.
While some businesses have been generous in allowing employees to return, others, like Salesforce, have largely eliminated in-office work.
Others, like Tesla, continue to force workers to come back to work. Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla, had forewarned staff members that they may choose to stay with the firm or quit.
The new regulation is not anticipated to be as problematic for Dutch firms. According to Eurostat, the acceptance of remote working is substantially greater in the lowlands, where 14% of the workforce was doing it two years before to the pandemic.
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