As a strategic HR partner, it is of great importance that we stay informed about the latest laws, regulations, and upcoming changes. Furthermore, we believe it is important to keep you, as an employee, informed as well. In this article, we have listed the most important information that affects you. We would like to inform you about the legislative changes that already came into effect in 2023, the legislative changes for 2024, and the proposed bills. <\/p>\n
Before we delve further into the upcoming legislative changes, we would also like to remind you that several legislative changes relevant to the field of HR and affecting you as an employee already came into effect in 2023.<\/p>\n
The new pension law ensures that it becomes clearer and more personal how much pension has been accrued. From now on, a participant’s pension consists of all contributions paid on their behalf, plus the return that this money has generated. <\/p>\n
The basic principle of the new law remains the same. This means that pensions are still built up collectively and financial risks are shared. Employers and employees pay contributions, pension providers invest that money, and pay out the pension benefits. <\/p>\n
Due to this legislative change, the minimum age at which you as an employee start participating in the pension scheme will be lowered from 21 to 18 years. This legislative change takes effect from 1 January 2024. <\/p>\n
Before the legislative change regarding the continued payment of wages for sick employees reaching state pension age (AOW) came into effect, an employer was obliged to continue paying wages for 13 weeks during illness. With the legislative change that came into effect on 1 July 2023, this has changed to 6 weeks. For those reaching state pension age who were already sick before 1 July 2023, the 13-week period remains applicable. <\/p>\n
If you as an employee work in multiple EU member states, you are socially insured in your country of residence if you work there for at least 25% of the total working time.<\/p>\n
Due to the coronavirus crisis, working from home could lead to a shift in insurance liability to the country of residence for employees who live in a different country from where they work. To prevent this, a special arrangement was made. This arrangement meant that cross-border workers could work from home without it affecting their social security. Given the end of the coronavirus crisis, this arrangement is no longer necessary and was discontinued as of 1 July 2023. <\/p>\n
Now that you are (once again) up to date with the legislative changes that took effect in 2023, we would like to inform you about the upcoming legislative changes for 2024.<\/p>\n
With the Introduction of the Minimum Hourly Wage Act, the same minimum hourly wage will apply to every employee. This means that the hourly wage becomes the basis rather than the monthly wage. The minimum hourly wage will then always be based on a 36-hour working week. <\/p>\n
The minimum hourly wage that will apply in all sectors for those aged 21 and over as of 1 January 2024 is \u20ac13.27 per hour. This involves a regular indexation; every six months, the minimum wage rises in line with collective labour agreement (CAO) wages. Simultaneously with the introduction of the minimum hourly wage, the statutory minimum wage will also increase by 3.75% as of 1 January 2024. <\/p>\n
As of 1 January 2024, the tax-free travel allowance will be increased from \u20ac0.21 per kilometre to \u20ac0.24 per kilometre. The tax-free travel allowance is a targeted exemption in payroll tax. An employer can grant you as an employee a reimbursement for business kilometres. However, an employer is not legally obliged to reimburse travel costs. Whether you are granted a travel allowance therefore varies by employer. <\/p>\n
Since 1 March 2022, workers and job seekers have been able to apply for a STAP budget of up to \u20ac1,000 per year for their education and development. The STAP budget is a personal learning and development budget. <\/p>\n
The STAP subsidy came under pressure when it appeared that participants were using it for too many courses without clear added value for the labour market.<\/p>\n
Due to these problems and austerity measures, the cabinet has decided that the STAP budget will disappear as of 2024. The final STAP budget period starts from 15 November 2023. <\/p>\n
With the discontinuation of the STAP subsidy, \u20ac147 million in resources will be released. Half of this will be used to expand the SLIM subsidy. The SLIM scheme is a subsidy aimed at promoting learning and development within SMEs. <\/p>\n
In addition to the recent and upcoming legislative changes, there are also several proposed bills that may be relevant to you as an employee. We have listed the most important ones. <\/p>\n
The Equal Pay for Women and Men Bill is currently before the House of Representatives. This bill entails that employers will be required to demonstrate that equal pay for equal work is paid within the organisation. <\/p>\n
The bill regarding the dialogue between employer and employee is currently before the House of Representatives. This bill concerns the arrangement between employers and employees regarding reachability outside working hours. <\/p>\n
The More Security for Flexible Workers Bill aims to create more security for on-call workers, agency workers, and temporary workers, and to reduce the differences between permanent and flexible employment. With this bill, the goal is to abolish zero-hours contracts and shorten Phases A and B in agency contracts. The chain rule (ketenregeling) will also be tightened. The chain rule determines when you transition from a temporary to a permanent employment contract. The proposal was submitted for internet consultation in July 2023. <\/p>\n
The government’s plan was to make childcare virtually free by 2025. However, the Spring Memorandum revealed that this plan has been postponed to 2027 due to staff shortages in the sector and a shortage of places. <\/p>\n
Want to know more about what GJ GROEP can do for you as an employee? Then view the information for you<\/a> page. <\/p>\n