In 2015, the Work and Security Act (Wwz) was introduced. Recent research shows that more than 80% of the Dutch do not know how the dismissal rights work under the new legislation. “This does not surprise me,” says employment lawyer Ramon van Lieshout.
Research
The survey was conducted by research agency Novio Research among more than 500 respondents. Half of the people surveyed indicated that they were poorly to very poorly informed about the new dismissal law. Ramon van Lieshout, labor lawyer at Flexx from DAS, tells us about it. “I regularly hear from employees, young and old, both male and female, who prefer to go to the subdistrict court because of the subdistrict court formula to which they would then be entitled. That while the Work and Security Act has been a fact for more than a year and a half. Since 1 July 2015, the legislator has determined in which cases the procedure must be made to the UWV or to a sub-district court.”
What is striking in the results is the percentage of employees in the age group 25 to 34 who indicate good to very to be well informed about the new legislation. According to Ramon van Lieshout, this percentage can be explained. This generation grew up with the fast gathering of information via the internet. This is because information is available everywhere. “But it is difficult to estimate whether the information that is found is still accurate without the right knowledge of the facts,” says employment lawyer van Lieshout.
Changes in the Work and Security Act
But what has changed? Van Lieshout explains:“With the introduction of the Wwz, the subdistrict court formula has been pushed into the background. One of the most important changes in dismissal law is the introduction of the transition payment. From 1 July 2015, an employee who has been employed for two years or longer, is 18 or older, but has not yet reached the state pension age, is entitled to this. This is when his employment contract is terminated, is not extended or is dissolved by the subdistrict court. In almost all cases, this is lower than the aforementioned sub-district court formula.”
Transition fee
The employer does not owe the employee a transition payment in all situations. “If it is terminated by mutual consent by means of a settlement agreement, the employer does not owe a transition payment. In the negotiations for a settlement agreement, you should in most cases see the compensation as the absolute minimum. Certainly in cases involving dysfunction where the employer has not built up any or insufficient file”, says Van Lieshout.
Negotiation
Apart from the severance pay, there are still many matters that parties can negotiate about, says Van Lieshout. “Such as exemption from labour, exemption from a non-competition clause and a training budget. It also often happens that the fictitious notice period is not fully used. This quickly leads to a loss of income of a month. It is precisely these kinds of trivial matters and tax benefits that are regularly forgotten by employees. Employees often only have an eye for severance pay.”
Always let an experienced labor lawyer assist you during a negotiation. Usually there is more possible than you think.
