Chapter VII A Levies to promote the training and development of Works Council members

Article 46a

  1. The Council (SER) may, for the purposes of promoting the training and development of Works Council members, impose by decree a levy on entrepreneurs who are obliged under the terms of or by virtue of this Act to establish a Works Council. Any such decree on the part of the Council (SER) shall require the approval of Our Minister.
  2. Any levy as mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be fixed at a percentage of the wages paid by the said entrepreneurs on the basis of which, pursuant to Article 9 of the Social Security Coordination Act [Coördinatiewet Sociale Verzekeringen], the social security contributions payable by the said entrepreneurs are levied under the terms of the Disablement Benefits Act [Wet op de arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering] or the Unemployment Act [Werkloosheidswet], or would be levied if such contributions were to be levied on the said entrepreneurs under the terms of those Acts. Article 9, paragraphs (3) and (4), of the Social Security Coordination Act shall not apply.
  3. If and insofar as the entrepreneurs in question are employers in the sense of the Sickness Benefits Act [Ziektewet], any such levy shall be collected by the Employed Persons Insurance Administration Agency [Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen] (as mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Structure of Administration Agencies (Employment and Income) Act [Wet structuur uitvoeringsorganisatie werk en inkomen]).
  4. The Joint Sectoral Committees shall upon request submit to the relevant Employed Persons Insurance Administration Agency (as mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Structure of Administration Agencies (Employment and Income) Act) a list of entrepreneurs who, to the best of their knowledge, are under an obligation to establish a Works Council. The Joint Sectoral Committees shall upon request also express their view in writing to the Employed Persons Insurance Administration Agency (as mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Structure of Administration Agencies (Employment and Income) Act) or to an entrepreneur as to whether the said obligation is incumbent upon the said entrepreneur.
  5. Articles 11 to 16h of the Social Security Coordination Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to the collection of the levy by the Employed Persons Insurance Administration Agency (as mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Structure of Administration Agencies (Employment and Income) Act). In the event of an appeal against a levy, the levy shall be deemed to have been imposed by the Council (SER).
  6. The Council (SER) shall specify in a decree as mentioned in paragraph (1) the manner in which the Employed Persons Insurance Administration Agency (as mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Structure of Administration Agencies (Employment and Income) Act) is to transfer the levy to the Council (SER).
  7. No decree as mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be drawn up until the Employed Persons Insurance Administration Agency (as mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Structure of Administration Agencies (Employment and Income) Act) has been consulted.
  8. In so far as it relates to enterprises in which work is performed solely (or more or less solely) on the grounds of public-law appointment, any decree as mentioned in the first paragraph shall be established only following consultation with the employers or employers’ organisations and the public sector employees’ unions, united in the Council for Public Sector Personnel Policy [Raad voor het Overheidspersoneelsbeleid].

Article 46b

  1. The Council (SER) may grant subsidies from the proceeds of the levies mentioned in Article 46a to legal bodies whose object is to guide and support the activities of other legal bodies in training and developing members of Works Councils. The Council (SER) may by decree lay down rules for granting these subsidies and specify maximums for these subsidies.
  2. The following conditions shall attach to the grant of any subsidy:
    1. The legal body in question shall draw up an annual budget and an account of the income and expenditure incurred in carrying out the work mentioned in paragraph (1) and shall submit them to the Council (SER) for approval;
    2. The account mentioned under (a) shall be subject to checks made by or on behalf of the Council (SER);
    3. The legal body in question shall ensure that the training and development activities for the benefit of Works Council members for which subsidy is granted shall qualitatively meet at least the standards applicable to state subsidies for training and development, and that the said activities shall also fit in with the general structure for adult education in the Netherlands as specified by central government.

Article 46c

  1. The Council (SER) shall show the income and expenditure it estimates for the training and development of Works Council members as a separate item in its annual budget.
  2. The expenditure in question and the funds to cover the said expenditure shall be shown separately on the annual statement of income and expenditure of the Council (SER).