It will become more attractive for employers to retain or hire an AOW-eligible employee. A number of barriers will be removed from 1 January 2016.
On Tuesday 29 September 2015, the Senate approved the bill on working after the state pension age. This will make employing or keeping an AOW employee easier and more attractive for you. Among other things, the following rules will apply from 1 January 2016:
- The notice period when terminating the employment contract with the employee entitled to state pension is limited to one month. For other employees, a notice period of one to four months applies depending on the length of employment.
- In case of illness, the obligation to continue paying wages is thirteen weeks instead of a maximum of two years. It is possible that in the future, this obligation to continue paying wages in case of illness of the AOW-eligible employee will be further reduced to six weeks.
- Fewer reintegration obligations apply to you in case of illness of the continuing AOW worker.
- The number of temporary contracts with an AOW-eligible employee will be widened. A collective agreement may provide that after a maximum of six contracts or a maximum of 48 months, an employment contract for an indefinite period of time arises.
- You do not have to accede to a request from the AOW-eligible employee for an extension (or reduction) of their number of hours to be worked.
There are also new obligations. For instance, the continuing AOW employee is entitled to at least the minimum wage or a higher wage if this is stipulated by collective agreement. In case of reorganisation, you are obliged to dismiss your AOW-eligible employee first. This already applied in the private sector, but will now also apply in the public sector.