Reorganisation
In a period of economic recession, purchasing power decreases. For companies, this entails decreasing sales and pressure on their profit. Competition will increase and companies will make their best efforts to save their own bottom line, in most cases, by reducing their profit margins. Sometimes, they even feel forced to accept loss. When companies fall on this phase, they often need to carry out a reorganisation process.
Half of Dutch employees have faced a reorganisation process in the last two years, with the resulting presence of tension in the working environment. In most cases, it responds to the need of the employer to obtain more capital, but this is not always achieved. Many employees are literally made sick by this process and stay at home for health reasons. The most usual symptoms are stress, tension and insomnia.
The consequences of restructuring for employees may be the search for another position, another job, new secondary employment conditions or dismissal.
Sometimes the employer is bound to consult the consequences of this process. There are two regulations that force employers to do so, regardless of the scope of the reorganisation process: the Notice of Collective Termination Act and the Works Council Act. By virtue of said regulations, the employer will not always obtain approval for the dismissal.
Reorganisation, however, may result unfavourable, dismissal being its ultimate consequence. This is why it is important that you, as an employee, should be properly prepared. Counting with the help of a lawyer is, beyond any doubt, the right thing to do.