Mandatory course? Discover your rights!

Questioner

Can my employer require me to take a training/course while I have a child who needs rehabilitation? This is a decision that is made within 1 week. The training/course is a week later. The training is about a function that I have performed for years before my current function.

Lawyer

An employment contract is, of course, an agreement. If it is agreed that certain obligations must be met, then that agreement must be fulfilled. A collective labor agreement or specific employment contract may require participation in courses. In principle, you are then obliged to follow the course. If there are no concrete agreements, then in principle following a course is also mandatory. According to article 7:611 BW, the employee is obliged to behave as a good employee. As an employee, it is usually unreasonable to refuse an investment from a company in the form of a course. This article also applies if there is a collective labour agreement, but in that case the separate arrangement may entail additional obligations. Based on article 7:611 BW, the employer is also obliged to behave as a good employer. And that is where a tension begins. Are you required to take a course? Yes, unless... Since this is a course for a function that has been performed previously and there is a child in need of care, I can only conclude that the function of the course does not outweigh the disadvantages. A good employer should not require you to take the course in your case. This may also be due to the fact that the course is only announced one week in advance. This makes following the course, if possible, even more unreasonable. My advice would be: discuss the situation that you have done the work before and state that you absolutely want to commit yourself to the company. State that in this specific case, with the child in recovery, such a course is really not reasonable. Legally, I think, you are in the right. Of course, it is then important not only to be right, but also to get it. To illustrate, previous court rulings on these types of cases are almost only relevant when the employer wants to dismiss an employee. So be aware of the proportions.