CAO Retail non-food: the collective labor agreement for garden centers

Curious about the garden center CAO? Then the CAO Retail non-food is what you're looking for: an overarching collective labor agreement (CAO) for several sectors, including the garden sector. Let's take a closer look at the most important points of the CAO Retail non-food.

Garden center CAO 2024

In early 2024, after negotiations, a final agreement was reached on the CAO Retail non-food, which applies to employees and employers in garden centers. This garden center CAO has been valid since January 1, 2024, and runs until the end of 2025. Employers may deviate from the CAO, as long as it benefits the employee.

CAO module specifically for garden centers

What stands out about the retail non-food CAO is that there are a number of overarching rules that apply to several sectors, while there are also specific garden center rules. These are included in the "module for garden centers" (from page 24). Want to read the entire document (87 pages, in Dutch)? Then see the CAO Retail non-food.

Garden center CAO salary

A specific pay table applies to garden centers, in which the salary rises as someone grows within their job group. The first job groups (A/B) are based on the minimum wage, which as of July 1, 2024, comes down to €13.27 per hour for employees aged 21 and older. Employees can be placed in higher scales, though (even from age 15), with a salary of €25.43 per hour in the highest scale.

Garden center CAO allowances

Certain allowances apply to work outside regular hours, such as:

• Monday to Saturday, 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.: +50%

• Working on Sundays: +50%

• Working on public holidays: +100%

• Overtime of more than 10 hours per day: +25%, 33.33% or 100% (see CAO p. 24)

It's good to know that the above applies to working in a garden center with a physical location. Different rules may apply to online garden centers (e-commerce). For example, there is no allowance for working from 10:00 p.m. to midnight.

Additional arrangements specific to the garden center CAO

Here are a few more points that come specifically from the module for garden centers. These fall under the retail non-food CAO.

• Working in a garden center can be seasonal. That's why the standard 38-hour work week can be extended temporarily to 45 hours per week. Individual, reasonable agreements are made about this.

• In certain scales, overtime applies when working more than 9 hours per day, but a temporary change as described in the previous point does not count. Overtime allowances do not apply to managers.

• If an employee temporarily replaces a colleague in a higher position, they are entitled to a periodic salary increase within their current salary scale, if that is higher than what they currently receive.

Garden center CAO vacation days

Based on full-time work of 40 hours per week, employees get 25 vacation days per year. If the work week is 38 hours, that comes to 7.6 vacation hours per day. That adds up to 182.4 hours and 24 vacation days per year. Every year in April, employees can buy 4 extra vacation days (pro rata for part-timers).

Employees are also entitled to special leave under certain conditions, such as a wedding, a death, a move, a job interview and medical reasons. Has the employee been with the company for 25, 40 or 50 years? Then they get 1 extra vacation day once.

Scheduling and registering well with Workforce Management

As you can read, there are quite a few points to take into account, and all the details and many more exceptions and additions are described in the full CAO Retail non-food. Could you use some help registering vacation days, overtime and the related allowances correctly, and scheduling employees smartly? That's where Dyflexis Workforce Management comes in. The tool can even predict peak and quiet times based on historical data. Discover the convenience for yourself!