National Reports

NETHERLANDS

October 2000
Articles in 'European Industrial Relations Review'
issues 320 and 321
Call centres in Europe

Part one: issue 320, September 2000, pp. 13-20
Part two: issue 321, October 2000, pp. 13-19
These two articles look at the incidence of call centres, the profile of the call-centre workforce and the main employment issues in this sector in fifteen European countries. Part one features Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany while part two covers Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The situation in the Netherlands according to this article is as follows:
- 900 registered call centres;
- 90,000 workers: 30,000 are employed in in-house centres, 60,000 in independent centres;
- call-centre positions in the Netherlands in 2000: 57,000;
- call centres operate predominantly in banking, insurance, publishing, information services and the leisure sector;
- the call centres can usually be found in the larger cities which have a student population;
- between 80% and 90% of the workforce is on a part-time basis and is made up of women, students and recent school leavers.

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September 2000
NIA TNO, Amsterdam
Telewerken in de tweede Europese Enquête naar de arbeidsomstandigheden

This report gives information on teleworking in the European Union and the Netherlands. Teleworkers are defined as employees who work at home at least 25% of their working time, whereby they make use of information- and communication technology for more than a fourth part of the time. Teleworkers are compared with another comparable occupational group. Insight is given in the extent of teleworking, the effects of teleworking on conditions of employment, working conditions, and content of work.
In the Netherlands 8.9% of the labour force is teleworker, in the European Union 6,5%.
30% of the teleworkers in the European Union is self-employed.
The teleworking population is especially male (more than 60%), relatively higher educated and elder.
Working conditions, contents of work, conditions of employment of teleworkers in the European Union and the Netherlands are by and large similar.
In comparison with other groups, teleworkers (and especially the self-employed ) work longer and less regularly. Payment by results is more common and their job security is less. And they spent more time on travelling.
Teleworkers have more possibilities to control their working conditions. This explains that they face less physical strain.
Teleworkers don't have different health complaints, except stress. Teleworkers complain more about stress.
Teleworking hasn't led to another division of labour in the household.
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September 2000
From ASP press service release
Callcentres and vocational training

ITS, a research institute in the Netherlands, researched the need for training of future callcentre staff. The research was done by order of ECABO. ECABO is an organisation which is active on senior vocational education in relation to the needs of business.
The research shows that the current training is often inadequate and doesn’t attune to the developments in companies and organisations.
The growth of callcentres has been enormous. The independent and large outbound callcentres are the most outstanding for the callcentre branch. The current offer of training, mainly offered as company and private training, is focused on the needs of these callcentres.
But the development of in-house-callcentres is larger than thought. More and more companies try to serve their clients quicker and better with the use of the telephone and Internet. The implication is that more and more employees in these companies get involved with these activities. Their work acquires ‘callcentres features’ and besides their professional knowledge they must have ‘callcentre skills’: they must talk to clients; make use of information and communication technology (ICT); and they must combine the ‘digitalisation’ of the client contact with a personal approach and an adequate provision of information.
So there is not only need for the training of people working in out-bound callcentres. Only by integrating callcentre-education into existing vocational training will it be possible in the future to keep the supply of personnel at a qualitatively and quantitatively adequate level.

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September 2000
FNV Bondgenoten
Conditions for a model telework regulation

FNV Bondgenoten has completed a manual which lists conditions which can be used by working councils, personnel officers and others to come to a good regulation for teleworking. The conditions concern aspects as how to settle arrangements, about the functions (or part of the activities) which are teleworkable, the situation at home, facilities, working conditions, communication facilities, allowance, security and liability, and organisational aspects.

During its formulation the manual was put on FNV's website: www.bondgenoten.fnv.nl in order to gain reaction.

Amongst other things, the manual gives attention to:
   * a maximum to teleworking. Maximal 50% of the working time. This is important not only for the organisation but also for social contacts;
   * a lot of functions are ‘teleworkable’. In case of disagreement an independent board in the organisation or company must decide if a function is suitable for teleworking;
    * a teleworker can arrange his working hours by himself. But research reveals that lasting nightwork can be bad for health. In a telework regulation can be made arrangements about the range of working hours. For instance: 90% of the work will be done between 7.00 and 21.00 hours. Working during night or weekend is possible but it’s up to the employee;
    * The match between work and private life can be topic of a work assessment interview. Except in case an employee has important objections.

FNV intends to publish this manual and also to translate it into English. The English version will be ready in November.

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Submitted 29 June 2000
KPN 2000
Collective agreement on teleworking

KPN, the former Dutch national telecoms operator, and the trade unions have reached a collective labour agreement. They have agreed about a policy for Teleworking at Home, in order to get experience with teleworking. Teleworking at Home is defined as: working at home on a regular basis in a job function previously assigned by the employer as ‘teleworkable’, by an employee with a fixed or flexible workplace, with the support of IT- and telecommunications devices. The policy framework which applies for teleworking at home is embodied in an annex with the collective labour agreement. In this annex are laid down the starting points, criteria, and facilities.
One of the starting points is that the employer decides beforehand if a job function is suitable for teleworking. The annex formulates the most important criteria on which the employer decides if a job function is ‘teleworkable’ and defines which facilities are necessary to make teleworking possible.
[download (EN)]

June 2000
Anja van de Westelaken, FNV
Observations on Teleworking and Equality

[download (EN)]

June 2000
Anja van de Westelaken, FNV
Observations on call centres

[download (EN)]

May 2000
Maarten van Klaveren & Anja van de Westelaken, STZ Advies & Onderzoek
for FNV Bondgenoten trade union
Homework – telehomework – telework: survey of a challenge

This report gives a survey of the developments and bottlenecks in homework. It covers traditional homework as well as new forms of homework, i.c. teleworking. It has the intention to give the labour union (FNV Bondgenoten) insight and tools (to develop activities and products) to improve the service to and the care for the interests of homeworkers.

