Part 2: Firing employees in the Netherlands

Tags

Dutch Employment Law, Employment Law, Firing in Netherlands, Netherlands Employment Law, Netherlands Law

Refer Part 1 here

Even though you wanted to talk to Linda, it did not happen. And the day came when you were at the court. Linda asked you to come early to have a quick chat. Linda appears to be a young girl and not a veteran lawyer as you thought. Linda started to explain the process.

The judge will hear the explanations from both lawyers. And then the judge will give a clue what his decision is going to be. He then would let both parties settle it themselves for 5-10 mins outside the court. We go back inside, if still not settled then the judge will announce his decision after a week or two.

Linda then tells me something that puzzled me. As an employee whom the employer wants to fire, you cannot say anything against the employer. You need to prove that you can get along well. Because you want to continue working for the company. This arose a lot of questions

• An employee is in an awkward position if it reaches here. Cannot accuse employer, he might hate the employer but needs to prove he likes to continue working there.
• The employer cannot be accused of anything.
• Linda doesn’t need to spend time learning the case, she can just state a few general points and that is it!

So the session started. Judge first asked the employer jurist to state their viewpoint. He did. And then it was our turn. Linda started to speak. She said a few lines.. a summary and core points. She wanted to mention a particular line from the case file, but could not find it.

[to be cont.]

 

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How a Dutch employer fires you ‘zo makkelijk’

Tags

Can Dutch employers fire you?, Dutch Employement law, Dutch Employer, Dutch Permanent contract, Firing in Netherlands, Firing Permanent, How to fire employee, Permanent contract

A permanent contract with a Dutch employer and your life is secured? Think again!

There could be conflicts arising out of work. And the employer can willfully create options to fire you. Let us examine one such scenario where the employer is trying to fire you. Keep in mind that the employer has legal insurance. You as an employee should also have legal insurance (explained later).

The first step is to give you an official warning. They need to make sure they have at least 2 warnings to go to the court. But this might take some time or may still not work. So they will probe for your reaction or the past performances. Their aim will be to play their trump card at this stage: 3rd party mediation arising out of mistrust!

So there is a conflict going on and you think you are being given a fair chance to talk openly and freely. But sorry, you are being taken for a ride! You will have 2 options. 1) bring your own mediator 2) they will bring their mediator. It does not matter what you choose, you will get fired anyway! Why? Because both parties must agree in writing that everything discussed in the mediation meeting will remain a secret. This cannot be revealed even in court. So the employer does nothing but simply sit through the meeting. You are advised to bring your own mediator to make the employer talk. In this scenario, the employer brings the mediator. The mediator is from the same legal insurance firm of the employer (this is unfair in itself).

In the first meeting, nothing happens. And there will be a second meeting(to prove they are trying hard) nothing happens here too! This second meeting could be a time when the employer can discuss compensation to leave the company. After a week, the official conclusion will be that the trust is broken and that the employer cannot continue with the employee. And with this, the company approaches the court. In case you had denied a 3rd party mediation then they go to court adding that as a reason!

Court sitting will happen in a small room. Employer and their lawyer, you and your lawyer will be present. And there will be 2 judges(one judge does nothing but appears to be listening). Maybe there will be a student/trainee watching the whole conversation sitting behind you. The judges will have a rough idea of the case. And it could be that the judge(who is in charge) has already decided in his mind whom to punish. But you never know.

Now the hearing begins.  Both jurists will start saying their part of the story. This is the moment when you feel proud and safe that there is someone to support you, to tell your side of the story, to fight for you. But hold on! A short flashback to your relationship with your lawyer is necessary before we continue 🙂

How did the employer get their lawyer in the first place? Simple! they have legal insurance(DAS, ARAG, Centraal Beheer). These companies provide a single point of contact. So one person always knows their problems and can help them easily. And where did you get your lawyer? You have legal insurance too as an employee(same companies as above). You should have taken this on your own(employer will not ask you to or do it for you :P) and it costs like 15 euros or so per month(but there will be an ‘own risk’ factor). If for some strange reason you forgot to take this insurance, then you would have found a jurist on your own. In which case the whole episode will cost you around 2500 euros.

