Expertise

Incapacity for work

Incapacity for work usually impacts more than just the employee in question. An incapacity for work situation may also seriously affect colleagues and the home front, for instance. The manner of communicating and maintaining contact with the employee in question and aiming for solutions, such as reintegration, is crucial. Within our practice group, we therefore look beyond employment law alone. In addition to knowledge of the many legal rules and decisions, we appreciate the social context and all the interests involved, from the health and safety service and company doctor to the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) and practitioners. We provide you with comprehensive advice, offer extensive support and try to avoid and resolve conflicts through negotiation, coaching or mediation. In the event of a conflict, we diligently protect your interests and have broad experience in conducting proceedings at the UWV or in court, such as: 

• Continued payment of wages during sickness
• Duty of care and rehabilitation
• Concurrence of holidays and sickness
• Degree of incapacity for work
• Avoiding extension of the period of continued salary payment 
• Wage suspension or discontinuation
• Objection and appeal
• Second opinion and expert opinion
• Liability of company doctor
• Working conditions
• Dismissal of a sick employee
• Obligations after dismissal and own-risk bearer status
• Dormant employment relationships and compensation of transition payment

For more information on incapacity for work please contact us directly: 

Wouter Hes

Dianne van Moerkerk

Suzan van der Meer

Flexible employment relationships

In the Netherlands, flexible types of employment are relatively widely used. To name a few examples: on-call contracts, such as zero-hours contracts and “min-max” contracts, temporary agency contracts, payrolling and freelance contracts. Such flexible employment relationships are in the spotlight. Specific legislation and regulations apply to all these forms of flexible employment. Our practice group can answer all your questions in this field and assists you with, for instance:

• drafting and assessing flexible agreements and model contracts
• advice on the opportunities and risks of flexible employment
• advice and support on the transition from flexible to standard employment
• equal pay for agency and payroll employees
• advice on flexible post-retirement employment
• litigation in the event of conflicts

For more information on flexible employment relationships please contact us directly:

Pauline Sick

Danny Vesters

Collective bargaining and right to strike

The collective arrangement of employment conditions is of great importance to Dutch employment law. The majority of Dutch employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CAO). Our practice group has in-depth expertise and broad experience in this area of expertise. As a proactive knowledge partner, we can provide you with up-to-date information, answer all your questions and provide you with thorough and solid advice. We also offer practical support where necessary and promote your legal interests in cases that go to court, such as:

• advising on the applicability of a collective bargaining agreement 
• explaining the collective bargaining agreement and the obligations arising therefrom 
• harmonising collective bargaining agreements in mergers and acquisitions
• advising on consultations and negotiations with social partners
• advising in the event of strikes and other collective actions
• litigating on collective bargaining agreements or strike issues

For more information about collective bargaining agreements or the right to strike please contact us directly:

Pauline Sick

Björn Schouten

Stefan van der Veen

Reorganisation and co-determination

Are you in charge of organisational changes, social policy or co-determination within your organisation? Our practice group has broad expertise and litigation experience in this area of expertise. We are happy to assist you during important developments and changes within your organisation, from assistance during a reorganisation, including consultations and negotiations with the works council and trade unions, to other advice or endorsement processes, such as: 

• Mergers and acquisitions
• Acquiring or disposing of a business unit (transfer of undertaking)
• Collective redundancy
• Social plan
• Business relocation
• Harmonisation of working conditions
• Adjustment of a remuneration or staff evaluation system
• Introduction of a homeworking policy

Law firms and clients from other countries also regularly engage us as an expert partner, for instance about setting up a European Works Council. 

