Working from home: your employees' rights

What is working from home?

Employees who work from home often work partly from home and partly in the office or from another location. This is known as hybrid working. Employees who work remotely always carry out their work from a distance. This can also be from abroad.

Reasons for working from home

There are several reasons for hybrid or remote working. For example, because employees are more productive at home. Or because they can combine work and private life better. Lower office costs can also be a reason to let staff work from home more often. You then need less office space.

Read more about the benefits of working from home and in the office (in Dutch)

Consequences of remote working abroad

Do your employees work for your business remotely from another country? If so, this may affect your employees' social insurance. For employees who meet the conditions, you can apply for an exception to the European rules.

Check if your employee will remain insured in the Netherlands

Do employees have the right to work from home?

Working from home is not a legal right. However, according to the Flexible Working Act, your employees may submit a written request to work (partly) from home. For example, because they are concerned about their health. You must have a good reason for refusing such a request.

Employees may work from home if:

• The company has a minimum of 10 employees.
• The employee has been employed for at least 6 months.
• The employee has submitted a written request no later than 2 months before the desired start date.

Examples of good reasons for refusing a request are:

• Working from home causes problems with the work schedule.
• The work cannot be done elsewhere.
• The home workplace is not safe or suitable for work.

Include working from home in your RI&E

Include the risks of working from home in your risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E). Keep in mind that working from home involves different risks than when your employees work in the office. Such as the extra strain that employees can experience by combining work and other commitments at home.

Read the step-by-stap plan for drawing up an RI&E

Duty of care when working from home

You have a duty of care towards your employees, even if they are working from home. That is why health and safety regulations apply to working from home. For example, you must provide information on how your employees can work safely and healthily, and ensure they have a suitable and safe home workspace. You can, for instance, provide ergonomic work equipment, such as an ergonomic keyboard or office chair.

The employee is also responsible for the home workplace

Your employee is also responsible for a healthy and safe home working environment. For example, by using the information and resources provided by the employer.

Allowance for working from home

When employees work from home, they have additional costs that they do not have at the office. For example, higher costs for heating, water, electricity, and also tea, coffee, and toilet paper. You can reimburse these costs tax-free with a working-from-home allowance (thuiswerkvergoeding). The amount is indexed annually. For 2026, it is set at €2.45 per day.

Can you monitor employees when they work from home?

You are not allowed to just check your employees. Only under certain conditions may you check employees who work from home:

• monitoring your employees must be important. That is, you cannot achieve your goal in any other way
• you must let employees know in advance that you are checking. And how you are checking

Employees have a right to privacy. You must always comply with the privacy law. You must also be able to clearly explain why monitoring is necessary. And why the interests of the company outweigh the privacy of your employees.

Read more about the monitoring of employees at the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

Consider information security

Working from home remotely creates risks to the security of company information. These risks are different from when your employee only works in the office. For example, if your employee uses their own mobile phone, this could be a risk. Because the security settings are not as good as those on a company phone.

It is also important that your employees know that there are risks. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recommends taking extra measures to prevent a data breach, for example. Create a clear policy. Then everyone will know what is and is not allowed. For example, you can make the following agreements:

• Use strong passwords.
• Do not leave computers unattended, not even at home.
• Make sure the network is safe, with secure connections.
• Install security software, such as anti-virus software.
• Make agreements on which apps and services your employees are allowed to use.