Employee Rights: Should I Take Extra Hours?

Questioner

Is an employee required to take extra hours worked? (time for time) In recent years I have worked quite a few extra hours as a part-timer (3 days a week). For the past six months, a portion of the extra hours worked has been paid monthly (4 days a month). My employer has suddenly indicated that the extra hours will no longer be paid by him with immediate effect, and that I have to work 1 day less with immediate effect (take time-for-time). Can my employer suddenly demand time-for-time? I don't want to work one day less per week at all. Furthermore, I am afraid that after the period of working 1 day less (that period will be longer than 3 months) my employer will state that there is structurally less work, and that I will then have to continue working 2 days a week. My employer says that I MUST take time off because, based on my information regarding current and future work, he has the impression that there may be a shortage of working hours this month and next month. I disagree with this. Top to date I have never worked too few hours - for years - and now I am receiving instructions from my employer that are contributing to a shortage of hours (for example, he has switched the office landline to his mobile and has forbidden me to answer the phone - which I confirmed by e-mail -, I am only allowed to work for clients after my employer has approved this: this was never the case). I have the impression that my employer wants to get rid of me in a cheap way. My employer is now 65+. About 90% of the hours I work are invoiced to clients, which means that every hour worked is income. Does anyone have any tips? Can an employer suddenly demand that extra hours worked are recorded instead of being paid out? I work at a company that does not have a collective labor agreement, and nothing about this is mentioned in the employment contract.

Lawyer

From your answer I gather that you have a part-time contract for at least 3 days per week and that you regularly work more than these contract hours. If no further agreements have been made for the request for overtime, it is up to you to decide whether you want to comply with the request for overtime and in what way you want to be paid for it: time-for-time or in extra salary. In any case, your employer will have to continue paying the agreed minimum number of hours per week. Unless previously agreed otherwise, he may not impose a unilateral reduction of this minimum number of hours. For this, he will have to ask permission from UWV Werkbedrijf or the Subdistrict Court (partial termination). It is not clear to me from your question whether all overtime already worked has already been paid. If that is not the case yet while overtime worked was always paid before, then you can also in this case demand that these outstanding overtime hours will still be paid.

Questioner

Thank you so much for this answer, and the quick response. This information is very useful.