A judge has ruled that the “theft” of a €0.03 plastic bag by an employee at discount chain Action is not fair cause for dismissal — and we are totally with the judge on this. Order in the court!
The Dutch are infamously stingy — but we think Action took it way too far in this case. An employee who took home a wafer-thin plastic bag (that costs the princely sum of three cents) was fired as part of the chain’s zero-tolerance policy. But come on, Action — it’s THREE cents.
Well, that wasn’t good enough for the discount retailer. Employees are encouraged to tattle on employees who steal anything — and that’s what happened. The 41-year-old store filler had purchased 20 rain ponchos, then took a bag. He spoke with another employee, and that employee went to management.
I’m going to repeat this here: the bag was three cents. The employee lost their job.
Let’s pause for a moment, close our eyes. Now, raise your hand if you’ve ever (accidentally or on purpose) taken a plastic bag from a store and not scanned it. Open your eyes. Okay, you’re still alone, but if we were in a big conference room right now you would see EVERYONE has their hands up.
Now, I’m not advocating stealing here. But let the punishment fit the crime. Three cents? Okay, work an extra minute at minimum wage. Done, the debt is paid — overpaid in fact.
These bags are the luxury €0.39 version. Image: Abuzer van Leeuwen/Supplied
How the deed was done
The employee went on vacation and came back two weeks later where he was immediately pulled into a discussion with the HR advisor and the regional manager of Action. (What a great use of company resources!)
The employee admitted he had taken the bag, but said he had forgotten about it. Despite the employee having seven months left of his contract, he was fired immediately over “deliberate theft”.
Justice reigns
The employee though “Nah mate, this isn’t cool” and took Action to court. His argument:
The bag is virtually free (a small reminder that the Netherlands literally don’t even use one and two cent coins anymore)
The bags used to be free, but for environmental reasons now have to be sold for something.
The fired employee had worked at Action for a year and a half and had no other performance issues. His dismissal led to financial difficulties that were further compounded by the pandemic and his age.
Ultimately, the judge decided that the financial misery was not proportionate to the theft of the €0.03 bag. All hail the voice of reason!
Now, that €0.03 bag ended up costing Action €7,232.38 in salary and a transition allowance — plus a further €803 in legal costs. What am I forgetting? Oh, of course! The 0.03 bag. That’s a whopping €8035.41.
That leaves me with one question for Action: was it worth it?
What do you think of the case? Tell us in the comments below!
For expats coming to the Netherlands to either settle or work, getting into a relationship, and wanting to have a legally recognised union, this might come as a surprise; marriage isn’t the most popular way of doing that.
The popularity of marriage has been declining for years in the Netherlands. A report from CBS, the Dutch statistics bureau, states that in 1998, only 4,626 couples chose registered partnership in comparison to 86,956 who chose marriage. In 2016, the number of couples who chose registered partnerships had more than tripled to 15,706. In the same year, only 65,249 opted for marriage.
Last year, more than 20,000 couples entered into a registered partnership. That amounts to one in five couples who had their relationship registered at a registry office. This has certainly drawn the attention of the CBS who also reports that the number of registered partnerships has doubled in the last five years. Registered partnership is becoming the norm, and continues to grow in popularity.
Why is marriage becoming less popular?
Registered partnership was introduced in the Netherlands in 1998, mainly to make it possible for same-sex couples to have a legally recognised union. Three years later, in 2001, same-sex marriage also became a possibility. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. Nowadays, almost a quarter of couples wanting to formally settle together opt for a registered partnership rather than a marriage, and increasingly these are younger couples.
Among the younger generation of today, it has become the norm to live together unmarried and to marry later or not at all. For example, in 1997, 70% of 35-year-old women were married, and over 60% of men. In early 2017, that had dropped to 45% of women and 36% of men.
Marriage isn’t just as popular as it used to be, and nowadays, relatively more couples opt for a registered partnership. This is mostly for tax purposes and other perks that come with having a union/relationship recognised by law. Of course, in the more religious municipalities in the Netherlands, most couples are still getting married as their religions forbid them from living under the same roof without being married.
Should you choose marriage, or partnership?
