European directives require member states to set up a UBO-register. UBO stands for Ultimate Beneficial Owner. The UBO register will be installed in the Netherlands in 2020. This entails that from 2020 onwards, companies and legal entities are obliged to register their (in)direct owners. Part of the personal data of […]
Category: News
Important legal news, current laws and events | Law and More
Compensation of the non-material damage…
Any compensation of non-material damages caused by death or accident was until recently not covered by the Dutch civil law. These non-material damages contain the grief of the close relatives that is caused by an event of death or accident of their loved one for which another party is to […]
Dutch Law on the protection of trade secrets
Entrepreneurs that employ employees, often share confidential information with these employees. This may concern technical information, such as a recipe or algorithm, or non-technical information, such as customer bases, marketing strategies or business plans. However, what will happen to this information when your employee starts working at the company of […]
Consumer protection and general terms and conditions
Entrepreneurs who sell products or provide services often use general terms and conditions to regulate the relationship with the recipient of the product or service. When the recipient is a consumer, he enjoys consumer protection. Consumer protection is created to protect the ‘weak’ consumer against the ‘strong’ entrepreneur. In order […]
Many people sign a contract without understanding the contents
Sign a contract without actually understanding its contents Research shows that many people sign a contract without actually understanding its contents. In most cases this concerns rent or purchase contracts, employment contracts and termination contracts. The reason for not understanding contracts can often be found in the use of language; […]
The Dutch Sickness Benefits Act after work disability as result of psychological complaints after pregnancy?
Sickness Benefits Act Based on article 29a of the Sickness Benefits Act the female insured who is not able to perform work is entitled to receive a payment if the cause of the disability to work is related to pregnancy or giving birth. In the past, a connection between psychological […]
In the Netherlands someone has received a passport without a gender designation
For the first time in the Netherlands someone has received a passport without a gender designation. Ms. Zeegers does not feel like a man and does not feel like a woman. Earlier this year, the court of Limburg decided that gender is not a matter of sexual characteristics but of […]
Government wants to automatically divide pension when it comes to divorces
The Dutch government wants to arrange that partners who are getting a divorce automatically get the right to receive half of each other’s pension. Dutch minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs and Employment wants to discuss a proposal in the Second Chamber in mid 2019. In the coming period the […]
Traveler better protected against bankruptcy from travel provider
For many people it will a nightmare: the holiday that you have worked so hard for the entire year is cancelled due to bankruptcy of the travel provider. Fortunately, the chance of this happening to you has been reduced by the implementation of new legislation. On July 1, 2018, new […]
The difference between a controller and a processor
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has already been in force for several months. However, there is still uncertainty about the meaning of certain terms in the GDPR. For example, it is not clear to everyone what the difference is between a controller and a processor, while these are core […]
Unfair commercial practices via telephone increase
Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets Unfair commercial practices through telephone sales are reported more often. This is the conclusion of the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets, the independent supervisor that stands up for consumers and businesses. People are approached more and more by telephone with so-called offers for […]
Amendment of the Dutch Trust Office Supervision Act
Dutch Trust Office Supervision Act According to the Dutch Trust Office Supervision Act, the following service is regarded as a trust service: the provision of domicile for a legal entity or company in combination with the provision of additional services. These additional services can, among other things, consist of providing […]
Copyright: when is content public?
Intellectual property law is constantly developing and has tremendously grown recently. This can be seen, amongst others, in copyright law. Nowadays, almost everyone is on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or has his own website. People therefore create much more content than they used to do, which is often published publicly. […]
Deliverer not an employee
‘Deliveroo bicycle courier Sytse Ferwanda (20) is an independent entrepreneur and not an employee’ was the judgement of the court in Amsterdam. The contract that was concluded between a deliverer and Deliveroo does not count as an employment contract – and thus is the deliverer not an employee at the […]
Poland suspended as member of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ)
The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) has suspended Poland as member. The ENCJ states to have doubts about the independence of the Polish judicial authority based on the recent reforms. The Polish governing party Law and Justice (PiS) has […]
Posting negative and false Google reviews costs
Posting negative and false Google reviews costs a dissatisfied customer dearly. The customer posted negative reviews concerning the nursery and its Board of Directors under different aliases and anonymously. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal stated that the customer did not contradict that she has not acted in conformity with the […]
Are you planning on selling your company?
