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Is your organisation in the Netherlands planning to make office attendance compulsory? The Booking.com Works Council dispute highlights questions employers and Works Councils should address before changing hybrid-working arrangements: if consent is required, what evidence supports the change and how the proposed policy will work in practice.
This article explains how to assess the proposal, structure consultation and negotiate workable arrangements.
Booking.com Works Council dispute status as of October 17, 2026: Following the hearing on October 6, the cantonal judge gave the parties one week to seek agreement. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the court is expected to issue its ruling at the end of October. The judge’s reported comments during the hearing do not constitute a final judgment or establish a general legal standard for office attendance.
AT A GLANCE
The Booking.com Works Council Dispute
Booking.com has proposed making attendance at its Amsterdam office compulsory for at least two days per week. The company describes two office days as an existing recommendation and points to collaboration and team cohesion as reasons for making attendance mandatory.
The Works Council reportedly questions whether there is a convincing business case for the requirement. That disagreement raises several distinct questions answered in this article. Does the proposed arrangement require Works Council consent? What changes when an attendance recommendation becomes an obligation? How should the interests of the business and employees be assessed? And what could an agreement between the parties contain?
The publicly available articles on the Booking.com Works Council dispute do not disclose the complete policy documents, correspondence, evidence or negotiation history. The recommendations below are therefore lessons for other Works Councils and companies. They do not establish that Booking.com or its Works Council failed to follow these steps.
Works Council Consent Rights over Hybrid Working Policy
A hybrid-working arrangement may require Works Council consent, but the assessment depends on its content, purpose and the applicable legal or agreed rights. It is too broad to assume that every change concerning where employees work automatically falls under Article 27 of the Dutch Works Councils Act.
The Right of Consent / Right of Approval article 27 of the Works Councils Act identifies categories of arrangements for which consent is required. Relevant subjects can include working and rest times, working conditions, employee privacy and personnel monitoring. Additional consent rights may also arise from agreements between the employer and the Works Council.
The Works Council should assess if consent applies to the entire arrangement or specific parts, such as working conditions, working times or attendance monitoring.
Preparing a Proposal for the Works Council
The recommended preparation checklist by Human in Progress supports employers in preparing a clear proposal and Works Councils assessing its rationale, impact and implementation. For a proposed decision to hybrid working or office attendance, the information should include:
- Current and proposed policy: the Works Council should receive both versions, clearly identifying what would change.
- Employees affected: the Works Council receives the number of employees involved, broken down by relevant locations, functions or teams.
- Reasons and expected benefits: the solution for the problem should be explained including supporting evidence and identifying the expected organisational gains.
- Alternatives and previous measures: the Works Council should receive the options considered, what has already been tried and the results.
- Employee impact and support: the practical consequences should be explained with proposed exceptions and support available during implementation.
- Change and communication plan: the Works Council should receive a plan how the change will be introduced, communicated and embedded in everyday working practices.
- Measurement and review: the Works Council should be presented with a baseline, success measures, responsibilities and review dates, including how feedback and implementation problems will be addressed.
This checklist supports preparation and consultation. It should be used alongside the applicable legal requirements and any agreements between the Director and the Works Council.
How a Change Management Approach Improves Consultation
Change Management adds a practical question to the consultation: what will people need in order for the proposed arrangement to work? A legally sound process and a credible implementation plan should support one another. Explaining a change well does not remove the need to assess its substance or complete the applicable consultation procedure.
Our article on the role of the Works Council in Change Management discusses the reasons for change, its impact, communication and feedback. Applied to an attendance proposal, these themes provide useful questions for the council and management.
Assess the Change Management Approach
A proposal to increase office attendance should explain more than why employees should come to the office. It should show what the employer expects to gain, how employees and managers will work differently, and how the organisation will establish whether the change succeeds. The Works Council should ask clarifying questions to assess the proposal and negotiate workable arrangements.
Communication Framework Consultation
A proposed change to office attendance requires a structured approach to communication and employee involvement. Human in Progress’ five-step communication framework supports a structured approach to communication and employee involvement when changes to office attendance are proposed.
The framework sets out practical recommendations for management and the Works Council. It complements the applicable statutory procedure and information requirements, which depend on the proposal and any additional agreements with the Works Council.
