Public-sector employers

These provisions, such as the third year of illness and payment of full salary in the event of incapacity for work by the service, as well as extended, supplementary and sometimes post-statutory unemployment benefits, have been retained. We at Hekkelman have the right legal knowledge that is needed in case of dismissal.

Every employee in the service of a public-sector employer is still a civil servant. The government is there for the common good. That is why the special rules for civil servants continue to exist. These can be found in the new Dutch Central and Local Government Personnel Act (in Dutch: Ambtenarenwet), which contains rules for civil servants, for example, about the oath/promise, the secrecy obligation, the ban on accepting gifts and the obligation to disclose other positions.

The rules on transfer of undertaking came into force on 1 January 2020 and have changed the framework for outsourcing, task transfers and collaborations. As a result, there is no room for your own rules or for, and customisation, too. is much less possible. Please contact our specialists for specific advice.

Other frameworks apply to public-sector employers, such as the special status of civil servants, employee participation and, for example, by capping salaries, severance payments and the way in which accountability is ensured. Public-sector employers are also self-insured for unemployment insurance.

As of 2020, much has changed in public service law. With the Civil Servants (Normalization of Legal Status) Act (in Dutch: Wet normalisering rechtspositie ambtenaren, Wnra), the legal status of civil servants has been aligned as much as possible with that of employees with employment contracts. Most civil servants are now employees. For questions about the Wnra, please contact our lawyers.