CAO for Theatre and Dance

Chapter 2Employment

    Article 2.1 | Concluding a contract of employment

    1. If there is a case of work that, in view of its nature and the circumstances in which it is carried out, requires employment in accordance with the laws and regulations, then the employer must offer a contract of employment to those carrying out this work.
    2. The contract of employment is concluded in writing in duplicate in Dutch and signed by the employer and the employee. Any translation into English or another language will not be legally binding.
    3. If the contract of employment is initially concluded by verbal agreement, the employer will confirm this in writing within two weeks. This written confirmation will include at least the nature of the work, the salary, the period in which the work is to be carried out and the minimum number of hours to be worked or FTE. Before commencing employment, the employer will offer the employee a written contract of employment, which will include at least the following points:
      1. employer’s name, address and registered office;
      2. employee’s personal details and address;
      3. employee’s job title and/or nature of the activities;
      4. place(s) where the activities are carried out;
      5. date of commencement of employment;
      6. nature of the contract of employment (definite or indefinite period, on-call or payroll contract);
      7. duration of the contract of employment, period of notice and associated procedure requirements;
      8. trial period, if applicable, referring to the relevant provisions in this CAO;
      9. scope of the employment, expressed in hours per week and/or part-time percentage or FTE;
      10. agreements about overtime and compensation for overtime;
      11. working hours and how many hours are worked on which days of the week, stating that agreements about deviations from this must be agreed in writing;
      12. number of days’ holiday and atv days, and any other paid leave;
      13. amount of starting salary (gross monthly wage), stating all wage components, deductions, salary scale, and method and date of payment;
      14. 8% holiday bonus and date of payment;
      15. participation in the PFZW pension scheme;
      16. a provision about permission for and use of personal details in accordance with the GPDR;
      17. a provision about behaviour/social safety, with a reference to the
        organisational policy in this regard;
      18. a declaration that the employee has taken cognizance of the content of the relevant CAO(s) and any company regulations and is in agreement with them.

    Article 2.2 | Trial period

    1. An agreement about a trial period must always be included in writing in the employee’s individual contract of employment, otherwise the agreement will not be valid.
    2. In a contract of employment for a period of six months or less, no trial period can be agreed.
    3. In a contract of employment for a definite period of longer than six months, or one for an indefinite period, a trial period of a maximum of two months can be agreed.

    Article 2.3 | Contracts of employment

    1. The artistic (supporting) jobs of actor, dancer, ballet master, rehearsal director, stage director, scenographer, designer (lighting, sound, video), composer, musician/singer, choreographer, children’s supervisor and dramaturge, as well as the production and performance-related jobs of production director, production assistant, theatre technician (assistant stage manager), surtitler/subtitler, prompter, extra, costume, wigs, make-up or scenery assistant, tour supervisor, education assistant and all assistants to the aforementioned jobs, are excluded from the statutory Chain Provision by Ministerial Order. A contract of employment for an indefinite period will apply to these jobs if more than 15 contracts of employment have been concluded between employer and employee and/or if several contracts of employment together exceed a period of 48 months. In order to break this chain of contracts of employment, there must be an interval of more than 3 months.
    2. The statutory chain provision is applicable to all other jobs not stated in section 1 of this Article. This means that a contract of employment for an indefinite period will apply if more than 3 contracts of employment have been concluded between employer and employee and/or if several contracts of employment together exceed a period of 36 months. In order to break this chain of contracts of employment, there must be an interval of more than 6 months.
    3. If the rehearsal and/or performance dates of a production do not form a consecutive contract period and the activities take place on separate days and/or in clusters of a few days with gaps between them over longer periods, employees with a performance-related job will be compensated for this gap by the employer’s offer of weekly or monthly contracts with a higher part-time factor than the equivalent of the actual scope of employment. This provision is valid from 1 January to 31 December 2022 as a recommendation. From 1 January 2023, this provision will be binding. See appendix 3 for further details and a guideline.