Lawyers are divided into 2 in the Netherlands, namely ‘advocaat'(senior) and ‘jurist'(junior). The employer first goes to the sub-district court. And here, you only need a ‘jurist’. You are also free to argue on your own at the court with the help of a translator(the judge might also allow without the translator). One strange suggestion to consider would be, hire a jurist, but argue the case on your own.

So you have your jurist now and you are set to start your case! Let us name your jurist Linda. How would you tell her your story? Well … Linda has sent you an email asking you to explain your side of the story. But you wanted to talk to her first and explain a bit and ask some questions. But she insists that you write it down and then ask questions on top of that. There are two possibilities for this reaction:

1) Linda is super busy because legal insurance companies have a lot of clients(individuals and companies). They make money from serving as many clients as possible with limited employees.

2) Or it could be that Linda just wants to approach it in a systematic way. While writing it down, things get more clear for you. It will be easy to talk to Linda referring to the points on the document.

So you write everything down in an email and send it to Linda. Days go by and no response from Linda. One day Linda sends you an email! She says the date to submit the case at the court has arrived and want you to verify the case statements she has prepared. You look at the final document and want to talk to her about some changes. Linda insists that you send it in writing as a reply to the email.  There are two possibilities for this reaction :P, which are given below:

1. Linda, at the moment, has no clue about your case. She had outsourced it to a cheap trainee student who read your statements, translated and converted it into a court case. If you agree then it will be confirmed. If not the same trainee keeps adjusting it till it gets confirmed through the email replies you send. And then the trainee might do a knowledge transfer to Linda.
2. Linda herself prepared the case, talking to you and changing it herself will lead to further conflicts between you and Linda. You would say, “I said this and you wrote that”. Since you are communicating everything in emails, there is no chance of a conflict. Clarity in communication between a lawyer and client is of prime importance and Linda is doing it to perfection! So far so good!

 

~ to be continued

Top 3 Culinary Experience in Netherlands for Indians

Let us try to discover the top 3 culinary experiences which are likely to be a hit among Indians in Netherlands!

The list consists of the following Top 3s

• Breakfast
• Sweet Delicacies
• Savoury Snacks
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Beverages
• Desserts

Don’t forget to comment your thoughts!

• Top 3 Breakfasts 

#1 Van der Valk Hotel Break fast: Considered one of the best breakfast buffet in Europe! This hotel chain has around 60 hotels in Netherlands and is easy to locate. Priced at €14-16.

#2) Freshly baked ‘Roomboter Croissants’ from supermarkets: Especially the Croissants from Albert Heijn and Jumbo. Fresh ones only available in the morning. No accompaniment is needed for this buttery croissant but for added pleasure slice the belly and apply some butter(roomboter) and Fig Confiture.

 

#3) Hema Breakfast : Available in selected Hema outlets. There is also Ikea breakfast . But Hema eases past and bags 3rd spot!. It costs just €1!

• Top 3 Sweet Delicacies   

#1) Tompouce: This is very difficult to consume.. not joking. Tip: turn side ways and bite 🙂

 

#2) Rijst/Griesmeel Pap, Vla: Pap is similar to gheer. Greismeel pap= Sooji + milk. Rijst pap = rice + milk. Vla is similar to custard available in India. But it is very tasty here :).

#3 Apple Taart from Winkel 43 café, Amsterdam: Check out the review. Tip: On a sunny morning, bike around the PrinsenGracht ending up @winke43 just to savour this fresh apple pie! Wash it down with a Koffie Verkeerd or Munt Thee(explained later).

#3) Special jury award!  OlieBollen in winter(New Year sweet). Available at special winter outlets for Oliebollen. Even though freshly served, they get cold as they are kept outside, hence take home with out mixing sugar powder and re-heat in an oven(pre-heated). Never use microwave.

