Civiel
The Dutch Supreme Court has confirmed the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, which found that the bankruptcy of the Russian based oil company, Yukos, could not be recognised in the Netherlands because it violates Dutch public policy.
Het Hof van Justitie van de Europese Unie heeft in het arrest Rosbeek q.q./BNP Paribas Fortis NV op 6 februari 2019 (1) prejudiciële vragen (2) beantwoord. Deze waren op 8 september 2017 door de Hoge Raad gesteld.
Op grond van een Europese richtlijn gelden specifieke regels die beogen om werknemers te beschermen als er sprake is van een bedrijfsovername die in juridische zin aangemerkt kan worden als ‘overgang van onderneming’ (OVO). Deze bescherming geldt echter niet indien de werkgever in staat van faillissement is verklaard.
CIVIEL
EMPLOYMENT (news)
Diversity in boards of larger companies
Targets (i.e., at least 30% women) imposed by Dutch law for a more balanced composition of the executive and supervisory boards of ‘large’ companies shall cease to exist as of 2020. A ‘large’ company is a company that meets two of the following requirements: (i) EUR 20 mio balance sheet total; (ii) net turnover of EUR 40 mio; and (iii) 250 employees. This does not, however, mean that diversity is no longer on the agenda of the Dutch Government.
According to a recent judgment by the Limburg District Court, a pre-pack procedure, or pre-pack, may no longer be used to dismiss employees or re-employ them on different terms of employment.
What is a pre-pack?
On 26 September 2018 the Amsterdam District Court rendered its judgment in the proceedings between the liquidator of Fairfield Sentry Limited, Fairfield Sigma Limited and Fairfield Lambda Limited (which are all established in the British Virgin Islands) against Dutch public limited companies PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants NV and PricewaterhouseCoopers NV and four accountants affiliated therewith (collectively, PwC).(1)
Introduction
On 17 November 2017, the Supreme Court confirmed the existing case law that if employees are entitled to payment in cash for unused leave due to the bankruptcy of their employer, such claims are considered to be estate debts, regardless of when the entitlement to such leave accrued (ECLI:NL:HR:2017:2907). This ruling was given as a response to a request for a preliminary ruling by the Leiden Subdistrict Court.