For more information in the field of reorganisation and employee participation please contact us directly: 

Yvette Dissel

Corporate employment law

We are your boardroom’s experienced sparring partner for issues and conflicts at a corporate level. We handle complex issues with the utmost discretion and care. We advise and support you at all stages and on all fronts. We can furthermore resolve your issues and problems through either legal proceedings, negotiations, conciliation or mediation, such as: 

• Appointment and dismissal of managing directors
• Corporate governance
• Legal remuneration frameworks (top incomes)
• Boardroom conflicts between managing directors, supervisory directors and shareholders
• Inquiry proceedings
• Employment law issues in mergers and acquisitions (including due diligence investigations)

For more information in the field of corporate employment law please contact us directly:

Yvette Dissel

Paul Witteveen

Paul Boontje

Björn Schouten

Stefan van der Veen

International employment law

We are your experienced legal partner if your Dutch organisation operates internationally and has branches in several countries. We know our way around Dutch employment law like the back of our hands. We can lay the employment law foundation for all your personnel plans and provide you with advice. For the necessary legal advice abroad, we work together closely with more than 100 foreign partner firms in our worldwide network. Conversely, we are frequently engaged by foreign law firms and clients. We speak the international employer’s language. Our expertise and experience make us your local, trusted guide in Dutch employment law and Dutch business culture, such as: 

• International secondment (expats)
• International policies and employment conditions
• International labour disputes
• International litigation
• Cross-border work
• Immigration

Boontje is the only niche employment law firm that is a member of the Employment Law Alliance (ELA) international network. The ELA is the largest worldwide network of employment lawyers. 

For more information in the field of international employment law please contact us directly: 

Wouter Hes

Yvette Dissel

Danny Vesters

Compliance and integrity

Issues relating to compliance, integrity violations, harassment, bullying, discrimination, fraud and theft often give rise to a great deal of unrest in an organisation. Whether you are an employer, or if you have been accused of such a violation, you will often be faced with difficult questions and choices. The experienced specialists in our practice group are ready to assist you. We have extensive experience in these matters, both in trade and industry and in the public and semi-public sectors. We oversee the entire playing field and can advise you on the complex weighing of interests and strategies that often play a part in such matters. If necessary, we do so in close cooperation with other disciplines, such as forensic investigation, criminal law and communication consultants. If necessary, we can also assist you in complaint- and other procedures and in court actions. We can also arrange for mediation. Prevention is of course better than cure, so we can also advise and assist you in that regard.

• Compliance (hazard identification and prevention policy)
• (Suspected) fraud or theft
• (Suspected) breaches of integrity, harassment, bullying or discrimination
• Employment-law sanctions and dispute resolution related to compliance and integrity issues
• Mediations
• Complaint procedures
• Legal actions

Please contact us directly if you have any questions regarding fraud and integrity.

Paul Boontje

Pauline Sick

Public/semi-public sector

Interests are sometimes weighed differently in the public/semi-public sector than, for instance, in trade and industry. We have therefore combined our knowledge of employment law and our broad experience in this field in a separate practice group. We are the proactive advisor and sparring partner for a wide range of clients, from hospitals, educational institutions and universities to housing corporations, care centres and church organisations. We also specialise in the legal position of public servants, set out since 1 January 2020 in the Wet normalisering rechtspositie ambtenaren (Public Servants (Standardization of Legal Status) Act. 

Our approach is characterised by more than employment law alone. First, we oversee the entire playing field of parties and interests. Within that framework we create the optimal scope for negotiations and aim for the best, most sustainable solution. Mediation is one of the options. We can assist you in matters such as:

• Board issues
• Job suitability
• Underperformance
• Reorganisations
• Salary adjustments
• Drafting new employment conditions

For more information on your public/semi-public organisation please contact us directly:

Margriet van der Velden-Rijnsburger

Privacy

Employers frequently process personal data of employees. Processing personal data is subject to a wide range of statutory regulations and must be handled with extreme care in order to (among other things) prevent financial loss, reputational damage and fines. Your responsibility in the field of privacy is related to almost every file within your organisation. The protection of personal data therefore plays an important role in the field of employment law. Our area of expertise and experience allow us to share our knowledge and to advise and assist you in the fields of for instance:

• Implementation of the GDPR and compliance
• Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs)
• The appointment of a data protection officer
• The drafting, reviewing and updating of privacy documentation, such as a privacy policy or data processing agreement
• Retaining periods
• Privacy issues during a restructuring or reorganisation
• Privacy in job applications, dismissals or incapacity for work
• Reporting data breaches 
• Courses and presentations in the fields of employment law and privacy

For more information on privacy please contact us directly: 

Danny Vesters

Lilach Zalait

Suzan van der Meer