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A brief report of the AIJA Annual Labour Law Conference
From 26 to 28 June, our colleagues Ilaha Muhseni and Claire Huijts participated in the annual Labour Law Seminar of the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA) in Cambridge. This year, the seminar focused on the theme: “Lifecycle of an entrepreneur – from personal to personnel.” During various panel discussions, labour law specialists from around the world exchanged knowledge and experiences on a wide range of topics related…
Read more >Fair compensation awarded after employer fails to honor ambiguous promise to extend employment contract
The claimant had been employed by Venture Group B.V. as a Senior Legal Counsel since 1 January 2024, under a fixed-term employment contract for 12 months. The letter of offer stated that, subject to satisfactory performance and positive business prospects, the contract would be converted to a permanent position. On 4 September 2024, a progress meeting took place in which the director expressed a positive attitude towards an…
Read more >Initiative Self-Employment Act (Zelfstandigenwet): Now Open for Internet Consultation
Summary For several decades, the Netherlands has struggled to enact clear legislation regarding self-employed persons. The Declaration of Employment Relationship (VAR), introduced in 2005, was intended to provide freelancers with advance clarity regarding their tax status. In practice, however, this regime often resulted in pseudo self-employment. Its successor, the Deregulation of Assessment of Employment Relationships Act (Wet DBA) of 2016, failed to resolve these issues and instead generated…
Read more >No Liability for Client in Alleged Harmful Working Conditions for Freelancer
On May 6, 2025, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2025:1204) issued a decision regarding whether a client can be held liable for psychological harm allegedly suffered by a freelancer (zzp’er) due to harmful working conditions. What was the case about? A freelancer, engaged via a broker, performed specialized network tasks in the IT department of the Dutch Social Insurance Bank (SVB). The freelancer claimed to have developed psychological…
Read more >First Major Legislative Proposal of the Labour Market Reform Package: Greater Security for Flexible Workers
On Monday, 19 May 2025, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment submitted the first significant legislative proposal under the labour market reform package to the House of Representatives: the Proposal on Greater Security for Flexible Workers (36749). This proposal forms part of a broader effort to reform the Dutch labour market by reinforcing the legal position of employees while improving the operational flexibility available to employers. If…
Read more >Lighting a joint during Teams-meeting leads to lawful dismissal with immediate effect
A Managing Director employed by Pentagon International B.V. lit a joint at the end of a Teams meeting without realizing that his camera was still on. The Managing Director’s supervisor called him shortly after the Teams meeting to confront him about the incident. The Managing Director admitted that it was indeed a joint. The following day, the Managing Director was interviewed and subsequently dismissed with immediate effect. This…
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