Are night shifts regularly worked in your organization? Then there are specific guidelines for employees who work night shifts that are laid down in the Working Hours Act. Because these shifts are extra taxing, these regulations apply not only to employees who have permanent or temporary employment, but also to temporary workers and interns. But what are these guidelines?
The general rules night shifts
Most night shifts in the Netherlands are/were worked in the healthcare, industrial and transport sectors.Around 2.5 million employees in the Netherlands work some form of structural irregular work. A night shift is when someone works from 00.00 to 06.00.
CBA specific
The law has no obligation to pay extra for a night shift, but a form of compensation is usually agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement applicable in the specific industry. This may be compensation in time, or through an irregularity allowance. The general rule is that an employee may work a maximum of 36 nights in 16 weeks; and a maximum of 140 night shifts on an annual basis.
Exceptions may be named in the collective bargaining agreement or in written agreements with the works council. Note that there are separate regulations in the Working Hours Act for specific sectors.
