"One of the main goals of the Dutch Act on the Employment Contract of 1907 was to offer protection to day labourers who sold their labour on a daily basis as ‘entrepreneurs of themselves'.1 Under the Act, these workers were classified as ‘employees', which made them less dependent on market forces and the whims of their employer. One may wonder, however, whether the (lack of) employment protection of the 19th century day labourer differed much from that of todays' employees performing zero-hours work who, like those day labourers, have to cope with unpredictable working days and hours. This article seeks to answer this question through detailed analysis of the regulation of the zero-hours employment contract under Dutch labour law. In this context it will also address the impact of EU labour law on the regulation of zero-hours work arrangements..."

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