Clifford Chance

Employee consultation in the Netherlands in case of mergers and acquisitions

7 December 2012

As in many other European countries, M&A transactions in the Netherlands are subject to notification and consultation requirements towards employee representative bodies in the form of works councils and trade unions. The requirement that these procedures must normally be completed before the acquisition agreements are signed can have a significant impact on an M&A process in the Netherlands.

The relevant requirements are based on the Dutch Merger Code and the Dutch Works Council Act. Applicable collective labour agreements may contain additional consultation requirements in change of control scenarios.

This M&A Toolkit memo outlines the different requirements.

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