Types of workplace conflict: six patterns and what Dutch law requires

Dutch law recognises no separate category of “workplace conflict”, but six patterns matter legally: task, process, relationship, status and power, values and ethics, and the legally sensitive category of harassment, discrimination and whistleblowing. The key exception is that last category: a harassment or discrimination complaint must be investigated under a formal procedure and cannot simply be mediated away.

From the first day of tension, two sets of duties apply. The Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) requires every employer to have a policy on psychosocial workload. Article 7:611 of the Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) requires both parties to behave as a good employer and a good employee. An employer that fails on either can turn a manageable disagreement into a dismissal case it is likely to lose.

Naming the type of conflict matters because each type has a different legal exit. A task dispute is usually resolved by an instruction. A relationship conflict is usually resolved by mediation and, if that fails, sometimes by a court-ordered termination because the working relationship is disturbed. A harassment complaint has to be investigated. In our view, choosing the wrong instrument is what most often creates liability.

What does Dutch law require of an employer before a conflict escalates?

You must have a policy to prevent and limit psychosocial workload, and you must act as a good employer. Those duties apply before any complaint is made, not only afterwards.

Under the Working Conditions Act, psychosocial workload expressly covers work pressure, aggression and violence, sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination. The policy is not a paper exercise. You identify the risks in the risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E), include measures in the plan of action and inform your employees about them. The Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) supervises compliance. It can demand compliance and impose a fine.

Two private-law duties sit alongside that public-law duty. Article 7:611 of the Civil Code requires you to act as a good employer. Courts use this provision to test whether you handled a conflict fairly. Article 7:658 of the Civil Code imposes a duty of care for a safe working environment. That duty is not limited to physical safety. You can be liable for psychological harm caused by a working situation you failed to address. In such a claim, you must show that you took the measures that were reasonably required; the employee does not have to prove that you failed.

When do you need the works council?

If your organisation has a works council (ondernemingsraad), several instruments discussed below need its consent, not merely its advice. Under the Works Councils Act (Wet op de ondernemingsraden), a regulation on working conditions or absenteeism, a complaints procedure and an appraisal scheme all require consent. A regulation introduced without that consent can be invalidated. Adopting the procedure properly is what makes it usable when a complaint arrives.

Is a confidential adviser compulsory?

Legislation to make the appointment of a confidential adviser (vertrouwenspersoon) compulsory has been proposed in parliament. Check its current status before you rely on it either way. Even where appointing one is voluntary, the absence of any safe reporting route can count against you if a complaint has gone unaddressed. A confidential adviser, internal or external, is therefore a sensible part of the psychosocial workload policy.

What is task conflict, and where does your right to instruct end?

Task conflict is disagreement about the work itself. You can usually resolve it with a reasonable instruction, but an instruction cannot change the terms of the employment contract.

Typical task conflicts concern who does what, which procedure applies, how a policy should be read and how limited resources are allocated. Most of it is handled by management rather than by law, and the law gives you the means to do so. Article 7:660 of the Civil Code gives the employer the right to give instructions about the performance of the work and about order in the business. An employee who refuses a reasonable instruction is not simply expressing a different view.

The limit is that an instruction is not a variation of the contract. Substantially changing the job content, moving someone to another location, altering working hours or reducing pay are changes of terms, not instructions. If the contract contains a written unilateral variation clause, you may make the change only if your interest is so weighty that the employee’s interest must yield (article 7:613 of the Civil Code). Without such a clause, the change is tested against the good employer and good employee standard. The court then asks three separate questions:

• Was there a change of circumstances that justified a proposal?
• Was the proposal itself reasonable?
• Can the employee reasonably be expected to accept it?

Employers often answer only the first question. In practice, the record matters more than the argument. Confirm allocations, deadlines and decisions in writing. State the reason for a change and give the employee a genuine chance to respond. If the dispute later becomes a dismissal case, a file that shows a fair process is worth more than the substantive rightness of the decision. Our guide to Dutch employment law sets out the framework, and our article on the boundaries of good employer conduct explains the test in detail.

When does a process conflict become a collective issue?

Process conflict is about how work is done: workflows, hand-offs, tools and response times. It becomes a legal issue when a change of process is in substance a change of working conditions for a group of employees.

Two thresholds are worth knowing. First, a change in the way work is organised that affects a group can require the works council’s advice or consent, depending on what it touches. A new absenteeism procedure, a new appraisal system or a new complaints route requires consent. Second, changes to availability outside working hours, to rosters and to homeworking arrangements affect the contract and the working conditions, not just the workflow.

If you expect employees to be available in the evening or at weekends, put that expectation in writing. Deal explicitly with the position of employees who are not paid for that availability. Our article on the right to disconnect explains where the debate stands.

Why does hybrid working create extra process conflict?

Norms that used to be absorbed in an office now have to be made explicit. Disputes about camera use, monitoring software, response times and working location are rarely about process alone. They are about privacy, working conditions and control.

Monitoring employees has its own legal regime, including data protection rules. Installing monitoring software in response to a conflict is a reliable way to create a second one. Our article on handling workplace disputes in a hybrid workforce covers the specifics.

