Employment law · Netherlands

They're counting on you giving up.

Your employer has lawyers, HR, and a budget designed to make you go away quietly. They cut corners. They get cocky. They assume you'll be too scared to push back.

East Wind Legal is a boutique legal advisory that works exclusively for employees in the technology sector. Dutch employment law is among the strongest in Europe. We make sure your employer can't ignore it.

Tell us what happened

The problem

They play a numbers game. We change the odds.

Their playbook

Large technology companies treat employment disputes as a numbers game. Drown you in corporate speak. Bury you in process. Send vague threats from people with impressive job titles. The implicit message is always the same: we can keep this going longer than you can.

They assume you don't know the law. They assume you can't afford to fight. And most of the time, they're right. Traditional Dutch lawyers respond with the poldermodel: friendly conversations, reasonable offers, good faith negotiations. That's fine when the other side is negotiating in good faith. American-style technology companies are not.

Our answer

Until recently, employers had the information advantage. Building a proper legal position meant days of expensive lawyer time: reading case law, cross-referencing statutes, drafting arguments. Most people couldn't afford it. Most firms were too slow.

We use frontier legal AI systems and software engineering to do it in hours. Cheaper. Faster. More thorough. They send you a new threat on Monday? We'll have a response citing the exact statutory provisions and case law that prove them wrong before the week is out.

We don't do polite conversations with people who are acting in bad faith. We build precise, well-sourced legal arguments that their lawyers have to take seriously. When a company cuts corners and gets cocky, they leave a trail. We're very good at finding it.

Track record

We've been where you are.

Our team includes former Works Council chairs who have taken on Big Tech companies you have definitely heard of, and won. We've represented employees through large-scale restructurings and secured millions of euros in severance for the people those companies tried to push out quietly.

We don't just know employment law in theory. We've been on the receiving end of the same tactics your employer is using right now. We know how they operate, we know where they cut corners, and we know how to make them answer for it.

What we know

Expertise from experience, not textbooks.

These aren't practice areas on a brochure. These are the situations we've handled, fought, and won. If yours isn't listed, get in touch anyway.

Unfair dismissal

Onterecht ontslag

Dutch law sets a high bar for dismissal. Your employer needs proper grounds, proper process, and often UWV or court approval. If they skipped steps, the dismissal may be invalid entirely, or you may be owed a substantial transition payment. Companies in a hurry make mistakes. We find them.

Settlement agreements

Vaststellingsovereenkomst

If your employer puts a settlement agreement in front of you: do not sign it. Not yet. You are under no obligation to agree, and you almost certainly have more rights than they are telling you. Talk to us, or talk to another lawyer, before you put your name on anything. Even after signing you have 14 days to reconsider, but it's far better not to need them.

Salary stops and suspensions

Loonstop en loonopschorting

Under Art. 7:629 BW, a loonstop (lid 3) and a loonopschorting (lid 6) are completely different instruments. A loonstop extinguishes your right to salary for the period of non-compliance; that money is gone. A loonopschorting only suspends payment; once you comply, every cent must be paid back. They have different legal grounds, different procedural requirements, and under lid 7, the employer must notify you promptly and correctly. Employers routinely confuse the two, announce one but mean the other, or fail to meet the notification requirements entirely. When they get it wrong, the sanction can be invalid.

Company doctors and occupational health

Bedrijfsarts en arbodienst

The Arbeidsomstandighedenwet requires your occupational health provider to be independent. We know how companies abuse this: pressuring you back to work before you've recovered, sharing your medical data with HR, or using the arbodienst to coach salary sanctions against you instead of providing independent advice. We've been on the receiving end of these tactics and know exactly what to do about them.

Workplace bullying and mental health

Pesten op de werkvloer

Your employer has a legal duty to provide a safe working environment. We know how companies weaponise mental health issues against employees: using your condition to undermine your credibility, framing legitimate complaints as personal problems, or building a paper trail to justify pushing you out. The law protects you. We make sure it's enforced.

Whistleblower protection

Wet bescherming klokkenluiders

The Wet bescherming klokkenluiders provides statutory protection if you speak out about wrongdoing, internally or to the press. If your employer retaliates, the burden of proof shifts to them under Art. 17e. If you're thinking about blowing the whistle, or already have and are facing consequences, we can help you enforce the protections the law gives you.

Non-compete clauses

Concurrentiebeding

Non-competes in the Netherlands are often broader than the law allows. Many tech companies copy templates from US legal teams without adapting them to Dutch law. We assess whether yours is enforceable and advise on your options if you want to move on. Their sloppy drafting is their problem, not yours.

Restructuring and redundancy

Reorganisatie

Layoffs in the Netherlands must follow strict rules: correct selection criteria, proper Works Council consultation, and fair severance. Companies under pressure from a US parent often cut corners, skip steps, or dress up individual dismissals as restructurings. We know exactly where they tend to slip up.

Process

Three steps. No jargon. No billing surprises.

Tell us what happened

Send us a short description of your situation. Your role, what your employer did, and what outcome you want. That's all we need to start.

We assess your position

We review your situation against the relevant statutes and case law, and tell you plainly where you stand. This initial assessment is free.

We act on your behalf

If there are grounds, we draft formal correspondence to your employer citing the specific legal provisions they're violating. Precise, sourced, and very difficult to ignore.

Get in touch

You don't have to do this alone.

Tell us what's happening. Your role, what your employer did, and what you're hoping for. We'll get back to you with an initial assessment at no cost.

Everything you share with us is treated as strictly confidential.

info@eastwindlegal.nl