In the Netherlands, registered partnerships are legally equal or similar to marriage, and the differences between them have become narrow in recent years. Less than 10 years ago, marriage could only take place between a man and a woman, and a registered partnership offered same-sex couples the chance to have legally recognised unions. But today, anyone can opt for either of both or even a cohabitation agreement. Gay people can get married, but are also free to choose registered partnerships, and the same applies to couples of the opposite sex.
One major distinction is that you can convert a registered partnership into a marriage at a later time, while you cannot take the reverse step. Another distinction is that you can end a registered partnership with a notary or lawyer. But if you have underage children or do not completely break up, then you will have to go to court — just like in a marriage.
What may also be important to know is that a registered partnership isn’t always recognised abroad, and the same for same-sex marriage. A notary can tell you which rules apply, for example, if you have assets outside the Netherlands, or plan to live abroad together.
Religion and culture, coupled with the fact that registered partnerships are not always recognised abroad, remain some of the main reasons why people with a migration background often opt for marriage in the Netherlands. This mostly applies to couples with a Turkish, Middle Eastern and/or African background.
Moreover, couples also get to enjoy the same rights and obligations with registered partnerships as with marriage. For example, among other things, you become each other’s heirs and you have to be able to provide for each other. The main difference between the two forms of legal union is the dissolution of it. A registered partnership can in some circumstances be dissolved without a visit to a court, which is not the case with marriage. Marriage is a bit more difficult and complicated to dissolve. Plus divorce processes can be quite tedious, lengthy, and expensive.
One reason why registered partnerships are very popular in the Netherlands is that it offers couples the chance to have their relationships legally recognised, and if things happen to change in the future, easily cut the strings. While this may seem very direct and business-like, many argue that it is a good thing, especially for people in abusive relationships. For those who are victims of abuse in relationships, a registered partnership is easier for them to dissolve than a marriage.
Not interested in marriage or registered partnership?
Of course, couples can live together in the Netherlands without being married or in a registered partnership. If you would love to have some sort of arrangement, but also do not want to get married or enter into a registered partnership, then there is the possibility of drafting a cohabitation agreement or contract.
In a cohabitation agreement, you can arrange everything from assets to savings, and from pension plans to agreements on daily expenses. And all of this is possible even when children are involved. Consider, for example, agreements about the costs of caring for the children, and their upbringing. Although it is possible to write your own cohabitation agreements, it is best to contact a lawyer to make sure that the agreement properly protects your interests and is legally binding. The agreement will also be stronger if you and your spouse each talk to different lawyers before signing it.
The notarial agreement also meets the requirements of the Tax Authorities for tax partnership, so it can also be advantageous from a tax point of view. Moreover, in the event of death, it is clear how the assets and debts are distributed and the surviving partner with a cohabitation contract pays less inheritance tax. Incidentally, with such a contract before the law, both partners in the agreement are not automatically each others’ heirs; they have to include that separately in a will.
A cohabitation agreement gives you the freedom to come up with just about any conceivable component you’d like to add to such an agreement and see materialise in your relationship. If you want to arrange considerably more than just the distribution of assets and costs, a registered partnership or marriage may then be the best option.
And what if children come into the picture?
In 2014, one of the last major differences between marriage and registered partnership was finally removed: fathers in registered partnerships were recognised by the Dutch government, and also given the right to seek and also fight for the custody of their children, if the partnership comes to an end. Fathers have joint authority over the children, provided that they were born after signing the agreement. This is an important aspect, because in the case of a cohabitation agreement, the father must first recognise the child and then arrange joint custody with the mother.
In a partnership between two men or two women, authority over the child depends on the situation, partly determined by whether one of the two is the biological parent. In a relationship between two men, where neither of whom is the biological father, only the child’s mother is legally recognised, and only she has authority over the child. One of the men can recognise the child with the mother’s permission and then apply for custody together with the mother.
Finally…
Times have changed and will continue to change. The Netherlands isn’t as conservative as it used to be. There was a time when something like a cohabitation agreement or a registered partnership would have been considered a taboo, or even a sin. Today, there are different arrangements to suit different types of couples in a society that is constantly evolving.
How is your union officially recorded? Are you married, in a registered partnership, or just living together with a cohabitation agreement? If none of these apply to you yet, which would you opt for and why?
The price of airline tickets has taken a nosedive, with popular European destinations in August up to 76% lower than the same time last year.
