Employment & Pensions
Houthoff's Employment & Pensions practice group is one of the most prestigious full-service practices in its field in the Netherlands, advising clients at home and abroad on all aspects of employment and pension law. It deals with matters including individual dismissals, collective redundancy, employee participation law, the employment and pension law aspects of M&A and financing transactions, and consultancy and litigation work in the broadest sense.
The practice group boasts particular expertise on reorganisations and the legal position of directors and senior managers, including remuneration and related restrictions (under the Senior Executives in the Public and Semi-Public Sector (Standards for Remuneration) Act (Wet normering topinkomens) and the Remuneration Policy (Financial Enterprises) Act (Wet beloningsbeleid financiële ondernemingen). It also specialises in governance structures, collective labour agreements, pensions and the unilateral changes regime.
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“A client says that 'Houthoff offers excellent knowledge and pragmatic advice'.”Chambers Europe, Employment (2024 Edition)
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"A client says: Houthoff offers excellent knowledge and strategic insight, as well as a broad range of expertise'."Chambers Europe, Employment (2023 Edition)
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"A client mentions: 'Houthoff offers professional and skilled lawyers for complex employment matters'."Chambers Europe, Employment (2023 Edition)
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"A client mentioned: ‘The team is very knowledgeable and consists of people with different expertise (e.g. in litigation, reorganisations, dealing with disgruntled employees, etc.). Compared to other firms the expertise and client focus stands out'."Legal 500, Employment (2023 Edition)
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"One client said this team has: 'Great knowledge. Practical, to-the-point solutions, not lengthy advice. Business understanding. A stable team without too many changes'."Legal 500, Employment (2023 Edition)
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“A client praises the team for being ‘the perfect combination of really top-tier lawyers and political sense’.”Chambers Europe, Employment (2022 Edition)
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“Clients describe the team as ‘strong experts with a breadth of experience’ and appreciate that they ‘always have clear communication’ with the lawyers at Houthoff. ”Chambers Europe, Employment (2022 Edition)
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First Tier firmLegal 500, Employment (2022 Edition)
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“I found that the firm had impeccable reactivity.”Legal 500, Employment (2022 Edition)
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“Different specialties that work well altogether to deliver the most suitable and practical answers.”Legal 500, Employment (2022 Edition)
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“A client highlights the team’s ‘expertise and good interpersonal communication skills to accompany us in this complicated path.’”Chambers Europe, Employment (2021 Edition)
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“Clients underline the team’s attentiveness, one characterising the lawyers as ‘fast and helpful.’”Chambers Europe, Employment (2021 Edition)
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“When one person is not available, there is always a great colleague to step in.”Legal 500, Employment (2021 Edition)
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“Hands-on and very knowledgeable.”Legal 500, Employment (2021 Edition)
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“Very good knowledge and experience, very professional, good sense of humour too, and quick response to questions also outside office hours.”Legal 500, Employment (2021 Edition)
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Advised Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance Nederland on the carve-out of Findio (a provider of car finance products) out of the CACF Nederland group and the sale of Findio to FCA Bank.
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Advised Lumileds, a global leader in innovative lighting solutions, in its comprehensive financial restructuring. Lumileds emerged from a Chapter 11, resulting in a leadership transition and a funded debt reduction of approximately USD 1.4 billion.
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Advised European private equity firm CastikCapital on the acquisition of TBAuctions, a leading European online auction platform.
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Advised and represented ESD-SIC B.V. in proceedings before the Dutch Supreme Court in connection with a dispute with a former employee.
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Advised HqO, together with Goodwin Procter LLP, on the acquisition of Office App. Office App is a leading European tenant and employee engagement platform.
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Houthoff, together with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, advised Atlas Holdings LLC on the acquisition of the Permasteelisa Group from LIXIL Group Corporations (Japan).
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Advised together with Renzenbrink & Partner, the svt Group, a leading supplier of passive fire protection products and systems with the acquisition of Flamepro. The svt Group is an Ergon Capital portfolio company.
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Houthoff advised Poiesz Supermarkten B.V., a chain of supermarkets in the Northern Netherlands, on the acquisition of Zorggroep Friesland B.V., sole shareholder of Van Smaak B.V.. Van Smaak B.V. delivers meals to healthcare institutions and individual customers and has the whole relating process (including the purchase of the raw materials, processing and logistics) in house.
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Houthoff advised Stichting Bedrijfspensioenfonds voor het Bakkersbedrijf (Bpf Bakkers), a Dutch pension fund managing assets of approximately EUR 3.5 billion, on the appointment of NN Investment Partners as their new integrated fiduciary asset manager. This transaction involved the preparation and negotiations of a fiduciary management agreement under Dutch law based on Bpf Bakker's own template.
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Houthoff advised Stichting Pensioenfonds Campina, a Dutch pension fund, on the renewal of its contractual relationship with Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc., RREEF America L.L.C. (both subsidiaries of Deutsche Bank AG) and Goldman Sachs Asset Management International. This work included the preparation and negotiation of a complex Dutch law asset management agreement based on the pension fund's own template.
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Acted on behalf of several CEO’s of listed companies pertaining to their dismissal and acted on behalf of various listed and non listed companies with regard to high profile dismissal cases of boardmembers
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Acted on behalf of Royal IHC in a major reorganisation of 800 employees.
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V&D was a landmark brand of high street located department stores (63 stores) in the Netherlands and was founded in 1887. Houthoff advised the company in a wide array of matters, including the restructuring of its debt, and representing the company in several high profile litigation matters related to real estate and labour law.
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Houthoff advised BGI Genomics Co., Ltd. on all Dutch-law aspects in connection with its successful IPO at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. BGI is a leading gene sequencing firm, offering a wide portfolio of genetic testing products across major diseases, enabling medical providers and patients worldwide to realise the promise of genomics-based diagnostics and personalised healthcare.
Publications
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07-March-2024
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21-September-2023
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18-May-2023
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02-May-2023
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14-April-2023
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04-April-2023
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08-February-2023
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23-January-2023
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07-December-2022
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13-June-2022
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08-February-2022
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27-January-2022
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10-January-2022
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26-November-2021
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01-October-2021
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21-September-2021
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30-July-2021
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29-July-2021
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04-June-2021
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21-May-2021