Employment & Employee Benefits

+ 19 other experts

EMPLOYMENT LAW EXPERTISE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

Handling complex and multi-disciplinary employment matters, with market-leading experience in proceedings brought before the Supreme Court

We advise on the employment law and co-determination aspects of national and international mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and outsourcings, as well as individual and collective dismissals. Our expertise focuses on advising large companies on the appointment and dismissal of higher management, remuneration schemes, reorganisations, collective labour agreements (CAOs), pensions law, national and European co-determination and industrial actions (strikes). Our lawyers deal with all aspects of employment litigation, and have an unequalled position in Supreme Court litigation.

As employment law is ever evolving, we ensure that our lawyers are fully abreast of current developments and market practices. Our lawyers are actively involved in the academic and judicial development of employment law, as speakers, university lecturers or members of the judiciary, and also publish regularly on various employment law issues.

We offer our clients specialist legal knowledge in multidisciplinary matters, in close cooperation with our regulatory, tax and corporate expertise groups.


'Very pleasant to work with' - the firm's diligence is a source of praise among clients, one underlining its 'well thought through and comprehensive advice'.

Chambers Europe, 2021

Insights

20 December 2025

Employment law chronicle - looking back and ahead

De Brauw's Stefan Sagel and Irina Timp have published an article in legal journal NJB outlining significant developments in employment law over the past year. The chronicle examines significant developments in both Dutch and European employment law from October 2024 to mid-November 2025.
2 October 2025

Supreme Court: employer must pay for lawyer education

Our employment team successfully represented the Dutch Bar Association (NOvA) in preliminary proceedings before the Dutch Supreme Court. The case concerned a dispute between a law firm and a trainee lawyer (advocaat-stagiair) regarding the reimbursement of the costs of the Professional Training Programme for Lawyers (Beroepsopleiding Advocaten). The central question was whether a clause requiring employees to repay these costs in the event of early termination of the employment agreement is valid under Dutch law, also in light of EU law.
29 September 2025

Implementation of EU Pay Transparency Directive postponed

On 17 September 2025, the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) published a parliamentary letter on the legislation implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, among other topics (see our previous article here). The anticipated timeline for implementation, 7 June 2026, has proven to be unfeasible. One of the main reasons is the need for additional time to shape the content and enforcement of national regulations in such a way that employers can meet their equal pay-related obligations effectively and with minimal administrative burdens.