    Article 2.4 | On-call contracts

    1. If possible, the employer will call up the employee at least four days beforehand. If necessary, this call-up term can be reduced to at least 24 hours beforehand. The employee is not obliged to comply with a call-up.
    2. If a call-up is retracted less than 48 hours beforehand, the employee retains the right to 50% of the salary for the period for which they were called up. If a call-up is retracted less than 24 hours beforehand, the employee retains the right to 100% of the salary for the period for which they were called up.
    3. When an on-call contract has lasted for a year, the employer must offer the employee a contract of employment for the average number of hours worked by the employee over the past year.
    4. The minimum duration of a call-up is three hours.

    Article 2.5 | Medical examination prior to commencing employment

    1. A pre-employment medical examination can only be part of the appointment procedure if there are specific medical requirements for a job, e.g. for the jobs of dancers and technicians. The examination is restricted to those specific job-related medical requirements.
      The employer can oblige candidates for such jobs to cooperate on a job-related pre-employment medical examination. In that case, sections 2 to 6 of this Article are applicable.
      1. The contract of employment is not considered to be binding until a declaration has been issued by a doctor, chosen by or on behalf of the employer, stating that, on the basis of a job-related examination prior to entering employment, the employee to be appointed is able to perform the activities in question.
        voor de te verrichten werkzaamheden.
      2. This job-related examination will be held before the date fixed for entering employment. The result of the examination will be passed on to those concerned within 14 days of the determination of the result.
    3. The employer bears the costs of the examination as specified in section 1, including the travel and accommodation expenses of the employee within the Netherlands. These expenses are remunerated in accordance with the travel and accommodation regulations included in this CAO.
    4. The prospective employee can submit a request for a second job-related examination within 14 days of receipt of the result of the examination as specified in section 1. The employer is obliged to comply with this request. The employer bears the costs of the second examination. The doctor for this second examination is chosen by or on behalf of the employer in consultation with the employee, and will not be the same as the doctor who performed the first pre-employment examination. The result of this second examination is binding.
    5. Contrary to the provisions of section 2 of this Article, the employer may conclude a contract of employment with the employee in special cases, even though the employee has not been medically approved.
    6. The provisions of the preceding sections are not applicable to the employee who engages in a new contract of employment as the result of a merger or alteration in the private law status of the employer.

    Article 2.6 | Medical examination during employment

    1. Employees are obliged to undergo a medical examination if the employer considers that their physical or mental condition hinders or may hinder them from performing their work properly. Those concerned will be informed of the result of this medical examination within 14 days of its determination.
    2. Without prejudice to the provisions in section 1, those employees who perform heavy manual work in the performance of their duties will be examined periodically on the initiative of the employer to see whether there are any medical objections to the continuation of their activities. The employer determines which employees are subject to compulsory examination, on the understanding that it will apply at any rate to those employees who are employed as dancers or technicians. The frequency of the periodical examination will be determined per company.
    3. The employer can also offer a preventive medical examination (PMO), in which the employee can participate voluntarily. The employer is not informed of the results of the PMO unless the employee wishes to discuss the results with the employer.

    Article 2.7 | Termination of employment

    1. Employment is terminated:
      1. during or at the expiry of the trial period at the request of the employer or the employee;
      2. on the date agreed by the employer and employee by mutual agreement;
      3. legally on the expiry date of a contract of employment for a definite period. NB: from 1 January 2015, the employer is obliged to announce this and confirm it in writing at least one month in advance;
      4. by termination by the employer or the employee, subject to the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of this Article;
      5. on the date on which the employee reaches the legal retirement (AOW) age;
      6. on the death of the employee;
      7. in the case of instant dismissal for urgent reasons affecting the employer or employee in accordance with the statutory provisions;
      8. h. if dissolved in court at the request of employer or employee on the basis of the statutory provisions.
    2. After a period in which the employee has been incapacitated for work for at least 24 months, the employer can apply for permission to dismiss the employee on the grounds of incapacity for work.
    3. The manner and date of giving notice
      1. Notice must be given in writing and with a statement of the reasons.
      2. Notice of termination should be given in such a way that termination of employment coincides with the end of the calendar month.
      3. Any additional relevant provisions in the individual contract of employment or in the company rules and regulations are applicable.
    4. The term of notice
      In the case of contracts for an indefinite period, contrary to Article 7:672 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Civil Code, a period of notice of at least two months must be observed by both the employer and the employee.