Employers
We are happy to assist employers. Thanks to our many years of experience, we know how things work for different companies, ranging from pharmacies, IT companies, physiotherapy practices, addiction care organisations, companies in the automotive industry to production companies. We are keen to contribute to the success of an enterprise within a framework of good employment law.
Employers can do a lot themselves in the field of employment law, especially if there is also an HR advisor on hand. We want to support employers where possible to enable them to keep doing so. If it becomes more complicated, we will gladly step in to assist.
A proper contract gives maximum certainty about the rights and obligations of the employer and the employee. Consider for example a fair overtime compensation scheme, and a clear non-competition/non-solicitation clause. Reijnders Vreugdenhil Advocaten can amend your existing (standard) employment contract so that it complies with the current regulations under the WWZ (Dutch Work and Security Act). Alternatively, our firm can provide you with a newly drafted employment contract.
For other contracts and rules & regulations, you can also use Reijnders Vreugdenhil Advocaten on matters including staff rules, management agreement, secondment agreement, contract for services (overeenkomst van opdracht), franchise agreements, agreement with the occupational health and safety service (arbodienst), policy rules preventing inappropriate conduct/integrity issues, social media code, and workplace alcohol and drugs policy.
If you want to deploy your staff differently or reduce the workforce, we can guide you through the necessary reorganisation process. We can take care of the entire dismissal process, as well as the advisory process with the works council and consultation with unions if necessary. You can also choose to keep in charge of the process yourself and only use us for behind-the-scenes advice.
Since not all employers have sufficient manpower and knowledge in-house to determine the right approach and strategy for a reorganisation, we can also connect you with the reorganization advisor with whom we have had good experiences and with whom we often collaborate.
The introduction of the WWZ has not made employment termination law more flexible, but in many cases more difficult. On the bright side, the cost involved in dismissing someone is lower than before the WWZ was introduced. Particularly where an employee’s performance is unsatisfactory, or where the working relationship is impaired, the employer is expected to take certain measures before it can turn to the court and have its application for dismissal honoured. With our many years of experience, we can guide you through these matters. Reijnders Vreugdenhil Advocaten can advise you on this preliminary process: what can you do so that the court will honour your application? Or, of course, what can you do to avoid the need for dismissing said employee? Where possible, we try to reach an agreement with the employee in question and agree terms for a settlement. If that proves impossible, we will plead your case vigorously before the court. There may also be other reasons to dismiss an employee, for example because of repeated failure to fulfil their obligations, or culpable act. We can also advise you adequately in such cases.
If an employee has gone far beyond what has been described above (e.g. violence, theft, fraud, ignoring instructions, ignoring warnings, etc.), summary dismissal is possible. There is no need for a judge to be involved. However, because summary dismissal has major consequences for the employee, said employee will not usually accept dismissal and will institute court proceedings. In this way, the courts will still become involved. In order to ensure that the dismissal is upheld by the court, it is advisable to ask us for a risk inventory before you summarily dismiss an employee. We can then guide you through the dismissal process.
In fraud cases, we can use a reputable detective agency that has short lines of communication with the police and the judiciary.
If one of your employees becomes ill, a series of obligations will be imposed on you and the employee under the Dutch Gatekeeper Act (‘Wet Poortwachter’). Employers that do not meet their obligations run the risk of having to continue payment of salary over an extended period of time. Employees on sick leave also have obligations, and if they do not comply, this can also have consequences for their right to continued payment of salary. In practice, many employers benefit from timely and expert support if any employee is on long-term sick leave. This is certainly the case if conflicts arise during that period. Even if an employee leaves the company while being on sick-leave, this may have adverse financial consequences for the employer. We can offer employers the necessary legal support where an employee is on long-term sick leave (mostly acting behind the scenes) and ensure that the right measures are taken in good time, such as engaging a reintegration agency, requesting an expert opinion from the UWV, or the deployment of a mediator. We can deploy our network of specific experts in the field of occupational disability.
Dismissal of an employee on sick leave is difficult as long as termination of the employment contract of a sick employee is prohibited. We can advise employers on the options for dismissal either through the courts or in consultation with the employee. Moreover, we can be of assistance in the UWV procedure resulting in the dismissal of an employee who has been on sick leave for 2 years.
The deployment of personnel from abroad can be of great importance to your company. Work permits are currently not required for EU citizens (except currently Croats). There are, however, significant regulations regarding the terms and conditions of employment and working conditions under which EU employees can be employed in the Netherlands. The penalties for non-compliance with these regulations are substantial. In most cases, an employment permit is necessary for a worker from outside the EU. We are happy to advise you on the possibilities of having an employee admitted to the Netherlands and the consequences with regard to employment terms and conditions and social insurance.
Feel free to contact us
Employment and civil service law:
Emke Vreugdenhil
Wilhelminastraat 53
2011 VL Haarlem
tel: 06 – 44049832
tel: 085 – 4011520
fax: 085 – 4011521
e-mail: vreugdenhil@rvadvocaten.nl
Personal injury law:
Esther Reijnders
Herengracht 124-128
1015 BT Amsterdam
tel: 06 – 17512658
tel: 085 – 4011520
fax: 085 – 4011521
e-mail: reijnders@rvadvocaten.nl