As regards your staff, 2015 was an eventful year in which a number of significant legislative changes (including the Work and Security Act) came into force. In 2016, too, there will be a number of legislative amendments We have outlined the changes that may be relevant to matters concerning your staff. We have briefly summarised the most important changes for you below.
Flexible staff
The introduction of the Flexible Working Act will make it easier for staff to submit a request to their employer to adjust their working hours, working times and place of work. This new legislation is intended to offer employees more opportunities to, for example, work partly from home or at different times.
Under the previous legislation, employees were already able to request an adjustment to their working hours. The employer may only refuse such a request if there is a compelling business or service-related interest. This year, therefore, this condition also applies in principle to requests to adjust working hours and the place of work.
Continuing to work after reaching state pension age
With effect from 1 January 2016, it will become more attractive to retain or recruit staff who have reached state pension age. For example, the notice period will be just one month, up to six fixed-term contracts may be entered into (over a maximum period of four years), the obligation to continue paying wages in the event of sickness is limited to just 13 weeks (instead of 2 years), and no transition payment is due upon termination of employment.
Incidentally, from this year onwards, the state pension age will be raised at an accelerated rate to 66 in 2018 and 67 in 2021. After that, the state pension age will be linked to life expectancy.
Tackling sham arrangements (WAS)
The final part of the Act on Combating Bogus Schemes comes into force on 1 January 2016. To combat the exploitation and underpayment of staff, as well as unfair competition, every employer must pay the statutory minimum wage by bank transfer, expense allowances must be itemised on the payslip, and there is a ban on deductions and set-offs against the statutory minimum wage. However, this last condition will not come into force until 1 July 2016 (click here (for previous coverage of this).
Reduction in unemployment benefit entitlements
With effect from 1 January 2016, the maximum duration of unemployment benefit will be gradually reduced by one month per quarter until April 2019. As a result, from 1 April 2019, unemployment benefit will be payable for a maximum of 24 months instead of 38 months.
Employees who are receiving unemployment benefit as of 1 January 2016 will be affected by this change.
The way unemployment benefit entitlements are accrued is also changing. Whereas an employee was previously entitled to one month’s unemployment benefit for every year worked, from 1 January 2016, after 10 years’ service, only half a month’s unemployment benefit entitlement will be accrued for each year worked. Unemployment benefit entitlements accrued before 1 January 2016 will, however, continue to count at the rate of one month per year worked. Unemployment benefit entitlements accrued up to 1 January 2016 will therefore be honoured.