If you’ve been considering taking a holiday, now is the time (you know, except for that pesky pandemic we’ve been hearing about).
Research by ticket company Skyscanner shows that destinations that are favoured by Dutch holidayers have had their flight ticket price dropped massively.
Airlines have had to compete for every customer during the pandemic, often lowering prices to do so. “As Dutch travellers begin acclimatizing to the new standard, we continue to see extremely competitive airfares,” Skyscanner director Stella Penso told RTL Nieuws.
“Travel providers want to encourage bookings and are more likely to be flexible when it comes to changing tickets when travel advice changes destinations.”
Average price of flight tickets in August
Destination
2019
2020
Difference (%)
Milaan
€124
€29
76
Ibiza
€206
€85
58
Londen
€97
€38
60
Nice
€171
€72
57
Athene
€192
€66
65
Data: RTLZ & Skyscanner
Of course, travel restrictions are still at play — and could even ramp up in the coming months.
Meanwhile, cheap flight tickets might be nice for the consumer, but not so much for the environment. Parties D66 and ChristenUnie are already arguing for a minimum price for airlines tickets to be implemented.
Will you be taking a holiday this summer? Tell us in the comments below!
Online shopping in the Netherlands: it’s a confusing game if you’re an expat, especially if you come from a country where there are far more options for getting stuff delivered to your house.
Online shopping was one thing I didn’t know I would miss until it was gone. Or at least until I lost the instant gratification of same-day deliveries of pretty much anything. I lived in Silicon Valley for a few years, trying all manners of online-orderable services: meal preparation kits, same-day grocery deliveries, and same-day anything-else deliveries and outsourceable services. I didn’t get to drone-delivered items or deliveries-to-your-car — neither were applicable and were only piloted in smaller areas anyway — but I might have tried them too, had they not also fallen into the categories of “solutions to problems I don’t have” that prevail in the majority of things tech. But what about the great webshops in the Netherlands?
Great webshops in the Netherlands
Buying stuff from webshops, the Dutch version of online shopping, is a tad clunkier but still pretty good — once you figure out which webshops are better for what purchases, and where the button for English is on the screen, if you haven’t picked up enough Dutch yet. I still can’t get over the strange way that deliveries are managed though: for deliveries too large to fit through my mail slot, I’ve had to pick up the package from a neighbor or the local PostNL about a third of cases.
Webshops have been really important for a lot of people during the coronavirus crisis, but now that small businesses are reopening, they really need your help. So if you can, try to buy local, rather than from a massive corporation. However, sometimes it’s necessary to shop online, and that’s what this guide is for.
So here are a few of the webshops I’ve come across that have been helpful as I settled into the NL.
#1 Bol.com
This is the Dutch version of Amazon. It has a similarly wide variety of items, from household goods and appliances to clothing to books/e-books and more. You can pay a bit extra for the options to select delivery times on evenings or weekends, or you can go the free option of having your package delivered to an Albert Heijn pick-up location. Sometimes bol.com has sales on things: like bulk discount household items (toothpaste doesn’t go bad, right? So why not get a 4-pack on discount?) and bestseller book discounts, among other various promotions.
#2 Amazon.nl
This year, Amazon.nl came into existence. Of course, it didn’t make a huge amount of difference- Dutch shoppers had been using Amazon.de or Amazon.co.uk for years. But the arrival of Amazon in the Netherlands means more competition for Bol.com, and more money for Jeff Bezos (alas).
Need to buy books? Especially books that may be older or harder to find in a brick-and-mortar boekhandel? Try out this webshop to find what you need. You’ll definitely be able to find cheap books, or less common ones, here. Anything newly published is less likely to be on this site. A book-must when looking for great webshops in the Netherlands.
Same Ebay as everywhere else. You can order anything from anyone who posts to Ebay from anywhere in the world. I’ve used Ebay only a handful of times ever, and usually in situations where I wanted to find something lightly used for cheaper prices or something not commonly sold (e.g. handmade or tailored). I usually also don’t need whatever that item is very urgently.
Like a Dutch Ebay (Belgian actually) where you can bid on stuff people post for sale, even automobiles. I haven’t personally bought anything there, but this has been a suggested option.
