The following working conditions framework applies with regard to time and place independent working (TPIW):

  • TPIW is an opportunity to work flexibly in terms of working hours or location and not a right or an obligation.
  • The employee and the employer will agree on the extent and frequency of TPIW, mutual access, work location, and any working hours outside standard working hours.
  • If employees shift their working hours on their own initiative to a period outside the agreed working hours, this does not constitute overtime.
  • The employer addresses the organisation of the work, the balance between work and private life, taking breaks, dealing with work pressure, social cohesion within the organisation and the sustainable employability policy. The employee is entitled not to be available outside individually agreed working hours unless special (urgent) circumstances exist such that their availability is necessary.
  • The employer has a duty of care and responsibility to ensure that the facilities of the (home) workstation meet occupational health and safety standards.
    The employee will make every effort to comply with the occupational health and safety standards. 


Furthermore, the employer will prepare a scheme for TPIW in consultation with the employee representatives that includes the following elements:

  • Providing or reimbursing occupational health and safety equipment for setting up the workplace.
  • Providing or reimbursing communication and/or ICT facilities.
  • Instruction on how to arrange the workplace based on the legal standards with reference to the Working Conditions Act and the joint responsibility of the employer and employee for occupational health and safety.
  • An allowance for TPIW that covers the additional costs of working from home with the employer determining the amount and form of the allowance in consultation with the employee representatives. The Nibud standard for working from home is the guiding principle here. The CLA parties recommend that employers make use of tax opportunities.
  • Provisions on the evaluation and adjustment of the scheme.

During the term of this CLA, the WVB will make an inventory of the various schemes among employers and inform the trade unions about them.