Legal Status (Local Employees) Regulations 2020

The ministers grant power of attorney and authorisation to perform juristic acts and to perform acts that constitute neither a decision nor a juristic act under private law to the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HDPO and 3W, in relation to all local employees, and to heads of mission, in relation to local employees working at their mission, pursuant to these Regulations, the regulations based on them, such as the mission versions, and any further instructions.

The ministers also authorise the officials referred to in paragraph 1 to record in the competence table that is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ administrative organisation which officials accountable to them are jointly competent to exercise the power of attorney and authorisation.

Employment contracts and any disputes arising from them are subject to local employment law and – in so far as the following do not conflict with peremptory provisions of that employment law – to these Regulations and the mission version and other regulations adopted pursuant to these Regulations.

Provisions contained in or adopted pursuant to these Regulations which conflict with local usage may be declared wholly or partially inapplicable in the mission version.

The employer may not make a distinction between employees on the grounds of religion, beliefs, political convictions, race, sex, nationality, sexual orientation, civil status, a difference in working hours, or any other grounds whatsoever, unless such a distinction is objectively justified.

Any claim under this article is subject to a limitation period of six months.

3W draws up a mission version for the mission or missions in the district served by an embassy, together with the heads of mission of the embassy and any other missions in the district.

The mission version contains employment conditions and related provisions such that, in combination with the applicable employment conditions and provisions under these Regulations, it constitutes a total package of employment conditions and related provisions in accordance with local usage.

The head of mission at an embassy may, after consultation with the heads of mission of any other missions in the embassy’s district, propose an amendment to the mission version to 3W, whenever circumstances warrant this. 3W can also, after consultation with the head or heads of mission involved, take the initiative to prepare an amendment to the mission version.

Adoption, amendment or withdrawal of the mission version is carried out by HDPO. HDPO only adopts, amends or withdraws the mission version once the employee participation body at the mission or missions has been given the opportunity by the head or heads of mission concerned to give an advisory opinion. If HDPO deviates from the advisory opinion given by the employee participation body, HDPO must, via the head or heads of mission, notify the employee participation body of this in writing and give sound reasons for doing so.

The right to give an advisory opinion as referred to in paragraph 4 does not apply to:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has an independent disputes committee (the LSR Disputes Committee) consisting of a chair, several alternate chairs and several ordinary members. The chair and alternate chairs do not operate under the responsibility of the employer and are members of the Dutch judiciary. The task, working methods and composition of the disputes committee are to be further determined by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the LSR Disputes Committee Regulations.

An employee or ex-employee can submit a dispute with the employer on the application of these Regulations or any regulations based on these Regulations to the disputes committee in writing, stating reasons. The employee or ex-employee will not incur any costs for submitting a dispute to the disputes committee.

After examining all the relevant documentation and giving the employee or ex-employee and the employer the opportunity to be heard, the committee issues a written and reasoned advisory opinion to the employer and sends a copy to the employee or ex-employee.

The employer notifies the employee or ex-employee in writing of its decision regarding whether or not to implement the dispute committee’s advisory opinion. If the employer decides to deviate from the advisory opinion, sound reasons must be given for doing so.

An employee or ex-employee who submits a dispute to the disputes committee may be assisted by an adviser.

An employee’s or ex-employee’s decision to submit a dispute to the disputes committee does not affect the employee’s or ex-employee’s right to bring the same dispute before a court in the country where the mission at which the employee or ex-employee works or worked is located or before a court in another country.

Regulations governing the legal status of employees and other regulations and instructions which employees must comply with in performing their duties, and amendments to such regulations and instructions, must be communicated to the employee and be deposited for inspection at a place to which the employee has access. The employee may make copies of such regulations free of charge, in so far as this is reasonably necessary.

The main points of the regulations and instructions referred to in paragraph 1 are also available in Spanish and French.

The employee must be properly informed of any regulations and instructions that are not recorded in writing.

The head of mission notifies the employees at the mission, the partners of staff members posted to the mission and, if relevant, the employees of other missions within the same district and the partners of staff members posted to these missions, of vacancies at the mission entailing an employment contract for an employee and gives them two weeks to submit an application. This two-week time limit may be reduced if, in the opinion of the head of mission, the vacancy must be filled urgently.

The announcement of the vacancy includes at a minimum details of the scope and content of the job, requirements as regards qualifications and experience, salary, any special employment conditions and the closing date for applications. The inclusion in the selection procedure of a medical or psychological examination, security screening or any other examination of candidates’ trustworthiness or suitability must also be mentioned.

The vacancy may be advertised outside the mission or missions referred to in paragraph 1 once it has been established that:

If an employee and the partner of a staff member posted to a mission are equally suitable, the employee is to be given priority.

Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 3, in special cases where haste is required and there is not expected to be a suitable candidate among the persons referred to in paragraph 1, the head of mission may simultaneously announce a vacancy internally at the mission or missions referred to in paragraph 1 and advertise it externally. If a person referred to in paragraph 1 and another applicant are equally suitable, the former is to be given priority, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 4.

The employer may require a prospective employee to undergo a medical examination if, in the opinion of the employer, the duties of the job to which the employment contract relates necessitate that special requirements be imposed in terms of medical suitability, including protection of the health and safety of the prospective employee and of third parties in relation to the performance of the work concerned.

The costs of the medical examination are borne by the employer. The travel and subsistence expenses necessarily incurred by the prospective employee are reimbursed in accordance with chapter 4, part 5.

A prospective employee may be required to undergo a psychological examination if the employer considers this desirable in view of the nature of the job to be performed.

The costs of the psychological examination are borne by the employer. The travel and subsistence expenses necessarily incurred by the prospective employee are reimbursed in accordance with chapter 4, part 5.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 apply mutatis mutandis to an employee who applies for another job at the mission or another mission.

Except in the cases referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4, the employer may require a prospective employee to submit a certificate of conduct as referred to in the Justice System Data Act, or an equivalent certificate issued by the authorities of a country other than the Netherlands.

If a job other than a confidential position as referred to in section 1, subsection 1 (a) of the Security Screening Act places special demands on the person who performs it in terms of integrity or responsibility, and if a compelling general interest is served by so doing, the director of the Security, Crisis Management and Integrity Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a person designated by that director may request judicial data from the Minister of Justice and Security for the purpose of investigating the trustworthiness and suitability of the prospective employee for this job. The prospective employee may be employed in a job of this kind only if no objections to their employment emerge from the investigation. The privacy of the person involved must be adequately protected in the conduct of the investigation referred to in the previous sentence.

A person may be employed in a confidential position as referred to in section 1, subsection 1 (a) of the Security Screening Act only if a certificate as referred to in section 1, subsection 1 (b) of this Act has been issued in respect of the person concerned.

An investigation as referred to in paragraphs 2 or 3 may be conducted only if the employer is of the opinion that the person concerned is qualified and suitable for the job in question.