Աշխատանքային հարաբերություններ Նիդեռլանդներում. կանոններ գործատուների և աշխատողների համար

Dutch law does not prohibit relationships between colleagues, and an employer may not ban them: private life is protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 10 of the Dutch Constitution (Grondwet). What an employer may do is regulate the effects on the work, such as conflicts of interest, reporting lines and confidentiality, through reasonable instructions under Article 7:660 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW).

This article explains what employers and employees can require of each other when colleagues become partners: the right of instruction, the code of conduct, the limits of privacy law, the duty to prevent unwanted conduct, and the dismissal routes when things go wrong.

What does Dutch law say about a relationship between colleagues?

No Dutch statute deals with romantic relationships at work, so they are permitted. A blanket ban, a clause requiring one partner to resign or a dismissal only because two colleagues live together will normally not survive review by the subdistrict court (kantonrechter).

The employer has a real interest once the relationship touches the work: a team leader assessing a partner, a buyer awarding a contract to a partner’s company, or access to personnel files about the person one lives with. The rule of thumb: the employer may regulate the effect of the relationship on the work, not the relationship itself.

Both parties must behave as a good employer and a good employee (Article 7:611 BW). That open standard is why an employee is expected to report an obvious conflict of interest, and why an employer is expected to look for a workable arrangement before imposing a sanction.

How far does the employer’s right of instruction reach?

The employer may give instructions about the work and good order in the business, and the employee must follow them (Article 7:660 BW). Instructions must relate to the work and be reasonable.

Usually defensible instructions are:

• disclosing a relationship within a direct reporting line to HR or a director;
• removing assessment, pay and promotion decisions about one partner from the other;
• reassigning one partner to a comparable role in another team, not as a punishment;
• prohibiting the use of company systems and confidential information for private purposes.

Instructions that go further are generally not enforceable: demanding access to private messages, putting a “probation period” on the relationship, or making continued employment conditional on ending it. If an employee refuses a lawful and reasonable instruction, that refusal, not the relationship, is what the employer may act on.

May the employer change your position or team?

Only under the rules on unilateral changes. With a written unilateral variation clause, the employer needs an interest so weighty that the employee’s interest must give way under standards of reasonableness and fairness (Article 7:613 BW).

Without such a clause, the employer must make a reasonable proposal that the employee can reasonably be expected to accept, based on good employership (Article 7:611 BW). A transfer presented as a punishment for the relationship rarely meets that test.

What should a relationship clause in the code of conduct contain?

A short, neutral clause prevents most disputes. It is a rule of conduct about the work, so it fits within Article 7:660 BW.

• When disclosure is required: only with a reporting line, an assessment role or authority over pay, promotion, procurement or recruitment.
• To whom disclosure is made, recorded in one place with restricted access.
• Which decisions the partners withdraw from, and who takes them instead.
• What the employer does with the information and how long it keeps it.
• That disclosure in good faith never leads to a sanction, an unwanted transfer or non-renewal of a fixed-term contract.

If a dispute reaches the subdistrict court, the written rule is the first thing the court reads. A clause on employees’ conduct or on processing personal data may need works council consent (see below).

How do you deal with conflicts of interest?

Take the decision away from the person concerned and record who took it instead. A conflict of interest arises from the position, not from intentions, so good faith is no answer to it.

In practice the appraisal moves one level up, procurement decisions require a second signature, and the recruitment file notes that the interested party played no part. For a statutory director of a private limited company (BV), company law already requires this: a director with a direct or indirect personal interest conflicting with the company’s interest does not take part in the deliberations and decision (Article 2:239(6) BW). Record only that a conflict was reported and which decisions were reallocated, not details about the relationship.

What must the employer do about unwanted conduct?

The employer must pursue a policy to prevent, or if that is impossible to limit, psychosocial workload (Article 3(2) Working Conditions Act, Arbowet). Sexual harassment, discrimination, aggression, bullying and work pressure are all part of that definition.

These risks belong in the risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) with a plan of action. Under the duty of care of Article 7:658 BW, an employer who knew of persistent unwanted conduct and failed to act can be liable to the employee. The injury claim itself is handled by a personal-injury specialist.

Advances that continue after being declined become unlawful. Sexual harassment falls under the prohibition of direct discrimination on grounds of sex (Article 7:646(6) BW). An employee can ask the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) for a non-binding opinion or go to the subdistrict court. See our page on harassment at work.

After a report, the employer must act: a complaints procedure, a confidential counsellor (vertrouwenspersoon) outside the reporting line and, where needed, a fact-finding investigation hearing both sides. Neutral, temporary measures such as paid leave are allowed. Employers with 50 or more employees must have an internal reporting procedure under the Whistleblower Protection Act (Wet bescherming klokkenluiders).

