Social Dialogue On Employment Reforms Has Begun

On March 8 2013 the Dutch government, which has been in power since November 2012, started negotiations with the unions and employer representatives to reform key aspects of the employment legislation. This update considers the main changes proposed by the government in its coalition agreement, with a focus on the dismissal system.

The Dutch dismissal law is known for its dual system, which enables the employer to dismiss an employee either if it has been granted a permit by the UWV WERKbedrijf (the public employment service), or through the termination of an employment agreement by the subdistrict court. The coalition agreement proposes to abolish this dual dismissal system and to replace it with a preventive review of a dismissal by the UWV. Although the employer will be obliged to obtain advice from the UWV, it may decide to ignore such advice and make a different decision. In order to speed up the process, the proposal requires the UWV to provide its advice