Employment law

When a business employs 50 people or more, the Wet op de Ondernemingsraden (WOR) [Works Councils Act] comes into effect. This law stipulates that a Works Council must be established to play a role between the employer and employees.

This law provides the Works Council with various powers, such as the right to advise and the right of approval. These rights are not without obligation: if an employer decides not to follow the Works Council’s advice, the Works Council can go to court. And if the Works Council does not approve a decision that, under the right of consent, must be approved by the Works Council, an employer may not implement that decision without undergoing legal proceedings.

As a business owner, how do you see your Works Council? Do you see it as an advisory body and sparring partner with whom you work? Or does it seem to oppose your business, and are you often diametrically opposed to each other? The relationship between the employer and the employee in the Works Council goes far beyond the basic question of the right of consent or the right to advise. The way in which you cooperate with the Works Council is just as important. After all, cooperation between the two can help you achieve your goals.

The employment lawyers at De Haij & Van der Wende can assist employers with such things as:

1. setting up a Works Council;
2. assessing whether a decision is subject to the approval or advisory rights, or other powers of the Works Council;
3. supervising any legal proceedings before the Sub-district Court or Enterprise Division.