Werkgeverschap in concernverband. Een analyse van het concern in het arbeidsrecht en de verhouding tot de rechtseenheid

Abstract

Employees increasingly work not just for one company, but for several companies that are interrelated (a corporate group). Dutch employment law assumes that an employee works for one company and therefore struggles to regulate this situation in a coherent and understandable way. This thesis nevertheless shows that the position of the group in Dutch employment law is characterised by a number of common denominators. The most important one is that Dutch courts consistently try to provide tailor-made solutions for the employee in the group and therefore interpret employment law rules and concepts in a flexible manner. This approach aligns with the law of the EU which is becoming increasingly important for Dutch employment law, including where it concerns the group. However, a comparison with German law illustrates that a different approach, which leaves less room for tailor-made solutions but leads to clearer and more easily applicable rules, is also conceivable. This makes this thesis primarily a signal for the Dutch legislator to re-evaluate the current, complex approach to corporate groups in employment law.