Part-time jobs in the Netherlands:Background of an accidental development

Monique Kuunders, Netherlands Youth InstituteNovember 30th, 2010

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Overview

• How many Dutch people work part-time?

• Why do they work part-time?

• Fiscal policies for working parents

• Benefit or harm?

• Future issues

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Overview

• How many Dutch people work part-time?

• Why do they work part-time?

• Fiscal policies for working parents

• Benefit or harm?

• Future issues

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Netherlands: champion part-time work!

Part-time employment for EU countries, 2008

High labour participation of mothers, but they work little hours

70% of mothers work (2009)…but: 44% work no more than 18 hours per week

25 hrs/wk is average for women in the Netherlands (2007)

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Mothers of children <18 in 2009

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Couples with children <18

1992 2009

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Overview

• How many Dutch people work part-time?

• Why do they work part-time?

• Fiscal policies for working parents

• Benefit or harm?

• Future issues

Why? - Historical background

• 1950s: shortage of young female staff• 1973: tax reform – tax on individual income• 1980s: policy of part-time jobs at government• 1982: Wassenaar agreement • 1987: equal treatment of full-time and part-

time employees in employment insurance • 1996: Ban on discriminating on work hours• 2000: Working Hours Adjustment Act

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Why? - Recent developments

• 2005: Child Care Act• 2007: Act on Primary

Education obligates schools to facilitate child care after school

Booming child care use!

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Why? - Dutch women want to work part-time• They can financially• Part-time jobs are available• Balance between work and private life• “All I’ll earn, will go to child care”• It is ‘the way to do it’:

– “you don’t have children and then let them be raised by somebody else”

– “you don’t live to work, but work to live”

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Why? - Part-time jobs offer a solution to employers• Preferred option of employees • Work planning• Handling variation in staffing needs

and costs

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Overview

• How many Dutch people work part-time?

• Why do they work part-time?

• Fiscal policies for working parents

• Benefit or harm?

• Future issues

Working parents are allegible for a range of tax arrangements• Child related allowance (Kindgebonden budget) • --> the lower the income, the higher• Child care allowance (Kinderopvangtoeslag)

• Lone parent reduction (Alleenstaande ouderkorting)

• Parental leave reduction (Ouderschapsverlofkorting)

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General tax arrangements

• General income reduction (Algemene heffingskorting)

transferable between partners!Combination reduction (Combinatiekorting)

for lowest earning partner , only if both partners work

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Overview

• How many Dutch people work part-time?

• Why do they work part-time?

• Fiscal policies for working parents

• Benefit or harm?

• Future issues

Dutch government: “participation of women in work should rise!”

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Small part-time jobs are a problem• Small amount of hours contributed

to work force by women• Financial independance of the

woman and her family (more single-parents)

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Overview

• How many Dutch people work part-time?

• Why do they work part-time?

• Fiscal policies for working parents

• Benefit or harm?

• Future issues

‘More opportunities for woman’ government planStimulate participation of women in work force:•Work should pay•Combining work and care should be easier•More equal distribution of work between men and women

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A flexible social infrastructure

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• Governmental services open at night• community-schools and day care

centres• Medical services open at night• Flexible work-times

22picture: Peter de wit

Thank you

Monique Kuunders, MSc: m.kuunders@nji.nl

The Netherlands Youth Institute (Nederlands Jeugdinstituut)

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Part-time jobs in the Netherlands:Solution options – for discussion

Monique Kuunders, Netherlands Youth InstituteNovember 30th, 2010

The problem in the Netherlands

High labour participation of mothers, but they work little hours

70% of mothers work (2009)…but: 44% work no more than 18 hours per week

25 hrs/wk is average for women in the Netherlands (2007)

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There is a complex of reasons

• Fiscal policy is still partly supportive of breadwinner families

• The working place in some industries is now used to part time employees

• Child care facilities and primary schools are designed for one-and-a-half earners

• Public opinion is supportive of part-time working mothers

Taskforce ParttimePlus

Taskforce DeeltijdPlus started researching the question how to stimulate people to work a bigger job in 2008.

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Focused legal framework

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• Starting point: ‘working pays’• Flexible working times• Paid parental leave• No general income reduction for

families• No fiscal regulations that are

barriers to work

Focused legal framework (2)

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• Student-loan pay back not related to work hours

• A flexible maternal leave• One ministry• No 9-to-5 attitude• Regulations on work conditions • An active information policy

The right public services

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For children from 0-12:•Child care and education •One service; one location•No out-of-school lunch break•Open 8:00-18:00

Tackle

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- Jobs barrier

- Financial barrier

- Practical barrier

But in the end…

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“Working is an obligation”???

Elma Drayer, author of ‘Spoiled princesses – portrait of the Dutch woman’ (Verwende prinsesjes – portret van de Nederlandse vrouw).

33picture: Peter de wit

Thank you

Monique Kuunders, MSc: m.kuunders@nji.nl

The Netherlands Youth Institute (Nederlands Jeugdinstituut)

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“I thought ‘oh, how will I manage this?!’. In the end, I stopped working for a couple of years and became a primairy school teacher”

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“I started in 1999 as first part-time surgeon in training. My professor was not amused. But since then I never got complaints. I am totally satisfied by the way I arranged things. I just also want to be with my children.”

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Single mothers (2009)

Mothers with partner (2009)