ABSTRACT
An important question is to what extent the labour laws apply to the person doing community service. If community service could be categorized as a contract for the performance of work, the position under labour law of the person doing community service would be considerably strengthened. For the Netherlands, the European Rules on Community Sanctions and Measures are the most important. Labour for prisoners is designed to become a feature of growing importance in the Dutch prison system. For the rest, prison labour will have to show more of a return and keep the prisoners ‘calm’ and ‘busy’. The development in the field of prison labour comes during a period when alternative sanctions are also burgeoning in the Netherlands. Because the HALT settlement concerns minors, special requirements are set by the labour laws on the nature of the work and the working hours. The criminal records of young offenders must remain confidential.