What may an employer investigate under privacy law?

Very little. Every step to establish or document a relationship is processing of personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, in Dutch AVG) and needs a lawful basis; consent rarely works in employment because it is seldom freely given.

That leaves the employer’s legitimate interest, which only holds if the purpose is concrete, the means are the least intrusive available and the employee’s interests do not prevail. Data about someone’s sex life or sexual orientation are special categories of personal data that may in principle not be processed. Record the reallocation of decisions, not the relationship.

The European Court of Human Rights has held under Article 8 ECHR that correspondence at work is protected and that monitoring must be announced in advance, limited and justified by a specific reason. Searching mailboxes, opening private chats or tracing badge data to see who spent time together is almost always disproportionate.

The works council (ondernemingsraad) must consent to rules on working conditions, on processing employees’ personal data and on facilities for monitoring employees’ conduct (Article 27 of the Works Councils Act, WOR). A relationship or monitoring policy adopted without that consent can be invalidated.

Can an employee be dismissed after a relationship ends?

A break-up is not a ground for dismissal. The employer needs one of the reasonable grounds of Article 7:669(3) BW, fully substantiated, and must show that redeployment is not possible.

Three grounds are relevant in practice:

• Ground e: culpable conduct, such as ignoring a lawful instruction to withdraw from decisions, or using company systems to follow a former partner.
• Ground g: a disturbed working relationship so serious that continuation cannot reasonably be required; courts test this strictly.
• Grounds h and i: other circumstances, or a combination of incomplete grounds, in which case the court may award extra compensation.

On these grounds the employer asks the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract (Article 7:671b BW). Summary dismissal for an urgent reason (Articles 7:677 and 7:678 BW) is reserved for serious cases such as assault or a grave breach of confidentiality and must be given immediately. See անհապաղ պաշտոնանկություն.

How does a settlement agreement work here?

Many cases end with a կարգավորման համաձայնագիր (vaststellingsovereenkomst). The employee may dissolve it in writing without giving reasons within fourteen days after it was concluded (Article 7:670b BW).

The agreement records the end date, notice period, financial settlement, confidentiality and a neutral reference, and should state that the employee is not to blame so that unemployment benefit (WW) from UWV is not put at risk. The անցումային վճարում (transitievergoeding) under Article 7:673 BW is one third of a monthly salary per year of service, with a 2026 cap of €102,000 or one annual salary if higher.

What if a former partner keeps following you?

The employer may deny the person access to the premises, and the person affected can ask the civil court for a contact and approach ban with a penalty. Stalking (belaging) is a criminal offence under Article 285b of the Criminal Code (Sr), prosecuted only on the victim’s complaint.

Where partners are also shareholders or run a ընտանեկան բիզնես together, the shareholders’ agreement should regulate what happens on a split. For spouses, see գույքը ամուսնության ընթացքում և դրանից հետո.

Ի՞նչ պետք է ստուգեք որպես գործատու։

• Check that your code of conduct contains a proportionate relationship and conflict-of-interest clause.
• Check whether the works council’s consent under Article 27 WOR is needed before you adopt it.
• Check that assessment, pay and procurement decisions are reallocated and recorded.
• Check that the RI&E covers sexual harassment and that a confidential counsellor is available.
• Check that any monitoring is announced in advance, limited and based on a specific reason.
• Check that a dismissal ground under Article 7:669(3) BW can be fully substantiated before you act.

Ի՞նչ պետք է ստուգել որպես աշխատակից։

• Report a conflict of interest in writing before someone else does.
• Ask for written confirmation of which decisions have been reallocated.
• Decline instructions that reach into your private life, and explain why in writing.
• Keep a dated, factual record if conduct becomes unwelcome, and report it to the confidential counsellor.
• Use the fourteen-day reflection period before a settlement agreement becomes final.

What can we do for you with workplace relationships?

մեր աշխատանքի իրավաբաններ act for employers, works councils and employees.

• We draft a relationship and conflict-of-interest clause for your code of conduct.
• We review monitoring policies against the GDPR and Article 27 WOR.
• We conduct or review an internal investigation into a complaint of unwanted conduct.
• We assess a proposed transfer or dismissal against Articles 7:613 and 7:669 BW.
• We negotiate and review settlement agreements, including the transition payment.

Ամփոփում

• Dutch law does not prohibit workplace relationships; private life is protected by Article 8 ECHR and Article 10 of the Constitution.
• The employer may regulate effects on the work through reasonable instructions (Article 7:660 BW).
• Conflicts of interest are solved by reallocating decisions and recording that.
• The employer must prevent sexual harassment (Article 3(2) Arbowet) and act on complaints.
• A break-up is no dismissal ground; the employer needs a ground under Article 7:669(3) BW.

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