#6 Zalando.nl – and all the other fashion webshops
This one was recommended to me because of its return policy, which is always helpful when you buy clothing or shoes online without trying them on first. While I haven’t had to use that policy yet, returning an item is supposedly as easy as putting the item back in the shipping box provided and dropping off at a PostNL point.
After a good deal, but not online? We have that covered too. 😉
What great webshops in the Netherlands do you love? Share your suggestions with us in the comments! And don’t forget to join our Facebook group!
Experts have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Rutte and the Minister for Health, Hugo de Jonge, warning that new coronavirus measures need to be taken within three days.
Last Tuesday, we saw the RIVM report that the number of new cases of coronavirus in the Netherlands had doubled, compared with the week before. Fears of a second wave abound, and there have been calls for face masks to become mandatory when people are outside their homes.
Minister de Jonge had previously asked for a group of experts to come up with recommendations for new coronavirus regulations that would be assessed in September. However, four of the experts who were asked felt that September was much too far away. They ask that the government introduce new measures within three days to stop a second wave occurring. These four experts are epidemiologists Arnold Bosman and Amrish Baidjoe, health economist Xander Koolman and former chief inspector of the Health Care Inspectorate Wim Schellekens.
What are the problems with the current approach?
The four experts make several points in their letter. They state that the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) and the government have put too much blame on citizens for not following the regulations. They say that the language used by the government has not been clear enough, and that there has been a lack of communication in recent weeks.
They also say that the source and contact investigations have not been fast enough, and often have been incomplete. That, coupled with no mandatory quarantine for people arriving from risky areas (there is urgent advice to do so, but it is not mandatory), may have been what has caused the spike in new cases.
What measures do the experts recommend?
So what do these four experts recommend? First of all, face masks should be mandatory for both workers and customers in the catering and contact professions. “We believe that there is sufficient evidence for the protective effect of mouth masks. Let’s arrange for them to be used, for example, by hairdressers. Both staff and customers,” says Bosman. They also want more effective source and contact investigations, and a mandatory quarantine for people arriving from high risk areas.
Most importantly, they say, new measures need to be taken quickly. “Any delay in measures during a worsening epidemic will lead to a disproportionate increase in the ultimate number of victims. In our view, urgency is crucial.” You can view the letter that the experts sent here (in Dutch).
Which measures would you like to see implemented? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
We’re already midway through summer and while we expecting hot, sunny days, we get rewarded instead with a regular Dutch summer.
This July has so far been quite rainy and chilly, without any notable hot days. Can we expect to finally get more sun and heat by the end of the month?
Well, not particularly. According to Weerplaza, the rest of the month of July will be a regular Dutch affair. There will be wind and plenty of showers. Nevertheless, there will still be enough dry moments throughout the days.
The good news is that today will be quite a sunny and dry day throughout the Netherlands. Friday onwards, however, expect to be greeted by wind and some showers. This will extend throughout the weekend as well, owing to a low-pressure area.
From July 27 to August 2, the weather will be cooler than usual for this period of time. Low-pressure areas are to be blamed again, as they will cause volatile and rainy weather.
Throughout the rest of August, the weather will stabilize to normal levels. The weather will become drier again, so if you want to go on a local vacation in the Netherlands, mid-August is your best bet for fine weather!
Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, has asked visitors to the city to reconsider their visit, in order to prevent overcrowding.
This is part of measures the city wants to take in order to prevent overcrowding and limit the spread of the coronavirus, reports RTL Nieuws.
Enforcers of social distancing measures will be dispatched in areas of Amsterdam such as the red-light district, as well as major squares such as Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein.
Starting from this weekend, sales of alcohol will be banned in the red-light district. Street artists in the city centre and in Museumplein will be banned until 1 September, as they attract large crowds. One-way traffic will be implemented in the evenings during Friday and Saturday. If it gets too crowded, areas of the red-light district will be closed off to visitors. Residents can still visit the area as they please.
In shopping areas, one-way traffic will also be established on Saturdays and Sundays in order to control the flow of people.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, explains: “We are taking these measures because we are responsible for the health of residents and visitors. This also includes an urgent appeal to everyone who visits our city, be careful, avoid crowds and follow the corona rules. it is important for everyone to keep their distance from each other, both Amsterdam residents and international tourists. On the street and in the catering industry. Only together can we prevent new outbreaks of the virus. A new lockdown is the last thing we want.”
