Day of the Entrepreneur: Mona Keijzer in conversation with hospitality entrepreneurs on business climate, regulatory pressure and health ambitions.

Mona Keijzer (BBB) visited the Amsterdam hospitality industry on Friday 17 November, during the Day of the Entrepreneur. On this special day, entrepreneurs are put in the limelight and the importance of entrepreneurs for the Netherlands is highlighted. Together with catering entrepreneurs, we talked to her about entrepreneurship and labour, regulatory pressure, and the healthy food environment.

The working visit stems from the need of hospitality entrepreneurs to share their concerns and challenges with politicians. Mona Keijzer was received by KHN chairman Marijke Vuik, entrepreneur and chairman KHN-Amsterdam Pim Evers and entrepreneurs Jan Keijnberg, Sahand Nourozi Oranje and Remi Oerlemans. During the working visit, there was plenty of discussion about the business climate, regulatory pressure and the current government's ambitions for sustainability and health. Using their own practical examples, the entrepreneurs conveyed very clearly that it is the accumulation of high employer burden and regulatory pressure that hinders innovation and growth.

KHN president Marijke Vuik: The conversation with Mona Keijzer provided a nice platform for an open dialogue and sharing the insights and concerns from the sector. Mona is an approachable person and she really took the time to hear from entrepreneurs what they are currently up against. I sincerely hope she will bring this to a negotiating table, should the BBB end up in coalition negotiations soon.

We gave Mona Keijzer the following inputs.

Entrepreneurship and labour

Recent increases in minimum wage and benefits have posed significant challenges to the hospitality sector, and further increases could jeopardise the livelihoods of business owners and employees. Therefore, KHN advocates a comprehensive review of tax measures and allowances to benefit employees more, without placing the burden entirely on employers. A balance between security for employees and flexibility for employers is immensely important to continue doing business with confidence, according to entrepreneurs.

Regulatory pressure

Recent research shows that hospitality businesses are faced with numerous legal obligations that entail high costs and are often assessed as unworkable or poorly workable. Local regulatory pressure is also enormous; it not only costs a lot of money (in fees and permit costs) but also a lot of time. According to KHN, reducing the regulatory burden should therefore be given a more prominent place, especially in a new coalition agreement. Some possibilities to achieve this are to supplement the existing regulation pressure programme of the Ministry of Economic Affairs with measurable targets for regulation pressure reduction and to draw up a concrete action plan to implement the recommendations from the SME indicator study.

Healthy food environment

KHN supports the 2018 National Prevention Agreement, which aims to make the Netherlands healthier by 2040. Self-regulation and the joint efforts of various parties to tackle health problems should be leading, instead of introducing unilateral legislation to promote healthy living. KHN therefore does not welcome the proposal by the outgoing State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport to give municipalities the power to bar the locations of unhealthy food providers. The fast food sector is taking steps to encourage healthier choices and is calling for a level playing field and clear definitions of healthy and unhealthy food.

Entrepreneur's Day

The Day of the Entrepreneur puts entrepreneurs in the limelight. A day created by MKB-Nederland. MKB-Nederland believes entrepreneurs deserve respect for their efforts and that there should be a moment when attention is given to the importance of entrepreneurs for the Netherlands. A day on which entrepreneurs are thanked for their daring and perseverance.