Amsterdam Court of Appeal Then it is wise to request proper advice about the duties in relation to the works council of your company. By doing so, you can avoid a potential hindrance to the selling process. In a recent ruling of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, the Enterprise Division […]
Amending the Dutch constitution: privacy sensitive telecommunication better protected in the future
On July 12, 2017, the Dutch Senate unanimously accorded the proposal of Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Plasterk to, in the near future, better protect the privacy of email and other privacy sensitive telecommunication. Article 13 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Constitution states that secrecy of telephone calls […]
New rules for advertising for electronic cigarettes without nicotine
As of July 1, 2017, it is forbidden in the Netherlands to advertise for electronic cigarettes without nicotine and for herb mixes for water pipes. The new rules apply to everybody. In this way, the Dutch Government continues its policy to protect children under 18. As of July 1, 2017, […]
Rotterdam harbor and TNT victim of world hacker attack
On June 27, 2017, international companies had IT malfunctioning due to a ransomware attack. In the Netherlands, APM (the largest Rotterdam container transfer company), TNT and pharmaceuticals manufacturer MSD reported failure of their IT system due to the virus called “Petya”. The computer virus began in Ukraine where it affected […]
Google fined a record of 2,42 EU billion by the EU. This is only the beginning, two more penalties might be imposed
According to the decision of the European Commission, Google must pay a penalty of EUR 2,42 billion for breaking antitrust law. The European Commission states that Google advantaged its own Google Shopping products in the results of the Google search engine to the detriment of other providers of goods. Links […]
European Commission wants intermediaries to inform them about constructions…
European Commission wants intermediaries to inform them about constructions for tax avoidance they create for their clients. Countries often lose tax revenue due to mostly transnational fiscal constructions that tax advisors, accountants, banks and lawyers (intermediaries) create for their clients. To increase transparency and enable cashing of those taxes by […]
Everyone needs to keep the Netherlands digitally safe says Cybersecuritybeeld Nederland 2017
Everyone needs to keep the Netherlands digitally safe says Cybersecuritybeeld Nederland 2017. It is very hard to imagine our life without Internet. It makes our life easy, but on the other hand, carries a lot of risks. The technologies are developing rapidly and the cybercrime-rate is rising. Cybersecuritybeeld Dijkhoff (Deputy […]
The Netherlands is an innovation leader in Europe
According to the European Innovation Scoreboard of the European Commission, the Netherlands receives 27 indicators for innovation potential. The Netherlands is now in 4th place (2016 – 5th place), and is named as Innovation Leader in 2017, together with Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom. According to the Dutch Minister […]
Taxes: past and present
The history of tax begins in Roman times. People living in the territory of the Roman Empire had to pay taxes. The first tax rules in the Netherlands appear in 1805. The basic principle of taxation was born: income. Income tax was formalized in 1904. VAT, income tax, payroll tax, […]
Are you Dutch and do you wish to marry abroad?
Dutch person Many Dutchmen probably dream about it: getting married at a beautiful location abroad, maybe even at your beloved, annual holiday destination in Greece or Spain. However, when you – as a Dutch person – wish to get married abroad, you must meet a lot of formalities and requirements […]
On July 1, 2017, in the Netherlands the labour law changes…
On July 1, 2017, in the Netherlands the labour law changes. And with that the conditions for health, safety and prevention. Working conditions form an important factor in the employment relationship. Employers and employees can therefore benefit from clear agreements. At this moment there is a huge diversity of contracts […]
The minimum wage changes in the Nederlands from 1 July, 2017
Age of the employee In the Netherlands the minimum wage depends on the age of the employee. The legal rules on the minimum wage can differ annually. For example, from July 1, 2017 the minimum wage now amounts to € 1.565,40 per month for employees of 22 and over. 2017-05-30
Legal procedures are intended to find a solution to a problem…
Legal problems Legal procedures are intended to find a solution to a problem, but often achieve the complete opposite. According to a research from Dutch research institute HiiL, legal problems are being resolved less and less, as the traditional process model (the so-called tournament model) instead causes a division between […]
Nowadays, the hashtag is not only popular on Twitter and Instagram…
#getthanked Nowadays, the hashtag is not only popular on Twitter and Instagram: the hashtag is increasingly used to establish a trademark. In 2016, the number of trademarks with a hashtag in front of it increased by 64% worldwide. A good example of this is T-mobile’s trademark ‘#getthanked’. Still, claiming a […]
Costs for the use of your mobile phone abroad are decreasing rapidly
Nowadays, it is already a lot less common to come home to an (unintentionally) high telephone bill of a few hundred euros after that annual, well deserved trip within Europe. The costs of using a mobile phone abroad have decreased by more than 90% compared to the past 5 to […]
If it were up to the Dutch Minister…
If it were up to the Dutch Minister Asscher of Social Affairs and Welfare, anyone who earns the legal minimum wage will receive the same fixed amount per hour in the future. Currently, the Dutch minimum hourly wage may still depend on the number of hours worked and the sector […]
Have you ever booked your holiday online? Then chances are high that you have…
Have you ever booked your holiday online? Then chances are high that you have encountered offers which come across much more attractive than they ultimately prove to be, with a lot of frustration as a result. A screening of the European Commission and the EU consumer protection authorities has even […]
In a new Dutch bill which has been placed on the internet for consultation today…
Dutch bill In a new Dutch bill which has been placed on the internet for consultation today, the Dutch minister Blok (Safety and Justice) has expressed the wish to end the anonymity of holders of bearer shares. It will soon be possible to identify these shareholders on the basis of […]
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to imagine a world without drones…
Drones Nowadays, it is almost impossible to imagine a world without drones. As a result of this development, the Netherlands could for instance already enjoy impressive drone footage of the dilapidated pool ‘Tropicana’ and elections have even been held to decide on the best drone movie. As drones are not […]