Step 1: Case for Change
The Works Council should start by assessing the reasons for the proposal. What problem would compulsory office attendance solve, and what evidence supports the expected benefits? Employees should understand why the change is being proposed.
What has already been tried, and with what results? Why is the proposed arrangement preferable to alternatives? The Director [bestuurder] should define the expected benefits and explain how they will be measured. For office attendance, increased presence is an implementation measure; the Director [bestuurder] should also explain how it will assess improvements in collaboration, knowledge sharing or other stated objectives.
Step 2: Impact on the Organisation & Employees
The Director should explain to the Works Council how many employees are affected, which locations, functions and teams are involved, and if the impact differs between groups. What would employees and managers need to do differently?
As part of the case for change, the Director should have reviewed employee scheduling, office capacity, equipment, travel and international collaboration.
The Works Council should assess how the employer will apply the arrangement consistently, accommodate justified exceptions and resolve practical barriers. It should also establish who is responsible for each action.
Step 3: Change Story & Timeline
The Works Council should review the proposed implementation timeline and accompanying communication plan. This plan should include communication materials explaining the rationale, expected organisational gains and implications for employees.
The Works Council should assess what has already been communicated and if those communications accurately reflect the status of the proposal.
During consultation, communications should identify what remains open for discussion between the parties.
Step 4: Communication Plan
The Director should share a communication plan with the Works Council, identifying who will lead the change, who will communicate, through which channels and at which milestones.
During consultation, the Director and the Works Council should discuss communication while the proposal is under consideration, preparation for implementation and continued support afterwards. The Director should explain how the new way of working will become part of everyday team routines.
Draft FAQs and manager briefings covering the proposed arrangements, expected benefits and employee concerns should be shared with the Works Council during consultation. These materials should distinguish the proposal from a final decision and explain how communication will proceed after consent, where required.
Step 5: Works Council Timeline & Feedback
The Director and the Works Council should discuss a consultation timeline that gives the Works Council sufficient time and information to assess the proposal.
The Director should also provide a baseline, measurable objectives and review dates. How will management establish whether the change delivers its expected benefits and remains workable over time? The parties should agree how employee feedback will be collected, results will be reported and implementation problems will be addressed.
The Works Council can review progress and safeguards, while management remains responsible for implementation and achieving the intended outcomes.
Assess if Compulsory Office Attendance Addresses the Problem
Negotiations may become concentrated on the number of compulsory office days. Management may seek more consistent attendance to improve collaboration, while the Works Council questions the evidence and employee impact.
The parties should examine where collaboration is falling short. Are decisions delayed, new employees receiving insufficient guidance or teams struggling to share knowledge? A clear definition of the problem management is solving supports both parties assess the proposed solution.
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Examine Which Activities Benefit from Attendance
Office attendance has a purpose when it enables employees to achieve something together. Relevant activities may include onboarding, joint problem-solving, training or project planning.
Employees who travel to an office and spend the day in online meetings with colleagues elsewhere may experience little improvement in collaboration. The proposal should explain who needs to meet, for which activities and how attendance will be coordinated.
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Consider other Ways to Achieve the Objective
Different problems may require different responses and coordinated office attendance may support some activities, while clearer responsibilities, better scheduling or improved management practices may address others.
The parties can examine a combination of measures and assess their expected benefits, feasibility and consequences for employees.
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Assess if the Agreement Solves the Problem
An agreement on the number of office days can settle the attendance question while leaving the original organisational problem unresolved.
Management and the Works Council should agree how the intended improvements will be assessed and when the arrangements will be reviewed. Attendance figures show presence; additional evidence is needed to establish improvements in collaboration, knowledge sharing or other stated objectives.
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Check if the Arrangements Are Workable
The proposed arrangements should enable employees to carry out the activities used to justify attendance. This requires sufficient suitable workspaces, access to colleagues and coordination across teams and locations.
Management and the Works Council should also examine scheduling flexibility, justified exceptions and the consequences for employees. Any proposed attendance monitoring requires separate consideration of its purpose, proportionality, privacy implications and applicable consent requirements.
