Achieving flexibility and legal certainty through procedural dismissal law reforms

Abstract

This paper deals with the changes that were introduced in dismissal law in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The reforms in these countries all aimed at greater flexibility by reducing dismissal cost, making dismissal more predictable and shortening dismissal cases. In order to do so, the countries not only focused on changing the substantive dismissal rules, but also changed procedural rules. Moreover, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands shared the same objectives: the encouragement of early settlements between employer and employee and the introduction of a preliminary assessment procedure. This contribution compares and analyses these instruments in the countries of interest. It attempts to determine what adjustments are needed in the law to make the instruments successful and what drawbacks should be taken into account.