How does a relationship conflict turn into a sickness file?

Relationship conflict is friction rooted in personalities, communication styles and history rather than in the work. It is the type that most often ends in a sick note, and from that moment the rules on sickness and reintegration take over.

An employee who reports sick because of a conflict is in principle entitled to continued payment of wages for up to two years. The payment is at least 70 per cent of the wage, subject to the statutory maximum daily wage (article 7:629 of the Civil Code). You may not decide for yourself whether the employee is really unfit for work. That assessment belongs to the company doctor (bedrijfsarts).

In conflict cases, the company doctor often concludes that there is no medical incapacity but a labour dispute. The advice is then to bring the parties together, if necessary with a mediator. Professional guidance for company doctors recommends a short time-out followed by structured talks. Courts expect you to follow that advice rather than ignore it.

Which wage measures are often misused?

Two instruments are regularly confused. They have different conditions and different consequences.

• Stopping wages is available only in defined situations, mainly where the employee refuses without good reason to cooperate with reasonable reintegration instructions. You must announce it in advance.
• Suspending wages is a separate measure for an employee who does not comply with reasonable monitoring rules. The suspended wages are paid once the employee complies again.

An employer that uses the wrong measure, or uses either without a prior warning, will usually lose that argument and often the whole case. Our articles on reintegration obligations and wage sanctions and on what happens when reintegration fails set out the sequence.

How can you break a deadlock with the company doctor?

Either party can ask the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) for an expert opinion (deskundigenoordeel). This is possible if you disagree with the company doctor or with each other about fitness for work or the reintegration effort. The cost is modest, you receive a written view, and in a conflict file it is often the fastest way out of a stalemate.

If the reintegration effort is judged insufficient, UWV can extend the period during which you must continue to pay wages. That extension is often the most expensive consequence of mishandling a relationship conflict.

When is mediation the right route?

Mediation is the usual route for relationship conflict in Dutch practice. It is confidential, and refusing to take part without good reason can count against the refusing party if the matter later reaches court.

Mediation is not appropriate where the complaint concerns harassment or discrimination. Those complaints require investigation, not compromise. Our article on using mediation effectively in Dutch employment disputes explains when it works.

Why is a demotion in a status and power conflict a dismissal risk?

Status and power conflict is about authority, recognition and access to decisions and resources. It is legally risky because the measures managers reach for are exactly the ones that change the contract.

Think of removing a title, narrowing a mandate, changing a reporting line, withdrawing a bonus or moving someone sideways. Each may be a unilateral change of terms, subject to the tests described above. A demotion imposed as a response to a conflict can amount to seriously culpable conduct by the employer (ernstig verwijtbaar handelen).

The consequence is not only that the measure is reversed. If a court later terminates the contract, it can award a fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) on top of the statutory transition payment (transitievergoeding). That compensation depends on the circumstances of the case and is not calculated with a fixed formula.

What if promotion or reward decisions are contested?

Then the risk shifts towards equal treatment. If an employee can point to facts that suggest a difference in treatment on a protected ground, the burden moves to you. You must then prove that no prohibited distinction was made.

An employer that cannot produce documented, objective criteria for a selection or promotion is in a weak position from the start, whatever actually motivated the decision. Our overview of employment discrimination law in the Netherlands sets out the protected grounds and the procedure.

How far does Dutch law protect conviction and expression at work?

Values conflict is a clash about what is right: which clients to take, how to use data, what may be said and how people express belief or opinion. Dutch law protects much of that expression, but the employment relationship sets limits.

Religion and belief are protected grounds under equal treatment legislation. You may not make a distinction on that basis, directly or indirectly, unless a statutory exception applies. A neutral dress policy that applies to all employees can be justified. That is only the case if it is applied consistently and pursues a legitimate aim with appropriate and necessary means. Our articles on freedom of religion in the workplace and on religious discrimination and compensation discuss the case law.

Can an employee criticise the employer openly?

An employee may hold and voice opinions, including critical ones. The duty to behave as a good employee limits how and where that happens.

Statements that damage the employer, disclose confidential information or make further cooperation impossible can justify a warning and, in serious cases, termination. On the other hand, an employer that disciplines an employee for a lawfully expressed opinion risks a claim. A policy that forbids expression in broad terms is unlikely to survive scrutiny.

What is the workable approach?

The answer is procedural. Write down the decision criteria for the questions that generate values conflict, apply them consistently and record your reasoning. Distinguish clearly between a decision an employee disagrees with and conduct the employee may refuse to carry out.

An employee is not obliged to follow an unlawful instruction. An instruction to do something unlawful that the employee refuses can quickly become a whistleblowing matter.

How must you handle harassment, discrimination and whistleblowing?

In this category you are not managing a disagreement but carrying out a legal duty. Informal handling can itself be a breach of that duty.

Harassment and unwanted conduct

Unwanted conduct, including bullying, aggression and sexual harassment, falls within the psychosocial workload duty under the Working Conditions Act. Your policy should include a procedure for reporting and investigating it. Serious cases can also be criminal offences, such as assault, stalking and the sexual offences in the Sexual Offences Act (Wet seksuele misdrijven), which has applied since 1 July 2024.

