De Unie, in your interest

Your collective labor agreement and industry

Aegon: what about a change of location?

March 23 2023

De Unie In its newsletters, in addition to specific information about negotiations and/or consultations, it also provides general information about topics that are or will become topical within Aegon. This newsletter is about the subject of location change. This is relevant for the employees who will transfer to asr later this year, but also for the employees who will continue to work at Aegon and who will soon be working at a location other than Aegonplein.

 What's the deal?
If the place of employment – ​​the location where you work – has been agreed in your employment contract, it can often be argued that this is an employment condition. But what if your employer wants you to work at a different location? Can that just happen?

The employer may change an employment condition if a unilateral amendment clause has been included in the employment contract. The employer must have such a weighty interest that your interest as an employee that is harmed by the change must give way to standards of reasonableness and fairness.

If no unilateral amendment clause is included in the employment contract, a stricter test applies. In principle, the employee must then consent to the change. If he/she does not do so, a change is still possible if the following requirements are met:

  • The employer must have a weighty interest in being able to change the terms of employment.
  • The employer must make a reasonable proposal for the change.
  • As an employee, acceptance of the proposal must be reasonably required.

The last way to unilaterally change an employment condition is to invoke a legal provision that states that, according to standards of reasonableness and fairness, it is unacceptable for the employer to be held to the agreement or that the employer can invoke unforeseen circumstances. circumstances.

A change of place of work in connection with a transfer of undertaking can be a serious reason for the employer to change this employment condition. Whether the change of location is reasonable must be assessed per situation and depends, for example, on the travel time.

Social plan
In the present social plan of Aegon, Article 5.2 already includes agreements about a change of location and the consequences thereof. Please bear in mind that agreements on this subject may still change in the context of possible harmonisation.

In most cases, the travel time for employees who now work in the Leeuwarden/Groningen offices and who may go to Utrecht will be considerably longer. Therefore, further rules will have to be made for this. asr has not yet made any announcements about the change of location(s) and this will only become clear later in the integration process. It is quite conceivable that the location where you now work will remain open and that this will remain your place of work for the time being.

For the 'stayers' or remainco employees, there is still no clarity about when and where they will go. My expectation is that it will be announced later this year where Aegon's 'head office' will be located in the Netherlands. Then you know what your new location will be.

Travel time
Curious about the consequences of a change of location with regard to travel time? Then keep a close eye on our coverage. You can read more about this in a subsequent general newsletter.

Questions or remarks?
If you have any questions or comments, please contact us. You can reach us between 08.30:17.00 and 0345:851963 via telephone number XNUMX-XNUMX, e-mail sc@unie.nl or chat via www.unie.nl.

 

 

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