The research tries to give an answer on three questions:
1. What are the main developments in homework?
2. Which are the problems that homeworkers experience in their labour situation and what are their needs for services and interests?
3. What is the best way for the labour union to organise this service and care for interests?

The research has a pragmatic and policy supporting framework. The study covers homework in a broad sense, the traditional homework as well as telework. There is made a distinction between telehomeworkers and teleworkers. Telehomeworkers work the whole work-time or a great part of it at home, but at least one day a week. Teleworkers (in a narrow sense) include multi-site teleworkers, freelance teleworkers, and the self-employed (without employees).

For each different group is made a review of the most recent developments and bottlenecks. Each category faces different problems which ask for specific activities and products. The researchers give recommendations for the development of concrete trade-union activities and products.
[currently print only]

April 2000
Ton Eimers en Eveline Thomas
ITS, Nijmegen
Onderwijs callcenterpersoneel vraagt nieuwe aanpak; beroepenstructuur en kwalificeringsvraag in callcenters

The publication is about the developments in the callcentre branch and the impact on vocational training and education. The researchers distinguish large independent callcentres, inhouse callcentres, and the so-called callcentre featured organisations. A lot of companies organise their contacts with clients by the principles of callcentres. It’s especially this last intermediate form which has impact on the changes in occupational structure and professional qualifications.
Until now attention is given to facilitating and inhouse callcentres. But the callcentre development also influences occupations. Activities of sitting employees gets callcentre features. There is at this moment no potential for broad vocational education. There are no new occupations and the functions are too small and company bound.
At this moment there are two qualification standards: Tbin and Telebusiness. Tbin is directed to specific job training and has a small standard. Telebusiness developed by ECABO is more general and offers more generic qualifications and fits within the national qualifications structure of intermediate vocational education. Uniform certification is limited by the differences in remuneration between inhouse and facilitating callcentres and the actual shortage on the labour market. The independent facilitating callcentres need education, but they don’t want the possible mobility. So they choose for company training. The researchers conclude that supplementary training and retraining is necessary for the sitting employees. And that callcentre skills need to be integrated in regular vocational training.
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April 2000
TNO Arbeid
Telework as an instrument of reintegration

TNO Arbeid – a Dutch organisation which applies technological knowledge with the aim of strengthening the innovative power of industry and government – has developed a methodology to use teleworking as a possibility to reintegrate (labour) disabled persons.
With this methodology you can assess systematically if teleworking is possible in order to reintegrate the employee or to keep the employee at work.
The method ‘Passend telewerken’ consists of three parts:
1. Description of the background and the method.
2. A scheme of steps to be taken:
    * Analysis of the problem;
    * Judging if teleworking is a possible solution;
    * Judging the possibilities and consequences of teleworking as an adaptation of
    work;
    * Realisation of teleworking and evaluation. If the results of the last step and the evaluation are positive than teleworking is a sustainable adaptation of work.
3. Annexes with handy checklists for necessary preparations and the realisation of teleworking.

In order to gather more information about telework and reintegration and to make known the ‘Passend Telewerken’ method, TNO started the project ‘Online weer aan het werk’ in April. 15 organisations participate and it’s financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

The method can be downloaded, in Dutch, from TNO's site at www.tno.nl
[download the methodology]

March 2000
Anja van de Westelaken
'Computable' en FNV Bondgenoten
Werken in de ICT sector: onder welke voorwaarden

Onderzoek in opdracht van Computable en FNV Bondgenoten, uitgevoerd door Amsterdam Instituut voor Arbeids Studies, Amsterdam, Stichting FNV Pers.
FNV Bondgenoten and 'Computable' (magazine on automatisation) researched the conditions of employment in the ICT sector. The research focused on the question: which regulations on conditions of employment yet exist, and which items do ICT staff members want to be regulated. It covers mobility (including jobhopping), working hours, career, salary, training, and the characteristics of the companies and the employees.
Methodology used: at random check with 15,000 readers of 'Computable' and members of FNV Bondgenoten. 1689 people returned the questionnaire. Results in relation to teleworking:
If employees want to change work then motives of travelling time and working hours are very important. People want work in the neighbourhood of their home and/or the possibility of teleworking.
55% says that their employer doesn't give this option; approximately 40% have this option. Employees who work in companies with more than 1000 employees can work at home more often than employees of smaller companies. When employees can work at home there are sufficient facilities in 6 out of 10 cases. In 3 out of 10 cases facilities are insufficient, and in 1 out of 10 cases facilities will be installed later.
Another possibility is working in flex-locations. 3 out of 10 employees say that their employer makes this possible. 70% of this group says that the facilities are sufficient.

In the ICT sector there is a great need for control on working hours, the possibility to work part-time, and for working places near home. Employees expect their employer to take measures that make this possible, such as flexibilisation of starting and closing times, and to make teleworking possible from home or locations near home.
There is a relation between travelling time and the wish to telework. The people who have the longest travelling time consider teleworking as very important.

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