Legal advice on minus hours in the catering industry

Questioner

Ir/Madam, I would like to ask you the following question: I work in the hospitality industry and have a contract for 38 hours a week. It is a fixed-term contract and will end soon. Lately there has been little work in the company and I am being scheduled for significantly fewer hours than the 38 stated on my contract. On average I have been working only about 25/30 hours per week in recent weeks. Instead of 160 hours per month about 100/120 hours. The schedule is drawn up by the employer. My employer has always paid my normal salary so far, based on 38 hours per week. Now however, the employer plans to settle these too few hours worked (minus hours) at the end of my contract (with my vacation hours), which means that this will be deducted from my last salary. If this is the case, I will not receive any salary at all for the last month! In short: in the end I simply get paid less than 38 hours, because I did not work enough hours. My question now is whether this is allowed, I think this is absolutely not possible, because I have a contract for a fixed number of hours (38) per week, for a certain period of time and because the schedule is drawn up by the employer himself. (The schedule has recently been based on approximately 25 hours per week). (During the busier summer months, it was only occasionally that I worked more than 38 hours per week.) Isn't it true that your employer has to pay you for 38 hours and that the hours worked too few are the employer's risk? Can you give me an answer to this, perhaps including legal text or something? The collective labor agreement for the hospitality industry is in force. To be sure, I have added 2 more texts from this collective labor agreement. The old collective labor agreement was valid until 1-8-2012. The new one from 1-8-2012 to 31-12-2013. This does include something about 'minus hours', but I cannot determine from this whether this is the employee's own fault for not working enough hours. It is not my fault that I work too few hours. Employer schedules fewer hours because it is very quiet. Thank you in advance for your answer Yours sincerely, JD ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Collective Labor Agreement for the Hospitality Industry from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012: Article 5.5 Minutes Minus hours are hours that have arisen because the employee has worked fewer hours on the end date of the employment contract or at the end of the calendar year than the hours that were agreed (on average). a. If the employment contract ends during any calendar year due to valid notice of termination by the employee and the employee has minus hours on the end date of the employment contract while the (average) agreed hours have already been paid by the employer, the employer is entitled to offset the wages already paid for those minus hours with the employee in the final settlement. b. After termination as referred to in sub a, the employer must schedule the employee, taking into account the interests of any other employees, and offer work to the extent that such work is available within the company from the date of termination until the end date of the employment contract. c. If, after offsetting as referred to in sub a, the employer has a claim against the employee, the employee is obliged to pay that debt to the employer within two months after the end of the employment contract. Collective Labor Agreement for the Hospitality Industry from 01-08-2012 to 31-12-2013 Article 2.9 1. If, as an employee, you have worked fewer hours on the end date of your employment contract or at the end of the calendar year than the hours that you (on average) agreed with your employer, you have accrued minus hours. 2. If there are minus hours at the end of the calendar year, they can be settled no later than January of the following calendar year. After that, they will expire. 3. If you, as an employee, have minus hours at the time you terminate your employment (while the average agreed hours have been paid by your employer), your employer may offset the excess wages paid in the final settlement. 4. If, after this settlement, the employer still has a claim against you, you must repay this debt to your employer within 2 months after the end of your employment. Please note: if you have minus hours as an employee and you have terminated your employment, your employer must schedule you and offer you work until the end date, insofar as that work is available within the company. Your employer must take into account the interests of any other employees. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the website of Koninklijke Horeca Nl I found a message about 'minus hours' from 17-09-2012: Should minus hours be settled before the end of the year? Minus hours occur in contracts where a certain number of contract hours has been agreed. When less than the contract hours are worked, but these have been paid, there are minus hours. The legislator places the responsibility for sufficiently scheduling personnel entirely with the employer. Even when an employer places this responsibility with, for example, a company manager, the employer remains responsible. The arrangement means that if there are minus hours on the end date of the employment contract or at the end of the calendar year, these are for the account of the employer. If there are minus hours at the end of the calendar year, these can be settled no later than January of the following calendar year. After that, the minus hours expire. You can use the last quarter to make up for the minus hours as much as possible. Also keep a close eye on the hours of those who make the schedules. If employees refuse to make up the hours on unreasonable grounds, this can be considered as work refusal.

Lawyer

Dear JD, You are absolutely right and are well prepared. Have you received the final bill and has it been settled correctly?