In The Netherlands it is important to carefully determine which
employees can be dismissed in a reorganization, as the selection of
the redundant employees is a very important issue. The so-called
'balance principle' applies to the process in which the
employer determines which employees will be made redundant. Dutch
employment lawyer Sander Schouten explains.
The selection of redundant employees
According to the balance principle, the number of people with
exchangeable jobs to be dismissed is divided among the various age
categories, in such a way that the percentage of representation of
each age category in that group of employees with exchangeable jobs
remains more or less the same. The employees with the fewest years
in service in each age category can be dismissed. Furthermore, the
employer must prove that there are no suitable jobs within the
company for the employees that will be dismissed.
