NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Inge de Laat, Tijmen Noordoven, Ilaha Muhseni and Laetitia Wezenbeek, Rutgers & Posch
• file a request with the sub-district court to declare the termination of the employment agreement null and void, as a result of which the employment agreement continues; or • request a fair compensation from the sub-district court. The wrongfully dismissed employee must submit the request within two months after the termination date of the employment agreement. If the wrongful dis - missal is related to a breach of the employer’s reas - signment obligation, the limitation period begins when the employee becomes aware – or reasonably should have become aware – of the breach. However, this period may not exceed eight months from the termi - nation date. There is no fixed formula for calculating fair compen - sation. The amount is determined by the sub-district court based on the specific circumstances of the case. The Supreme Court has identified several factors that may be taken into account, including: • the potential earnings the employee would have received had the employment relationship contin - ued; • whether the employee has found alternative employment or is expected to do so, including the anticipated income from such employment; and • the degree of fault attributable to the employer. 8.2 Anti-Discrimination Under Dutch law, discrimination on any ground is pro - hibited. The Dutch Equal Treatment Act ( Algemene wet gelijke behandeling ) explicitly prohibits discrimi - nation on the following grounds: • religion; • belief; • political opinion; • race; • sex; • nationality; • sexual orientation; and • marital status. In addition, specific employment legislation prohibits discrimination on other grounds, including:
• age; • disability or chronic illness; • the nature of the employment agreement (tempo - rary or permanent); and • working hours (full-time or part-time). Direct discrimination on any of these grounds is, in principle, not permitted, unless expressly allowed by law in specific situations. The prohibition also extends to indirect discrimination, which occurs when an apparently neutral rule or prac - tice leads, in practice, to unequal treatment based on one of the protected grounds. Indirect discrimina - tion – as well as direct discrimination based on age, contract type or working hours – may be justified, but only if the measure is objectively necessary to achieve a legitimate aim and the means are proportionate to that aim. Any agreement or arrangement between employer and employee that violates anti-discrimination laws may be declared null and void or voidable. In addition, the employee may hold the employer liable for dam - ages resulting from discriminatory conduct or omis - sions by the employer. 8.3 Digitalisation At present, legal proceedings in the Netherlands are generally not conducted digitally. In the Netherlands, employment disputes are primarily handled by the sub-district court judge. Although there is no separate employment court, sub-district court judges have substantial experience with employment matters. In addition, there is a specialised judicial body for employee participation issues: the Enterprise Cham - ber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. This chamber handles cases under the Dutch Works Councils Act ( Wet op de ondernemingsraden ), including disputes over advisory and consent rights of works councils. 9. Dispute Resolution 9.1 Litigation Employment Forums
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