When you receive a complaint, you must act on it. Protect the complainant from contact with the person complained of while the matter is examined. Do not resolve the complaint by moving the complainant.

Discrimination

Discrimination on a protected ground is prohibited by equal treatment legislation. Because of the shifted burden of proof, complaints are comparatively easy to bring. An employee can go to the civil court and can also ask the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) for an opinion. That procedure is free and the opinion is not binding. Ignoring an adverse opinion is still unwise, because a court will take it into account.

Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing is governed by the Whistleblower Protection Act (Wet bescherming klokkenluiders), which has applied since 18 February 2023 and implements the EU Whistleblowing Directive. Employers with 50 or more employees must have an internal reporting procedure that meets statutory requirements. These include confirming receipt of a report and giving a substantive response within set periods.

A reporter may not be disadvantaged because of a report. If a detriment follows a report, you must prove that it had nothing to do with the report. Reports can also be made externally, including to the Whistleblowers Authority (Huis voor Klokkenluiders).

What protocol works in all three cases?

The practical steps are the same for harassment, discrimination and whistleblowing:

1. Acknowledge the complaint or report in writing.
2. Appoint a neutral investigator.
3. Define the scope and the timetable.
4. Secure the evidence before it disappears.
5. Take interim measures that do not disadvantage the person who came forward.
6. Process personal data proportionately and securely.
7. Communicate the outcome as far as confidentiality allows.

Any step that looks like retaliation, including a reassignment presented as a solution, turns a manageable complaint into a claim.

What if the working relationship cannot be repaired?

You can then ask the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) to dissolve the contract because of a disturbed working relationship. The court will first examine what you did to repair the relationship.

Dutch dismissal law is a closed system. You may terminate only on one of the grounds listed in article 7:669 of the Civil Code. You must show that the ground is fully made out and that redeployment within a reasonable period is not possible. In conflict cases the relevant ground is a disturbed working relationship of such a nature that you cannot reasonably be required to continue the contract. An employer that never offered mediation, never addressed a complaint or caused the disturbance itself will usually fail on that ground, or succeed only at a high price.

What if no single ground is complete?

The cumulative ground allows the court to combine circumstances from several grounds. If it terminates on that basis, it may award an additional payment of up to half the statutory transition payment. Separately, if you acted in a seriously culpable way, the court can award a fair compensation without a statutory ceiling. Cases in which an employer punished a complainant are a classic example.

Does sickness block termination?

Sickness complicates the position but does not block it completely. You may not give notice during the first two years of incapacity. The court can still dissolve the contract if the request is unrelated to the sickness. If the conflict caused the sickness, that argument is hard to make. This is another reason to deal with the conflict before it becomes an absence file.

How do most conflict cases end?

Most end in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) rather than a court decision, because both sides prefer certainty. The agreement must be in writing, and the employee has a statutory reflection period after signing. The wording also affects whether the employee can claim unemployment benefit. An employee should not sign on the day it is offered. Our guides on the vaststellingsovereenkomst for employees and on the settlement agreement compared with a UWV dismissal explain what to check.

Deadlines apply on both sides. A request to the court to challenge a dismissal, or to claim compensation connected with it, must be filed within two months after the employment ends. That is a strict limitation period; it cannot be interrupted or extended.

What should you document, and what should you leave out?

Record facts, dates, concrete behaviour, what was agreed and what was offered. Leave out characterisations of personality, diagnoses and speculation about motives.

Almost every conflict case is decided on the file. Keep separate files for a performance issue and a complaint, because mixing them makes both harder to defend. Assume the employee will see the file. Under data protection law (the GDPR), employees are entitled to access their personal data, so a file written on the assumption that it will never be read is a liability.

Two further points close the loop. A warning should state what must change, by when, and what happens if it does not; without those elements it carries little weight. An employee who disagrees with a written record should respond in writing rather than verbally, because an unanswered record is easier to present as accepted. Employees looking for practical steps will find them in our article on what to do if you have a conflict with your employer.

How can we help?

We advise employers, HR departments and employees on all six types of workplace conflict. We draft and review complaints procedures, codes of conduct and reporting arrangements. We guide investigations into harassment, discrimination and whistleblowing reports and advise on wage sanctions and reintegration during conflict-related absence. We also negotiate settlement agreements and act in proceedings before the subdistrict court when termination becomes unavoidable. Our Dutch employment law guides collect our material by topic, and more about the employment lawyers at Law & More is available on our website. Legal advice is most useful before a step is taken, not afterwards.

In summary

• Six conflict types matter legally, and each has its own exit: instruction, mediation, investigation or, as a last resort, termination by the court.
• Your duties start before any complaint: a psychosocial workload policy under the Working Conditions Act and good employer conduct under article 7:611 of the Civil Code.
• A conflict-related sick note brings in the company doctor, the reintegration rules and the risk of a longer wage payment obligation.
• Harassment and discrimination complaints must be investigated, not mediated; whistleblowers are protected against any detriment.
• A disturbed working relationship can justify termination, but only if you can show real efforts to repair it; a challenge to a dismissal must be filed within two months.

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