Wage and Hour, Employment Litigation, Netherlands

The Netherlands: Understanding the Difference Between Wage Suspension and Wage Freeze

Littler on 5/20/2025

In practice, the terms “wage suspension” and “wage freeze” are often mistakenly used interchangeably in the Netherlands, with potentially dire consequences for the employer. The key differences between the two wage penalties...more

Dutch Supreme Court Finds On-Demand Deliverers Are Not Self-employed

Littler on 3/27/2023

The Dutch Supreme Court has just ruled that Deliveroo meal deliverers are not self-employed, but rather “regular” employees. With this decision the Supreme Court confirms the earlier judgments of the Cantonal Court and the...more

The Netherlands: Employee Not Entitled to Reimbursement for Loss of Company Car During Illness

Littler on 9/14/2021

The Hague Court of Appeal recently held that an employer could recover a leased company car from a sick employee without being obliged to reimburse the loss arising from the private use of the car....more

Dutch Court Ruling Shows a Fight is a Two-Way Street

Littler on 3/23/2021

The Dutch Court of Appeal recently addressed damages owed in a dismissal action where both the employer and employee acted with serious culpability. The question for the court was who was to blame for the termination of the...more

Dutch Court Gags Employee Who Refused to Wear a Mask

Littler on 1/19/2021

A deliveryman for a confectionery chain who was suspended because he repeatedly refused to wear a mask is not entitled to his salary, the District Court of Utrecht ruled last week....more

The Netherlands: Doing nothing doesn’t pay, even during Carnival

Littler on 5/18/2020

Recently, the Court of Appeal in Den Bosch ruled on a case involving an employee’s claim for wages three years after she had stopped being called up for work. According to the court, the employee had deliberately neglected...more