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CMS organiseert in 2024 een zestal ESG-ont­bijt­ses­sies, van 08:00 tot 10:00 uur, bij ons op kantoor in Am­ster­dam. Aan­mel­den kan via onderstaande pagina's. Mocht u vragen hebben over dit evenement, neem dan con­tact met ons op. Wij zien uit naar uw deelname.

Als een dis­func­ti­o­ne­ren­de werknemer zich ziek meldt, kan hij natuurlijk echt ziek zijn. Maar hij kan zich ook ‘tactisch’ ziek melden. Dit kan een complexe si­tu­a­tie op­le­ve­ren. Aandacht hebben voor...

On 30 May 2023, the Dutch Senate has adopted the Future of Pensions Act. On 30 May 2023, the bill and submitted motions were voted on and a majority was achieved. The plenary debate took place on 22 and 23 May 2023, with a total of 30 motions submitted. The Future of Pensions Act will come into effect on 1 July 2023, with a transition period until 1 January 2027. Pension funds will have until 1 January 2028 to comply with the new law. The Future of Pension Act brings significant changes, in­clu­ding:Tran­si­ti­on from pension entitlements to personal pension pots: the current defined benefits schemes will be replaced by defined contribution schemes. Abolition of the uniform premium: the premium contribution in the new defined contribution schemes will become age-independent. Each participant, regardless of age, will receive the same premium percentage (a flat-rate premium). The maximum premium is 30% of the pensionable salary. Transitional arrangement for current age-dependent premiums: employers who already have a defined contribution arrangement with an age-dependent premium before 1 July 2023, can use a transitional arrangement. They can continue the existing pension scheme for participants who are employed before 1 January 2027. Minimum entry age of 18: the statutory minimum entry age for the pension scheme will be lowered from 21 to 18 years as of 1 January 2024. Changes to partner and orphan pensions: the amount of insured partner and orphan pensions will be standardized and expressed as a percentage of the salary. Employers and employees will face challenges, as non-compliance with the legislation from 1 January 2027 will result in taxation and significant financial consequences. Trade unions and works councils will also need to take action. CMS can provide guidance and assistance in this process. Please contact us for any questions or concerns. For more details, visit our previously published article. Contact Should you wish to receive more information or if you have any questions regarding the impact of the new pension law on your business, please contact us.

In 2019, the Dutch government together with the employee and employer organizations, concluded an agreement on significant changes to the current pension law. This agreement regulates the revision of the second-pillar pension in the Netherlands. The second-pillar pension contains the supplementary pensions that individuals build up as part of their employment as employees. Future of Pensions Act Currently, the new pension law (the 'Future of Pensions Act') is not yet adopted. The Dutch Senate will discuss and (most likely) vote on the new pension law at the end of May 2023. Based on the current proposal for the new law and the timing of the voting in the Dutch Senate, the new pension law may be adopted by the end of May 2023 and enacted by 1 July 2023. Once the law is in effect, the different stakeholders (unions, employers, employees and pension providers) will have 3.5 years (until 1 January 2027) to adjust the existing pension schemes to the new legislation. Central employment condition The most significant change in the proposed new pension law is that the pension accrual will be different from the current system. Every employee participating in a pension scheme will start building up a personal pension capital through a defined contribution scheme. Defined benefit pension schemes will no longer exist. Hence, the pension contribution will become the central employment condition. Furthermore, the pension contribution will be uniform for all ages and will not deviate per age (the so-called flat contribution). After 1 January 2027, the system of deviating pension con­tri­bu­ti­on ba­sed on age may only be continued for employees who were already employed and participating in the pension scheme with such system, based on the transitional law. As part of these (and more) changes, unions, employers, employees and pension providers should transition to the new pension system and existing agreements must be adjusted to comply with the new law. Compliance with the new pension law requires a transition plan in which all stakeholders should be included. We are happy to assist you with setting up such a transition plan and providing guidance on this new pension law once it is adopted. Contact Should you wish to receive more information or if you have any questions regarding the impact of the new pension law on your business, please contact us.

Key employment issues to be aware of internationally

Cherry picking bij een overname vanuit faillissement wordt verleden tijd. De rechtspositie van de werknemer bij een overname in faillissement wijzigt namelijk drastisch als het Wetsvoorstel rechten van...

