De Brauw’s partner Stefan Sagel acted as legal counsel in proceedings before the Dutch Supreme Court. The matter concerned a hairdresser who was fired by her employer, in violation of the statutory rules. In its judgment of 15 June 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that personal circumstances again should influence the severance pay. Employees who have been fired by their employer in violation of the statutory rules may claim compensation for the wages they miss due to the unlawful dismissal. Their chances of a new job and employment history can give due weight to the height of the severance pay. This judgment can have consequences for a few hundred people a year. “It can mount up soon, but individual justice is back in the rules governing dismissal,” says Stefan Sagel. “It’s not about punishing the employer, but about what’s fair for the employee.”
Read more about this case here in De Volkskrant.
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
Claude Debussylaan 80
1082 MD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
P.O. Box 75084
1070 AB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
