ABSTRACT
The Dutch labour market is characterized by a fairly high participation rate, and a fairly low unemployment rate. In 2003, the employment rate in the Netherlands was 62 per cent. The psychological contract (PC) is not yet a central concept in Dutch contract permanency research, which is illustrated by the limited number of studies on the relationship between contract permanency and the psychological contract. It is important to note that perceptions of job insecurity in the Netherlands are influenced by recent changes in legislation. However, the general finding of job security research is that, in spite of several social security arrangements that are available to all temporary employees, perceived (subjective) job insecurity as well as the chance of unemployment of temporary workers is high. Most temporary workers expect to acquire a permanent contract in the future and the share of permanent workers will probably increase because of the introduction of the Flexibility and Security Act.