ESG: Environmental, Social & Governance

In relatief korte tijd is de implementatie van ESG-aspecten (environmental, social en governance) in het economisch verkeer uitgegroeid tot een strategische prioriteit op bestuursniveau. Hoewel de betekenis van ESG de komende jaren waarschijnlijk nog wel zal evolueren, is de onderliggende drijfveer om als bedrijf naast een economische tevens een maatschappelijke bijdrage te leveren, een blijvertje. In de kern gaat het namelijk om het behouden en het versterken van de maatschappelijke verantwoording om bedrijfsmatig te opereren in een snel veranderende wereld. ESG raakt daarmee de kern van ieder bedrijf. Toekomstgerichte bedrijven Niet alle aspecten van E, S en G hebben prioriteit voor bedrijven. Bedrijven zullen zorgvuldig moeten afwegen op welk aspect van ESG zij zich willen focussen. Het is daarom leerzaam om organisaties te observeren die ESG op een gerichte, sociaal en maatschappelijk gemotiveerde en strategische manier benaderen. McKinsey noemt deze organisaties ‘toe­komst­ge­rich­te bedrijven’. Ze maken ESG een onderdeel van hun strategie door welbewust juist die ESG-aspecten toe te passen die aansluiten bij de core van hun business. Toekomstgerichte bedrijven bevorderen ook de concurrentie door zich te onderscheiden en met goed maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen bij te dragen aan het vinden van oplossingen voor existentiële vraagstukken, zoals kli­maat­ver­an­de­ring. Onderscheidende rol Welk ambitieniveau uw bedrijf ook heeft, u zult altijd aan de ESG-regelgeving moeten voldoen op onder meer het gebied van milieuwetgeving, ar­beids­rech­te­lij­ke vraagstukken of governance. Maar toekomstgerichte bedrijven gaan verder dan dat en leggen de lat over het algemeen hoger door zich te focussen op bepaalde aspecten van ESG waarop zij een leidende of onderscheidende rol kunnen spelen. Hierdoor kunnen in het ideale geval ook andere soortgelijke bedrijven worden gemotiveerd om een vergelijkbare weg te bewandelen op het gebied van ESG. Routekaart naar maatschappelijke winst CMS heeft samen met het NGB de speciale ESG-publicatie 'Routekaart naar maatschappelijke winst' uitgebracht. Het bevat een compact overzicht van de belangrijkste ESG-regelgeving. Tevens biedt het concrete handvatten om bestuurders beter te kunnen adviseren op het gebied van ESG. Verschillende aspecten en onderdelen van een onderneming komen aan bod: van distributieketen tot bedrijfsmatige vastgoed, van duurzame fi­nan­cie­rings­vraag­stuk­ken tot het gewenste niveau aan diversiteit en inclusiviteit binnen de populatie, en van governance tot ESG litigation. Video-interviews Over deze ESG-onderwerpen gingen bedrijfsjuristen van verschillende sectoren en ESG-specialisten van CMS met elkaar in gesprek. Deze video-interviews vindt u op de onderliggende pagina's.

Key employment issues to be aware of internationally

Some leaks can’t be fixed “Confidential information is like an ice cube... give it to the party who has no refrigerator or will not agree to keep it in one, and by the time of the trial you have just a pool of water.” This, from the so-called Spycatcher case (1987), applies well to corporate assets: fail to store them correctly and all you might have left is an expensive mess. The consequences of even a minor exposure of a trade secret can be huge. As this report reveals, the protection of trade secrets is rightly recognised by most senior executives as a priority issue. But the research also reveals gaps that leave companies unnecessarily exposed to risks. The top named threats – cybersecurity attacks and employee leaks – resonate with what we see impacting our clients. Increased home and remote working is straining security measures and employee loyalty. Added to this, an ‘innovate or die’ attitude in high­ly-com­pe­ti­ti­ve sectors can motivate new joiners to arrive with questionable material from their previous employer, or worse: outright theft between competitors. But while it is easy to focus on the lurking threats from weakened cyber security and disgruntled employees – and they are important – there are more routine actions a company can take to safeguard its secrets than just updating its IT systems or the employee handbook. Commonly, those who most need our help already have a trade secrets policy but have not properly implemented it in relation to the secret in question. Or the policy has not been updated to reflect the intangible assets the business now owns. Or protection was taken for granted. With trade secrets – which for many businesses are strategically more important than a public patent portfolio – it is always costlier and messier to find solutions after a theft or a leak. Identifying the trade secrets and the threats posed to them, combined with rigorous internal processes and well-drafted contracts, can help prevent such problems from happening. Harder, but just as necessary, is engaging hearts and minds in corporate culture, to know why trade secrets are important, why we are all are responsible for protecting them, and what may happen if we do not (to both the company and the individual). In our experience, the businesses with the strongest defences have not only thought strategically about their intangible assets and how best to protect them but are also prepared for the worst. The trick to avoiding an asset becoming a crisis is to be wise before the event.

De Wet implementatie EU-richtlijn transparante en voorspelbare ar­beids­voor­waar­den is per 1 augustus 2022 ingegaan en geldt voor bestaande ar­beids­over­een­kom­sten en voor nieuwe ar­beids­over­een­kom­sten. Deze...

What’s next? In a world of ever-ac­ce­le­ra­ting change, staying ahead of the curve and knowing what’s next for your business or sector is essential. At CMS, we see ourselves not only as your legal advisers but also as your business partners. We work together with you to not only resolve current issues but to anticipate future challenges and innovate to meet them. With our latest publication, CMS Next, our experts will regularly offer you insights into and fresh perspectives on a range of issues that businesses have to deal with – from ESG agendas to restructuring after the pandemic or facing the digital transformation. We will also share with you more about the work that we are doing for our clients, helping them innovate, grow and mitigate risk. To be able to provide you with the best support, we immerse ourselves in your world to understand your legal needs and challenges. However, it is equally important that you know who we are and how we can work with you. So, we invite you to meet our experts and catch a glimpse of what is happening inside CMS. Enjoy reading this publication, which we will update regularly with new content. CMS Executive Team