• Top 3 Savoury Snacks 

#1) Loempia: Similar to spring rolls in India

#2) Kaas Souffle: Cheese filled croquette. Available at FEBO

#3) Bami croquette: Noodles filled croquette. Available at FEBO

• Top 3 Lunches 

#1) Zacht Broodje Kip Sate: Bun sandwich with chicken and peanut sauce filling.

#2) Broodje Eiren salad: Pistolet/baguette filled with Egg salad

#3) La Place Lunch: A wide variety of warm and cold meals to choose from. Also found inside V&D.

• Top 3 Dinners 

#1) ‘Kipfilet Alla Romana’ from Bertolli: Many Dutch are addicted to this concept called wereld gerechten(would cuisines). This ready-to-cook packet contains the gravy and pasta.  You need to add yourself chicken, champignons(mushroom), tomato, cream, etc. One packet serves 2-3 people and is available in supermarkets such as Jumbo and AH XL. Addictive taste! + white wine = teasingly lekker!

 

#2) Pan cakes and Poffertjes from Oudt Leyden restaurant: A unique dining experience which makes you crave for Dutch pan cakes! Pan cakes are priced €7-14.

 

#3) Ikea Dinner: Vis Filet Gratino wins in Ikea menu! Fried fish with chips/mashed potato and boiled vegetables. Champignon(mushroom) soup is recommended. €8-13 per person. Available at all Ikea outlets.

• Top 3 Beverages 

#1) Koffie verkeerd: Half coffee half milk. A ‘wrong’ combination!

#2) 100% vers geperst vruchtensap : 100% fresh pressed fruit juice provided by supermarkets. Since they are pressed and not centrifuged, nutrients stay longer. They come in a not-so-fancy bottles(mostly glass) and have very short expiry dates.

 

#3) Munt Thee: Mint Tea = hot water + mint leaves + honey. Can’t have a flavourful healthy drink than this!

• Top 3 Desserts 

#1) ‘Dulche de Leche’ flavour from Häagen-Dazs: This flavour is mostly seen only in Haagen-Dazs outlets.

#2) Danio Kwark Bosbes flavour: Available in most super markets

#3) Tiramisu: This Italian dessert is available in most super markets. AH Excellent Tiramisu is good. Contains egg.

 

Eet smakelijk !!!

Since there is religious restrictions in certain states in India this list does not include some delicacies such as bitter ballen, erwten soup, etc. Those souls with out such restriction on food, please comment or message for a complete list.

Comment your thoughts please 🙂

Winter dressing guide for Indian Expats

Winter dressing guide for Indian Expats.

Just landed Indian in Netherlands?

So you are a Just landed Indian in Netherlands(JLIN)? Then this is your guide to start living from day one!

1. Check out how to travel
2. Check out the stores near you
3. Get a bank account
4. Medical requirements
5. Immigration related questions
   1. Call IND for immigration or Highly skilled migrants related info
   2. The Expat Center is a one stop shop for Highly Skilled Migrants
   3. Search ‘gemeente <your place>’ in Bing to find out the town hall(gemeente) near you as you need to visit them during initial days.
6. Rent a house or room and register your home at town hall (gemeente). Don’t forget to register your birth certificate with apostle stamp at gemeente. If you forget, it will expire and you might need to take another one when you try for PR or citizenship after 5 years. If possible get a written statement (or via email) stating they have used your birth certificate to register you in the system.
   1. Search online at www.kamernet.nl
   2. http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/
   3. www.Jaap.nl
   4. Comparison chart: http://live-in-holland.nl/housing/renting.html
7. Is it winter? Then here is a winter dressing guide made just for you.
8. Culinary Experience list just for Indians to try out.
9. Tip: The only place you can go with out an appointment is a bar. The only place you need not be punctual is a bar! Just joking there is also super market :D. But you get the point, don’t you?

Happy Blend-in!