** HR Corporate Health & Sustainable Employment

  You are invited to join our Expert Talk webinar:
  “Post Covid Dutch & European Employment;
Legal Trends and Necessities"
  Presented by Alain Camonier –Founder and joined owner of Pallas Employment Law, Michelle Maaien – Attorney at Law at Pallas Employment Law & our own expert Emmanuele van Houdenhoven - Collard - Sales & Recruitment Manager of Undutchables.   Register here Is 2022 really "the year of the employee"? In the current candidates' market, higher salaries, sign-on bonuses and permanent contracts, appear to be the latest Talent Acquisition tools.    
How can employers in the Netherlands then simply attract and retain employees in Europe while maintaining a level of flexibility?
The new European Directives may offer you a creative perspective in the Post-Covid - remote - employment landscape.

The following topics will be discussed: Hiring and retention of staff, while also maintaining flexibility; EU Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU; Remote working in another country with a Dutch employer; Experiences with the EU Posting of Workers Directive.
Is one of these topics relevant to your company, join the discussion and learn more from our experts.   8 April 2022 - Online via Zoom From 10.00...

Retaining young talent

Flexible and hybrid working; no longer just a thing for young talent, but also for existing talent in organisations. It is now more and more in demand by all generations in the workplace, but for the younger generation the desire for flexible working is the strongest.

As an employer, you have to make policy on how to deal with the different generational wishes within your company, precisely in order to attract and retain talent. Today's young people have grown up in the digital age and, for example, working online is much more normal for this generation. I can see this in my 12-year-old daughter. She has just started secondary school and playdates are now a thing of the past. Communication takes place online and when I point out how we used to go to friends' houses without a mobile phone, she looks at me in amazement. Because then you sometimes visit someone for nothing!

Different generations
A generation consists of peers who are connected by a shared life history, circumstances and perception of the zeitgeist. A new generation is born approximately every 15 years. This group of people share the same social experience, which causes them to show similarities in attitude...

Healthcare insurance for expats is a mandatory requirement. Expats are expected to obtain at least basic health insurance within four months of their stay in the Netherlands, and to pay for health insurance once they have obtained a residence permit, or when they start working in the Netherlands. Dutch companies should make sure that their expat employees have the appropriate health insurance as required by law.

Health insurance in the Netherlands is based on Zorgverzekeringswet (ZVW) healthcare insurance law and the AWBZ general law on exceptional medical expenses. ZVW healthcare insurance law is used for short-term medical care relating to general doctor visits, drug prescriptions, hospital stays and so forth. AWBZ general law on exceptional medical expenses provides special and long-term medical care for the elderly, disabled or the chronically ill.

The healthcare system is subsidised by means of taxes and monthly premiums, whose amount is set on a yearly basis. Employers pay a percentage of their employee’s income to the tax authorities, and employees also pay a fixed percentage of their income to the tax authorities. The monthly average premium that individuals pay to their health insurance provider for basic healthcare is about 92 euros per month, which can...

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion in corporate, academic and public arenas about the term ‘corporate sustainability’. The term has often been used as a synonym for ‘sustainable development’ or ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR). Essentially it represents a new paradigm that promotes a management model that offers an alternative to the more traditional profit maximization and growth models. This comes about primarily due to increasing popular concern for the social and environmental consequences of corporate actions and unrestricted growth. Hence, principles such as environmental protection and social justice are promoted to a status of concern, which they would not have had before.

There are many factors behind the increasing focus on corporate sustainability. These include the ever-shrinking role of government, increasing investor pressure, and a growing interest from consumers. A survey by Environics Research showed that more than one in five consumers reported having either rewarded or punished companies based on their perceived social performance. An increasingly competitive labour market has also made employees seek benefits over and above standard wages. This has led to companies having to offer better working conditions to retain skilled workers.

A case study was carried out by Lynes and Andrachuk...

 Making a smart corporate health plan can help employees understand their benefits better and they can be more efficient. This can pay off for both the employees and the company in a variety of ways.

When the employees are satisfied with the benefits offered by the company, including the health plan, the overall work satisfaction is high. In a recent study, 76% of employees who rated their benefits package as excellent or very good also gave high marks to their employer as a place to work. However, only 18% of those who rate their benefits poorly, gave high marks to their employer. Furthermore, satisfied employees are the best advertisement to attract new talents, which will in turn bring company better productivity. Another very important reason why to design a corporate plan is to help reduce the health costs. When the employees are less stressed and have healthier habits, their general health is better, resulting in lower health costs and less absenteeism.

A Health Plan That Works

To create a comprehensive program, employers must address both the individual risk factors affecting their employees (for example: smoking cigarettes, long-term sitting behind the desk, poor dietary choices, stress etc.), and the organizational factors...

The factthat a healthy organisation requires healthy employees has been scientifically proven. What is also a fact is that this is effective for some companies, and not so much so for others. With the fast development and changes in the technology and business spheres, many companies that are willing to maintain a competitive edge in the global market are interested in the wellbeing of their employees.

Theconcept of awellness program isdependent on what the employer makes of it, without any hard or fast rules.However, according to Healthcare.gov, there are some basic parameters. A wellness program is defined as ‘a program intended to improve and promote health and fitness that is usually offered through the work place, although insurance plans can offer them directly to their enrolees’.This can include: giving employees discounts on their monthly health insurance premiums, cash rewards, providing discounted or free gym memberships, offering healthier food options at work, participation in smoking cessation and/or weight-management programs.

Johnson& Johnson leaders estimate that wellness programs have cumulatively saved the company $250 million on health care costs over the past decade; from 2002 to 2008, the return was $2.71 for every dollar spent. The number of employees who smoke has dropped...