It has been in the news for the past few months: Booking.com is firing no less than 25% of its staff worldwide. A large part of the staff of KLM and Damen Shipyards are losing their jobs. Sodexo, Maison van den Boer (caterers) and NS are cutting hundreds or thousands of jobs. Job reductions seem to be inevitable, not only in the aviation sector, but also in the accountancy and consultancy sector. The crisis is affecting various sectors.
The Covid-19 crisis could not be predicted in advance and is also lasting longer than expected. Despite the support measures that are announced by the government, a wave of layoffs – unfortunately – seems inevitable.
The employee is often offered a settlement agreement before the employer requests permission from the UWV to terminate the employment of a number of employees on the basis of economic circumstances. This settlement agreement often includes an allowance for legal costs. Use this budget. As an employee, get a good advice about the content and consequences of the settlement agreement submitted. This, among other things, assures to safeguard the right to unemployment benefit and for a better chance of a new job, etc. In this way, you can make the best of the unfortunately unavoidable situation.
As an employer, it is also very important to obtain a good advice on the approach of the dismissal process based on business economic circumstances. This can prevent errors, procedure costs and distress among employees.
As an employee, are you facing a dismissal? Or is it no longer financially feasible for you as an employer to keep all employees in service? Please contact our colleague Amanda Brouwers for advice.
