Planning a merger, acquisition or division of (part of) a business in the Netherlands or any other EU country? Then be aware of the EU law which sets out the strong position of employees in case of a transfer of undertaking (Directive 2001/23/EC). Russell Advocaten will inform you of the EU law on transfer of undertaking and the consequences thereof by a series of newsletters. This time: Transfer by law of employees’ rights and duties of employees.
In case of a transfer of undertaking all rights and duties arising from the employment contract(s) with the transferor existing at the time of the transfer will be transferred to the transferee by law (so without any further proceedings). Only regarding pension rights certain exceptions are being made. Even conditions which are specifically related to the business of the transferor will be transferred to the transferee, unless the performance of these specific business related conditions is impossible (for instance, personnel discounts on business products).
During the first year after the transfer, the transferor and transferee are jointly and severally liable for the obligations of the employment contract existing before the transfer. This means within the first year after the transfer both the transferor and the transferee can be addressed by the employee to perform obligations which existed before the transfer, such as payment of salary, holiday allowance, etc.
Would you like to receive more information about the EU law on transfer of undertaking and the consequences thereof? Or do you have any other questions on employment law? Please contact:
The European AI Act requires employers to ensure that employees have sufficient knowledge of AI systems. This can be achieved through training, but also through an AI policy tailored to the company. What should you include in such a policy? What role does the works council play in the implementation of the AI policy?
Reinier W.L. Russell, LL.M. has published an article on The benefits of a works council for entrepreneurs in the “Off the record” section of Primerus Weekly on March 3, 2026. Below you will find the text of this article.
Employees who are underperforming may be dismissed. However, they must first be given the opportunity to improve their performance through a performance improvement plan (PIP). What requirements must such a plan meet?
The works council has the right of consent when establishing, amending or withdrawing a remuneration system. Is an amendment to a share scheme an amendment to the remuneration system?
The salary thresholds for highly skilled migrants and European Blue Card holders are adjusted annually. What will be the amounts for 2026? Also, stricter rules for the highly skilled migrant scheme are proposed. What might change?
On-call contracts offer many advantages for both employers and on-call employees. However, there are also a few rules that they need to take into account. What are they?
