In a previous article, we wrote about the importance of a scope review and avoiding a financial noose. In that article, it was about Booking.com facing mandatory affiliation with the industry pension fund for the travel industry.
This time it is the online supermarkets Picnic, Flink, Gorillas, Getir and Hofweb that are facing the collective bargaining agreement Food Industry. In this article, we discuss the judgment of the Central Netherlands District Court of February 28, 2024, as well as the importance of a scope review.
Assessment court scope of scope collective agreement
In the proceedings before the District Court, the supermarkets claimed a declaratory judgment that they do not fall within the scope of the collective bargaining agreement for the food industry. It follows from the relevant CBA that “employers who operate one or more stores that meet the description in Article 2 under a”. The Court indicated that this provision should be interpreted using the “collective bargaining standard.”
Interpretation via collective bargaining standard
The collective bargaining standard means that a provision of a collective bargaining agreement must be interpreted according to objective standards. The reason for this is to protect third parties who were not present at the collective bargaining negotiations and thus are not familiar with the parties’ intentions. Such an explanation does not assign significance to documents other than the text of the collective agreement and explanatory notes, as follows from the DSM/Fox judgment.
The court considered that from the text of the CBA in conjunction with the definitions, that the CBA applies not only to employers who themselves operate a (virtual) store, but also to employers who are part of a group whose activities are related to the operation of a store by another legal entity in the group. Thus, operating oneself is not a requirement to fall within the scope. Since Picnic c.s. is predominantly engaged within the group in the sale of food through a virtual store and home delivery and the other companies perform activities related to that, they are covered by the collective bargaining agreement.
The importance of a proper scope study thus follows from this ruling. In its absence, an organization can be unpleasantly surprised with the applicability of a collective bargaining agreement with all its consequences. Picnic et al. have to apply the collective bargaining agreement that has been declared generally binding for the period of the declaration. This will require Picnic to make various changes to salary payments, rosters and more.
More information about the collective labor agreement and industry pension fund?
If you would like more information about the possibilities of a scope investigation for your organization to see if you are covered by a collective agreement or industry pension fund, please contact labor lawyer Lisa Kloot.
