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ARTICLE · 23 JUNE 2023

Will The Dutch Government Ban Non-compete Clauses?

Littler Mendelson
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In a recent letter to the Netherlands' House of Representatives, Minister Van Gennip announced a proposed reform of non-compete clauses, including non-solicitation clauses.

NetherlandsEmployment and HR
Eric Van Dam
Eric Van Dam
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In a recent letter to the Netherlands' House of Representatives, Minister Van Gennip announced a proposed reform of non-compete clauses, including non-solicitation clauses. It is clear through these proposed amendments that the government wants to limit the use of such clauses.

Below, we set out what the government is planning.

Background to the reform

The government commissioned research into the use of non-compete clauses. Some 37% of Dutch employees are bound by such a clause, double the figure in 2015. This is almost always a standard clause, though many employees do not have access to sensitive information about the company or business contacts. And protecting the accumulated know-how and goodwill, which is covered by the term "market position," is precisely the purpose of the non-compete clause. Moreover, the Dutch Supreme Court recently confirmed that 35% of employers appear to use the non-compete clause to bind employees, for which the clause is not

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