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Assess the Effects on Health and Wellbeing
Management and the Works Council should examine how the proposed arrangements may affect employee health and wellbeing. Relevant considerations include social connection, isolation, commuting demands, concentration, autonomy, workload and the suitability of workspaces at home and in the office.
Where wellbeing is an objective, the proposal should identify the specific concern, the evidence supporting it and how the proposed measures are expected to address that concern. Employee feedback and relevant occupational health expertise can inform the assessment, with appropriate protection of personal information.
The assessment should consider differences between employees and roles. In-person contact may support some employees, while travel demands, noise or reduced flexibility may create difficulties for others. Neither office attendance nor working from home should automatically be treated as the healthier arrangement.
Works Council Negotiation in a Hybrid-Working Proposal
Negotiations can address the design, implementation and evaluation of hybrid working. The following examples are possible approaches for discussion, rather than entitlements that automatically apply or a reconstruction of the Booking.com negotiations.
1. Coordinate Attendance around a Clear Purpose
Agree when teams need to work together and which activities benefit from physical presence. A coordinated team day can support collaboration more directly than an individual weekly attendance target. Explain how teams involving several locations will be treated.
2. Test the Arrangement through a Pilot
Where the expected benefits are uncertain, discuss a time-limited pilot. Agree the start and end dates, participating groups, measures and review process before it begins. Record what will happen at the end so a temporary arrangement does not continue simply because nobody has addressed its status.
3. Agree on Transparent Exceptions
Identify how requests for exceptions will be assessed, who decides and how employees can seek review. Consider disability-related needs, medical circumstances and existing individual arrangements through the appropriate process. A transparent framework supports preventing different managers applying the same policy inconsistently.
4. Provide a Workable Transition
Discuss the time employees need to adjust and what support may be appropriate. Relevant subjects could include scheduling notice, travel arrangements and previously approved remote-working commitments. Separate collective implementation arrangements from individual contractual questions. The Works Council’s consent does not, by itself, of course amend individual employment contracts.
5. Define Success before Measuring Attendance
Choose indicators connected to the stated problem. These might include onboarding feedback, the quality of handovers or the ability to coordinate team work. Attendance figures show if people are present; they do not establish if the policy has achieved its purpose.
Prepare negotiations by identifying priorities, acceptable options and issues requiring specialist advice. Record proposals and responses so both parties can see what has been resolved. Avoid allowing an agreement in principle to obscure a remaining disagreement about the final policy wording.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Dutch Works Council Have Consent Rights over Office Attendance?
Not always. Consent may be required depending on the content and purpose of the proposed policy, the relevant provisions of Article 27 WOR and any additional agreed rights. The Works Council should assess if consent applies to the entire arrangement or specific parts, such as working conditions, working times or attendance monitoring.
Can a Works Council in the Netherlands Propose a Pilot for Hybrid-Working?
Yes. A Works Council can propose a time-limited pilot to assess if an arrangement achieves its intended benefits. Agree its scope, duration, evaluation measures and what happens when it ends. A pilot should follow the applicable consultation procedure; describing a change as temporary does not resolve whether consent is required.
Is the Director [bestuurder] Allowed to Implement a Policy after the Works Council Refuses Consent?
Where consent is required, the Dutch Works Council’s refusal does not authorise implementation. The employer can negotiate an amended proposal or ask the cantonal judge [Kantonrechter] for substitute permission. Under Article 27(4) WOR, permission may be granted if the refusal is unreasonable or compelling business-organisational, economic or social reasons require the decision.
How Could Change Management Support Works Council Consultation?
A change management approach supports the parties examine why a change is proposed, who will be affected and what people need for it to work. It also supports clear communication and feedback. These activities complement the applicable consultation process and help turn concerns into practical improvements. Read more about the role of the Works Council in Change Management.
Can a Court Dispute Damage Reputation of the Works Council and/or the Company?
A court dispute can create reputational risks for both the Works Council and the company, particularly if communications suggest that consultation and cooperation has broken down. Reputational damage is not inevitable: defending participation rights or seeking legal clarity can be legitimate and could resolve a disagreement.
Support Human in Progress
Human in Progress supports Works Councils with assessing proposals, preparing questions and developing negotiation positions. We also support employers with preparing consultation documents, employee-impact assessments and change communication plans. Contact us today!
