The complainer in the late-night bar
There is a lot of complaining going on in the Netherlands — about the weather, the food, our colleagues and much more. Complaints are also made in the hospitality industry, by guests for example, and by employees. But did you know that employees also have a duty to complain? This is explained below.
Not complained, nothing gained
Dutch law requires employees to submit complaints to their employer within a reasonable time after they discover or should reasonably have discovered a defect in performance of the employer’s duties. An employee who fails to do so may no longer rely on that defect. There is, therefore, a duty to complain. Not complained, nothing gained.
The Late-Night Bar judgment
The duty to complain is now also regularly the subject of labor litigation. An employee of a late-night bar complained to his employer that he was not being paid overtime for his work after closing time. According to the complaining employee, this was in violation of the Collective Labor Agreement for the hotel, restaurant and café industry. The late-night bar argued that the employee had breached his duty to complain because for years the paychecks had listed which overtime hours were paid. The late-night bar therefore believed that the employee was no longer entitled to back pay for the overtime worked after closing time. After all, the employee had received his paychecks each month showing the recorded overtime hours paid. The Amsterdam Appellate...
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