Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

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House of Representatives Adopts Bill for Protection of Whistleblowers

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Authors: Eric van Dam, Partner, and Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner – Clint | Littler

On December 20, 2022, the Dutch House of Representatives adopted the Protection of Whistleblowers bill, through which the EU Whistleblowers Directive will be implemented. The bill adds breaches of EU law to the scope of the internal reporting procedures and introduces more procedural rules for internal reporting procedures. Furthermore, reporters no longer have to report internally first in order to fall within the scope of the protection measures for whistleblowers. The Dutch Senate still has to adopt the bill before it can actually enter into force.

Dutch Supreme Court Applies Strict Interpretation to Notification Obligation Employers

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Authors: Eric van Dam, Partner, and Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner – Clint | Littler

Employees with temporary employment contracts have to be notified by the employer one month prior to the end-date of the contract about whether the contract will be extended and, if so, under which conditions. This notification must be done in writing. If the employer fails to comply with this obligation, the employee is entitled to a compensation of one month’s salary or, in case of failure to comply timely, a pro rata compensation. In October 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that this compensation is always owed in case of failure to comply, even when the employee was notified orally and did not suffer any disadvantage due to the fact that the notification was not done in writing.

Initiative to Better Regulate “Working with” and Self-Employment

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Authors: Eric van Dam, Partner, and Dennis Veldhuizen, Partner – Clint | Littler

On December 16, 2022, the Dutch Minister of Employment and Social Affairs published a letter in which she outlined plans to better regulate working with and as a self-employed person. One of these measures is to further clarify the statutory term “working under supervision,” which has shown to be the most important element to distinguish employees from self-employed persons. In deciding whether a worker works under supervision, the degree of independent entrepreneurship and organizational embedding of the worker was attributed increased importance in case law. The Minister now plans to publish a bill before the summer of 2023 through which the importance of organizational embedding and independent entrepreneurship for identifying supervision can be codified.