Netherlands: Impact of the Fall of the Government on Dutch Employment Law
On 5 June 2025, the Dutch government fell, meaning that it lost its majority in the House of Representatives. Read this article to find out what the fall of the cabinet means for developments in Dutch employment law.
In the Netherlands, the fall of the cabinet does not mean that they resign from all their duties and that new elections are held immediately. The cabinet continues to function as a caretaker cabinet until new elections have taken place. This means that only current affairs are dealt with and no new policies are made or major decisions are taken. The Senate will make an inventory of topics that should be declared “controversial.” The caretaker cabinet is not allowed to make any decisions on these topics, delaying their handling until a new cabinet is formed.
On 8 July 2025, an overview of legislative proposals that may need to be declared controversial will be presented, and a vote on these proposals will take place on the same day. Only then will we be able to say with certainty what the consequences of the fall of the cabinet will have for employment law. The new elections will be held on 29 October 2025. For context, the previous cabinet collapsed on 7 July 2023, and it took nearly a year for a new government to be formed. Notably, during that period, no labour law proposals were classified as controversial.
Whether labour law proposals will once again avoid being declared controversial remains to be seen. At present, we are not aware of any such proposals that are likely to be classified as controversial, but this will only become clear on 8 July 2025. The most contentious topic is the government’s approach to false self-employment, an issue frequently discussed in this publication. The government is at a crossroads on how to tackle the problem. Two different bills, each proposing a different approach, are currently on the table. Opinions within the House of Representatives are divided, increasing the likelihood that this issue could be declared controversial
Key Points for HR
To have a clear overview of the legislative proposals that will potentially be put on hold, make sure to keep an eye on the decision of the senate on 8 July 2025. We will keep you informed!