The Public Prosecution Office (OM) asked the court this Wednesday to relieve all charges from a man from Arnhem who killed a robber in 2017.
According to the public prosecutor, the man acted out of fear when he killed the robber, by running him over with a van, reports NU.
What is the story of the incident?
The incident happened back in 2017, reports Volkskrant. The man, known as Albert K., an entrepreneur from Arnhem, killed 46-year-old John A. The two men were supposed to meet as A. made an appointment through Marktplaats to buy an expensive watch from K. At the time, K. was at home with his wife, two children, his sister-in-law and a friend.
Once A. arrived to supposedly buy the watch from K., he opened fire with a revolver, shattering a window. He then chased K. to his backyard, where he threatened him with a revolver. K. gave him the watch and some money, and while A. was taking them, K. managed to escape over the fence with his wife, who was then able to call 112.
Once outside, K. managed to get into a pizza delivery van and take over the wheel. A. emerged out from his home and fires another shot at the van, and K. runs him over. A. is thrown in some bushes, and K. runs over him a second time, the second collision probably being the fatal one.
OM: K. can’t be expected to think clearly
According to the Public Prosecution Office, K.’s actions can be justified by the severity and stress of the situation. After the first collision, the robber lay motionless on the ground. Despite running over him a second time, the OM considers that while it was extreme, it is understandable given the situation. He couldn’t have been expected to be “able to think clearly and realize that the danger had passed.” according to a prosecutor.
The court is expected to give a ruling on the case in two weeks.
Do you think it’s justified for K. to be let go for killing the robber? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Coming to the Netherlands as a tourist? If you suspect you might have coronavirus, you will need to be tested. Afterwards, all measures that apply to Dutch citizens also apply to you.
If you have health complaints, you can get tested at a nearby GGD, reports NU. If your test turns out to be positive, you must go into isolation wherever you are staying. Tourists will be allowed to leave isolation if they report no health complaints in the last 24 hours or if they became ill more than seven days ago.
Tourists will also be subject to contact and tracing investigations, to determine how they got infected and who they may have been in contact with.
Responsibility for self-insolation falls on the tourist
How can you make sure that a tourist remains in self-isolation, considering they have no home address in the Netherlands? “It is preferable for a tourist to stay where he or she resides at the time of an identified contamination. But that is not always possible,” says a spokesperson from GGD GHOR (Medical Relief Organization in the Region).
If a tourist tests positive, but can no longer stay in their accommodation, there are some alternatives. They will need to arrange a new place to stay in during the isolation period, and the local GGD can assist them in this process. This responsibility nevertheless falls on the tourist.
Tourists that do not comply with self-isolation can, in extreme cases, be forced into isolation by a GGD, as part of the Public Health Act.
The GGD is also allowed to call the police so that they can escort the infected tourist to the place of isolation. This measure also applies to Dutch citizens.
The mayors of Rotterdam and Amsterdam have called on the government to investigate the possibility of making face masks mandatory in certain settings.
The idea is not to instantly make force people to wear face masks, but to explore how the rule could work if it became necessary, Rotterdam Mayor Aboutaleb says. That would also make a rule easier to implement if the number of new infections continues to rise. This week’s coronavirus update from the RIVM showed that the number of new cases had doubled since last week.
The Dutch government has placed a lot of faith in the 1.5m rule, Aboutaleb says, but that hasn’t worked out. “I am most concerned that the most important measure, the one we expected the most from, the 1.5 meter, has become jaded. It is meaningless to a lot of people, and that means we need to consider what’s next.” That could be a mandatory face mask rule.
Aboutaleb says that he would personally support a face mask rule where people need to wear one when outside their home. This would be easy to police: “You have it on or not.” He also noted that he has a weak legal basis to enforce some coronavirus measures that already exist, and would like this to be different. When someone tests positive for coronavirus, they are only advised to self-quarantine: they are not forced. The GGD even had a case where they called someone who tested positive for coronavirus and the person was paying at the checkout in a supermarket.
However, the Minister of Justice and Security, Ferd Grapperhaus, says that there is no need for stronger measures at the moment: instead, people should obey those already in place. He thinks we should consider the recent increase in new cases as a warning.
Do you think face masks should be mandatory? Or should people simply obey the rules that already exist? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
