Abstract: Recently an individual right to part-time work was introduced in the Netherlands as well as in Germany, implementing work-family policies. These Acts on working-time adjustment are comparable, as the German Act was modelled on the Dutch one. The respective laws allow the employee a working-time reduction unless business reasons preclude it. Both Acts have been in force for over two years, presenting us with an initial opportunity to study their impact so far, and to consider whether the law indeed puts work-family policies effectively into practice. So far, the German and Dutch courts have found in favour of working-time reduction in the majority of claims. However, some difficulties remain in respect of the swiftness of court decisions, the interpretation of business reasons and inconsistencies between the number of hours and the pattern of working-time established.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations