Business Law Year 2, semester 3, teacher: Mr. Broeren,
- Employment Law 1 and 2
- Intellectual Property Law
- Mergers and Aquisition
- public procurement
- sustainable development law
employment law: Rules and principles that govern the relationship between workers (employees),
employers, trade unions (vakbonden) and the government.
labour (arbeids) law: relation between employer and employee organisations, public authorities, etc.
Although in a strict sense, employment law and labour law are not the same, the two terms are often
used interchangeably.
Dismissal (ontslag) law: that part of employment law that deals with firing employees
Parties in employment relations
private (privaat) law: Law which regulates the relationships between individuals.
Public (publieks) law: Body of law governing relations between a state and its citizens, and dealing
with the structure and operation of the government. It covers administrative law, constitutional law,
and criminal law.
Natural person: A human being, naturally born,
Legal person: an individual or group that is allowed by law to take legal action, as plaintiff (eiser) or
defendant (verweerder). It may include natural persons as well as fictitious (fictief) persons (such as
corporations).
A Company is a legal person under private law. An employee is always a natural person, the employer
can be a natural person but also (and more often) a legal person, i.e. a company that has been
incorporated (opgenomen) or a public authority
Public authority: body that is part of the State. In law a public body also has the status of a legal
person. The employees of a public authority are referred to as civil servants (bedienden). Their
employment conditions may differ from those of employees of a company, but they are also
employed under an employment contract.
These are examples of typical employment/labour/dismissal law issues:
• Can you employ and dismiss staff just like that?
• Where do you find the rules?
• What are the rules?
• Do you have to apply the rules?
• Are there any other organisations that play a role?
Relevant Legislation (relevante wetgeving)
Please note: in common (gemeenschappelijk) law there is no civil (burgelijk) code, the rules are laid
down in individual acts or in jurisprudence/case law. However, keep in mind that a lot of employment
law is governed (geregeerd) by European law, so the differences between civil law and common law
in that respect are decreasing.
Relevant legislation:
the Civil Code: you can find general rules on employment contracts and the termination of
employment contracts.
Acts: for example the act on working conditions (health and safety regulations).
Case law: decisions made by different courts on for example discrimination, liability of the
employer, unfair dismissal.
EEC/EC/EU Treaties: especially important on the free movement of persons, non-
discrimination principle, working conditions, etc. All these rules are directly applicable in the
member states, a citizen may invoke these rules regardless of whether they have been
implemented (transposed) or not.
,Employment and recruitment
Ban (verbod) of discrimination:
Publication of vacancies (vacatures)
Job interviews
On the shop floor
Circle or chain arrangement (not 0 hours contract)
3X3X3: old: 3 contracts X 3 years X 3 interval months
3X2X6: new: 3 contracts X 2 years X 6 interval months the 4th contract must be a permanent
contract
The employment relationship
Criteria for employment relation (i.e. employment agreement/contract):
offer and acceptance (formation of contract in general)
party 1 performs tasks upon request of party 2;
party 2 has the obligation (verplichting) to pay for the performance;
party 1 has the obligation to perform his or her duties;
as instructed by party 2 (hierarchical relation)
What is special, therefore, for an employment relation in comparison to any other contractual
relation: relation of authority; the obligation of either party to behave as a good employer/employee.
Requirements for employment contract:
Valid contract containing specification of position, salary, location and commencement of the
employment. Contracts has to be in writing
Issues that apply for all personnel may be laid down in an employee manual.
Contract of service (ZZP) do work for a client and get paid for it, but is not protected by
employment law (contract law)!!!!!
Types of workers
• Contract for temporary:
• employment relation with Temp Agency
• Contract for seasonal worker:
• employment relation with company e.g. “zero-hours contract”
• Contract for self-employed worker:
• no employment relation, contractual relation between two independent parties: contract
for services
Types of contracts
For a definite (definitief) period of time/project (fixed- term contract (bepaalde tijd)). For an
indefinite period of time (permanent contract)
Employment Contracts: Contents
Obligatory provisions (voorzieningen): what do you have to have in your contract: term, salary,
position, place of work, working hours, trial period
Perks: e.g. pension, company car, laptop, telephone, bonuses
In an employee manual you find detailed descriptions on the company’s rules and policy with respect
to, for example reporting ill, special leave, a bonus scheme, group insurances, the use of internet, etc.
Employment contracts content
, • Term + position + salary : has to be in a contract
• Trial period : has to be in a contract
• Notice period (both parties!) : not necessary in a contract
• Days’ holidays / Special leave (parental leave) : not necessary in a contract
• Illness and disability : not necessary in a contract
• Confidentiality (vertrouwelijk) clause : does not have to be in a contract
• Non-competition clause : does not have to be in a contract
• Company car and other company property : does not have to be in a contract
• Health insurance : does not have to be in a contract
• Pension arrangement : does not have to be in a contract
The employment relation may end by:
• the consent of both parties;
• the end of the contract period;
• termination with immediate effect;
• termination in court;
• termination by giving notice;
• the employee’s death.
If a fixed-term contract ends, but the employee continues to come to work and the employer does
not stop him/her from doing so, the employment contract will have been tacitly renewed.
The settlement agreement: is an agreement between employer and employee to make the dismissal
seem a termination in mutual consent. This is agreed upon to avoid legal procedures (applying for a
permit or filing a petition at court) and at the same time secure the employee’s rights to an
employment benefit
For collective redundancies EU law applies. Collective redundancy is understood to mean the
dismissal of 20 employees or more, at the same time, or within a period of three months, for
commercial reasons. When dismissing staff, the employer must observe the “reflection principle”. The
reflection principle requires that employees are selected in such a way so that the age range within a
specific category of interchangeable positions is proportionately the same before and after the
dismissals.
Examples of serious causes: basically all criminal acts, e.g. embezzling moneys, acting in violation of
company rules – if repeatedly.
If the company had not gone bankrupt but had been taken over by another company, the
employment contracts would in principle be continued.
Les avantages d'acheter des résumés chez Stuvia:
Qualité garantie par les avis des clients
Les clients de Stuvia ont évalués plus de 700 000 résumés. C'est comme ça que vous savez que vous achetez les meilleurs documents.
L’achat facile et rapide
Vous pouvez payer rapidement avec iDeal, carte de crédit ou Stuvia-crédit pour les résumés. Il n'y a pas d'adhésion nécessaire.
Focus sur l’essentiel
Vos camarades écrivent eux-mêmes les notes d’étude, c’est pourquoi les documents sont toujours fiables et à jour. Cela garantit que vous arrivez rapidement au coeur du matériel.
Foire aux questions
Qu'est-ce que j'obtiens en achetant ce document ?
Vous obtenez un PDF, disponible immédiatement après votre achat. Le document acheté est accessible à tout moment, n'importe où et indéfiniment via votre profil.
Garantie de remboursement : comment ça marche ?
Notre garantie de satisfaction garantit que vous trouverez toujours un document d'étude qui vous convient. Vous remplissez un formulaire et notre équipe du service client s'occupe du reste.
Auprès de qui est-ce que j'achète ce résumé ?
Stuvia est une place de marché. Alors, vous n'achetez donc pas ce document chez nous, mais auprès du vendeur RadbouduniversityBredauniversity. Stuvia facilite les paiements au vendeur.
Est-ce que j'aurai un abonnement?
Non, vous n'achetez ce résumé que pour 3,19 €. Vous n'êtes lié à rien après votre achat.
