Hogan Lovells (JD Supra Netherlands)

As announced, the bill on the future of pensions (wet Toekomst Pensioenen) will be submitted to the Dutch Parliament in autumn 2021. The bill is the elaboration of the Pension Agreement (Pensioenakkoord) between social partners from June 2019. Extensive public consultation on the proposed content took place in early 2021. Various pension experts and interest groups have contributed to this far-rea

On 12 March 2021, the "Code for Children's Rights" ("Code voor Kinderrechten") was launched in the Netherlands. The Code was developed by the University of Leiden and the Waag organisation commissioned by the Dutch government.

In a recent joint report from the European Union Intellectual Property office (“EUIPO”) and the European Patent Office (“EPO”), the impact of Intellectual Property Rights on the performance of companies is discussed.

The protection of consumers in the online environment has recently taken flight in the Netherlands and is currently a hot topic in this jurisdiction for consumer protection organizations. These organizations actively collaborate with each other, as well as other EU organizations, to create a robust framework for the protection of consumers in the online environment. …

In summary proceedings (kort geding) the tenant of the hotel W Amsterdam has obtained an injunction in the form of a provisional order pending a final decision. The provisional order provides that the tenant may postpone its rent payments for the 2nd to 4th quarter of 2020 due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the court's reasoning, the COVID19 pandemic is an unforeseen...

As an introductory comment, the Dutch district courts and courts of appeal have judged exclusively in interlocutory proceedings (kort gedingen) in disputes concerning the tenants’ obligation to pay the contractual rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. At this moment, there are no court rulings on the merits of these cases (bodemprocedures). Therefore, the current case law only concerns temporary...

On 12 January, 2021, the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament approved the bill on lump sum, early retirement and leave savings (Wet bedrag ineens, RVU verlofsparen). This Act will temporarily relax the tax restriction (RVU levy) on schemes that financially encourage early retirement of older employees.

On 2 July 2020, the Cabinet introduced the temporary subsidy scheme ''NL Leert door''. The aim of this scheme is, among other things, to support employees who are at risk of losing (or have already lost) their jobs (as a result of the COVID-19 crisis) and to promote their transition to other promising jobs. This is done with the help of free (1) development advice and/or (2) (online) training.

In the Netherlands 2021 budget, it has been proposed to extend the wage tax exemption for qualifying retraining of (laid off) employees. Presently, the exemption can only be applied to employees whose employment agreement has not formally ended. 

Companies are under increasing pressure to ensure they are operating in a sustainable manner and, in turn, contributing to broader goals of sustainable growth (e.g. achieving CO² reduction goals). However, meeting such objectives often requires companies to cooperate with competitors in order to achieve the necessary scale or combine the required know-how. It is in this context that the Dutch...

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued a EUR 830,000 (approximately USD 937,000) fine against the Dutch Credit Registration Bureau (BKR) for violating data subject rights. The fine stems from BKR’s practice of charging fees and discouraging individuals who wanted to access their personal data.

This memorandum provides a better understanding of doing business remotely in the Netherlands – more particularly on electronic signatures and decision making.

In this article, we examine the latest Dutch relief measures for companies during the COVID-19 crisis, in the areas of Employment, Tax and Finance.

As a result of the measures taken by the Dutch government concerning COVID-19, the courts have decided to change the normal course of events. Below you will find the most important information about the current state of affairs. Of course, our team is available if you have any questions regarding this topic.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) recently imposed a fine of EUR 525,000 on the Royal Dutch Tennis Association (KNLTB) for sharing the personal data of its members with two of its sponsors in June 2018 on the basis of its own commercial interests.

Historically the UK has always been a popular country to litigate. Contract dispute clauses quite often refer to English law as the applicable law and the London courts as the go-to forum.

Introduction - The COVID-19 crisis is currently holding us in its grip. For many Dutch employers, the crisis already has, or will have, (major) financial consequences.

Governments' responses to COVID-19 are evolving on a daily basis. The measures against the coronavirus have a knock-on effect on Dutch companies' ability to comply with Dutch corporate law and best practice, particularly when it comes to the preparation and adoption of annual accounts and holding annual general meetings.

Suspend now and worry about the (legal) consequences later? As the COVID-19 crisis is more and more unfolding, newspapers report about retailers simply suspending their (rental) payments or cancel existing contracts in order to preserve cash liquidity.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Dutch Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate grants manufacturers and suppliers of medical devices the temporary opportunity to supply medical devices without a CE mark or without having followed the relevant assessment procedure.

The 2019 novel coronavirus has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “global pandemic” and its impacts on daily life continue to spread and disrupt personal and business routines across the world.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 virus a "public health emergency of international concern". Therefore, it is recommended to prepare for the potential impact of the virus.

Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland or SIDN, the Registry operator of the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .NL (the Netherlands) appears to be increasing its efforts in its fight against cybercrime.

From 1 January 2020, the amount of the unemployment insurance contribution (hereinafter: ''WW-premium'') to be paid by an employer to the Dutch tax authorities depends on the nature of the employment agreement.

The Dutch competition authority (“ACM“) recently confirmed that the obligation to cooperate fully with an inspection/during a dawn raid is of utmost importance and of great relevance to companies under investigation.  On 10 December 2019, the ACM issued an infringement decision fining an unidentified company EUR 1.85 million for obstructing an ACM inspection. 

We are approaching the end of the year. From 1 January 2020 onwards, new employment legislation will enter into force in the Netherlands. Please find below an overview of the main changes in the Dutch Balanced Labour Market Act (“WAB”). The main purpose of the WAB is making it more attractive for employers to hire employees on a permanent basis.

A recent blog post by the manager of the Netherlands country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .NL, SIDN, indicated that only 150 of the 5.8 million .NL domain names are secured with .NL Control, SIDN’s Registry Lock Service.

On 10 October 2019, the competition authorities of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (the "Authorities") issued a "Joint Memorandum" which adds further (BeNeLux) perspective to the on-going debate regarding "competition law for the digital economy".

The LMA Early Evening Seminar at Hogan Lovells Amsterdam on 1 October 2019 explored some trends in the leveraged finance market, with reports of a very healthy Dutch market, notwithstanding effects of Brexit, recession indicators in some European economies, trade wars and ECB interventions.

On 30 July, the Court of Appeal of The Hague ruled on the formal entitlement to priority following from a US provisional patent application. The attack on priority in this case is part of a recent trend by parties in patent litigation which aims to challenge entitlement to invoke priority under the Paris Convention and the European Patent Convention.