Richard Ouwerling

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?

If employer and employee wish to terminate an employment contract by mutual agreement, they sign a termination agreement. A termination agreement often includes a final discharge clause. A final discharge clause ensures that parties do not have to renegotiate rights and compensation after the execution of the termination agreement. But how final is the final discharge clause in a termination agreement?

Entrepreneurs like to work together "in good faith." In other words, agreements are made verbally and the parties immediately start working together. That's great, after all we want to get to work quickly and deal with legal matters as little as possible.

As an employer, you like to keep your employees' knowledge up to date. This is important for the sustainable employability of your personnel and it can create more productivity within the organisation. Thus, a win-win situation.

The bonus is a nice incentive for employees that you can use as an employer. But you have to be careful. The bonus scheme can be risky if it is not put down on paper correctly. As an employer, you then face the question: is the employee entitled to the bonus and how high is it? Obviously, you do not want to have that discussion with your employees. In this article, we discuss how you, as an employer, can draw up a good bonus scheme.

Managing director and works council: how to achieve effective cooperation? The works council is an important body within the organisation. ...

A reintegration process starts by the employer reporting sick. Earlier, we wrote an article about the steps that should be taken in a reintegration process. But what if the sick employee does not cooperate? Which actions can you take as an employer to get the reintegration process back on track or can the employer fire the sick employee if he does not cooperate?

Previously we wrote an article about the rules for camera surveillance in the workplace. The need for employer monitoring exceeds - partly in view of the corona pandemic - the mere checking of the workplace with cameras. Employers also have a need to monitor employees' browsing habits, as well as the emails they send. And, of course, they want to prevent employees from spending hours Internet shopping and watching TV at the home workplace during working hours. But isn't monitoring this a violation of the employee's privacy, especially at the home workplace? In this article, we address that question. Is an employer allowed to use monitoring tools and what rules must the employer abide by during a monitoring. To form a clear picture, we will also discuss case law.