Last Monday, 11 March 2024, the EU Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs finally reached agreement on the Platform Work Directive. Following the historic agreement in December 2023, the final directive seemed within reach, but several member states, including France and Italy, indicated they could not after all agree to its contents, fearing excessive European…
The coming month will, for many people, be dominated by Ramadan: the period during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Some employers fast themselves. Others wonder whether appropriate measures should be taken to accommodate the needs of fasting employees during this period. By law, an employer does not owe fasting employees any additional benefits…
From July 2024, certain employers are subject to the work-related personal mobility (WPM) reporting obligation. This means that employers with more than 100 employees must keep track of which modes of transport their employees use, how many kilometres they travel, and the type of fuel used. This climate measure takes effect on 1 July 2024,…
Many employment contracts include a (standard) non-compete clause. A validly agreed non-compete clause means that, after their contract ends, employees may not do the same work for a competing business. Non-compete clauses come in many shapes and sizes, and are intended to protect employers’ business interests. Clients regularly ask us for advice on how to…
A new year brings new legislative changes. In 2024 too, several changes are taking effect in employment and corporate law. These changes mainly strengthen the position of the employee. The mandatory CO2-emissions reporting for employers is also worth mentioning. This overview sets out the key legislative changes for employers. From 1 January 2024 Minimum Wage…
The Temporary Transparency of Turbo-Liquidation Act and mitigating the risk of abuse On 15 November 2023, the Temporary Transparency of Turbo-Liquidation Act entered into force. This law is intended to increase confidence in turbo-liquidation. To that end, it introduces a number of measures designed to reduce the risk of turbo-liquidation being abused. In connection with…
Employers can ask employees to be present a few minutes early so they can start their actual duties on time. One reason for this may be that logging in, or starting up devices and systems, can take a while, meaning employees need to begin before their official start time. This raises the question of whether…
What can you do if an employee has been declared unfit for work, but is meanwhile (secretly) working for another employer? Can that employee be dismissed, for example because he is not making full use of his capacity for his own job? The District Court The Hague recently examined this highly practical question. FactsThe employee…
The District Court Zeeland-West-Brabant recently ruled on suspending an employee due to redundancy. The court’s reasoning sets out clearly what is and isn’t allowed when suspending an employee during a UWV dismissal procedure. FactsOn 10 July 2023, during a weekly online meeting with her manager, the employee was unexpectedly told that her role would be…
Rent increases for commercial properties under scrutiny Facts Tenants of commercial properties face significant rent increases. These increases are due to annual rent indexations based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) price index from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The average annual indexation in recent years was only 1.66%. In 2021, energy prices worldwide…
Is the employee entitled to a career break? Facts An employee of Italian descent works as a cabin attendant for an airline and is currently studying Psychology at Leiden University. She has plans to participate in an exchange program in Canada from Sept. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2023. The airline has its own collective…
The new pension rules The cabinet, together with employee- and employer organizations, has reached a pension agreement with new agreements on pensions and state pension. Reasons for revising the pension system are changed social preferences and financial conditions. Think of the growing number of flexible employment relationships and self-employed workers and the decreasing number of…