Overview
A Dutch court has ruled that Booking.com may require staff to spend at least 40% of their time in the office, overruling the works council’s refusal to agree. The Amsterdam District Court’s decision on 28 October covers about 6,000 Dutch employees and accepted that a moderate, phased policy, with a six-month transition and a hardship clause, was reasonable. Within five days VodafoneZiggo proposed three mandatory office days a week from 1 January for its own 6,000 Dutch staff, with a voluntary exit scheme for those who will not comply (NL Times). Read more: the Booking.com ruling and what follows from it.
At EU level, Regulation (EU) 2026/2359, the revised social security coordination rules, entered into force on 1 November. Most of it applies from 1 November 2028, and it moves posting paperwork from after the fact to before it (European Commission).
And in Spain, Extremadura is planning digital nomad grants of up to €15,000, but the rules are still a draft and you must already live in the region to apply. We also checked a claim doing the rounds that Spain has a new law on interest for late wages. It does not: the 10% rule has been in the Estatuto de los Trabajadores since 2015.
EU-Level Policy & Regulation
The revised social security coordination regulation is in force. Workers will need three months’ prior affiliation at home before a posting, a two-month break after 24 months of posting, and prior notification for postings other than business trips, with no notification needed for postings of up to three days outside construction. There are also clearer rules on which country’s law applies to people working in two or more member states. Most provisions apply from 1 November 2028 (European Commission). Full item: revised EU social security rules in force.
Research & Data
One in five EU employees is monitored by software, and teleworkers are more exposed. Eurofound’s report on algorithmic management, published on 29 October, finds that 19% of EU employees say a computer program monitors their performance, 18% that one allocates their tasks and 10% that one sets their hours. Employees who telework are significantly more likely to have their tasks allocated and their performance monitored by software. Performance monitoring is the function most strongly linked to exhaustion and work–family conflict (Eurofound). Full item: software monitoring and teleworkers.
Country Updates
Spain
Extremadura’s new digital nomad grants. The Junta announced €4.5 million for 2026–2027 on 28 October: €10,000 for under-30s, women or people registering in towns under 5,000 inhabitants, €8,000 for everyone else, plus up to €5,000 for a third year. You must have lived outside the region for 18 months, be registered on the padrón before applying, and move your tax domicile to Extremadura. Applications open only when the final decree is published in the DOE (Junta de Extremadura). Full item: Extremadura’s draft digital nomad grants.
Interest on late wages is not new. Headlines presenting a 10% interest right on late salary as freshly in force are recycling article 29.3 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores, unchanged since 2015. Employees can claim it, but have to do so themselves (BOE). Full item: the 10% rule explained.
United Kingdom
The Budget triples the Trading Allowance from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027, and extends parental pay to eligible self-employed fathers, partners and adopters in Great Britain from April 2029. From the same month, Payments on Account become smaller and more regular (HM Treasury). Full item: UK Budget measures for the self-employed.
Netherlands
Booking.com and VodafoneZiggo. See the overview. The ruling matters because Dutch works councils have been the main check on return-to-office mandates, and a court has now shown it will grant consent in their place for a moderate policy.
Corporate Watch
Booking.com (40%, court-approved) and VodafoneZiggo (three days proposed from 1 January) are this week’s two Dutch moves. They follow NatWest, Mercedes-Benz and Barclays, covered in last week’s digest.
AI Search & GEO Developments
Google, Microsoft and OpenAI will honour a shared robots.txt line, User-Agent: __usage_ai-training, to opt out of AI training. None supports it yet: Microsoft starts on 1 February 2027, Google in early 2027 and OpenAI “in the next few months”. At Google, the line also counts as disallowing Google-Extended, which covers grounding in Gemini Apps, so publishers who want to be cited in AI answers should check what each provider bundles with it (Search Engine Journal). Full item: the shared AI-training opt-out.
What to watch next week
- Spain’s 2027 minimum wage (SMI). The expert commission’s report is expected, and the minimum wage sets the digital nomad visa income floor. Until a decree appears in the BOE, the 2026 figure of €2,849 a month stands.
- Extremadura’s final decree in the DOE, which opens the application window.
- The Platform Work Directive transposition deadline is 2 December 2026.