Richard Ouwerling

Since August 1 of this year, the law (Section 7:653a of the Civil Code) has provided that the employment contract may no longer contain a prohibition on ancillary activities ("ancillary activities clause") unless there is an "objective reason for doing so. This means work in addition to the current position with the employer. This may also include work that the employee performs independently.

A non-competition clause can be challenged by employees if the clause unfairly disadvantages the employee. But how should an employer defend against this? In this article, on the basis of a concrete example, a judgment from the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, we examine in more detail the suspension (interlocutory proceedings) and nullification (proceedings on the merits) of a non-competition and non-solicitation clause and the balancing of interests that takes place.

Minister Van Gennip (Social Affairs and Employment) sent a package of labour market measures to the Lower House on 3 April (Kamerbrief over voortgang uitwerking arbeidsmarktpakket | Kamerstuk | Rijksoverheid.nl). The Minister largely follows the so-called 'Borstlap Committee' and the SER Advice and gives an advance insight into what the labour market should look like (at the latest) in 2025, according to the Cabinet.

If your company's staffing requirements fluctuate widely, an on-call agreement can be a solution. With an on-call agreement, a flexible layer of employees can be formed and employees can be deployed for a varying number of hours each time.

Like many other industries, the transportation industry is understaffed to keep up with growth. Job openings remain high and retirement attrition continues to increase. In this article, I discuss possible solutions.

Since the beginning of the corona crisis, hybrid working has been the norm. The number of corona infections is slowly increasing again. It is not inconceivable that some companies will soon again require their employees to work wholly or partially from home.

There may be reasons for you as an employer to unilaterally amend certain terms and conditions of employment if you are unable to reach an agreement with the employee(s). For example, to adjust the travel allowance because employees are working from home more often since the corona crisis.

Bankruptcies are slowly increasing again as a result of the energy crisis, high inflation and the cessation (and repayment) of government support measures. Retail, agrifood and business services are particularly hard hit. Entrepreneurs in these sectors should anticipate even worse business times. In that context, when part of the turnover is lost, two alternatives to a (final) reorganization can be considered, namely part-time dismissal and secondment.

Support measures have stopped and energy crisis and high inflation are putting many entrepreneurs in financial trouble (again). Starting to reorganise on time can then be a 'must'. But how do you substantiate the need for reorganisation?