The dismissal practice relaxed?, annotation AR Updates, AR 2016-0095

On October 10, 2017, the new government, Rutte III, announced its coalition agreement. More or less simultaneously, on October 9, 2017, the Landelijk overleg vakinhoudelijk civiel, kantonen toezicht (LOVCK&T) adopted recommendations regarding the settlement at hearing in WWZ cases (and pro forma dissolution) and the award of procedural costs in WWZ cases (hereinafter: theWWWZ recommendations). The coalition agreement mentions a number of plans for changes to the current system of dismissal law, of which the introduction of a cumulation ground as a ground for dismissal, combined with the possibility of awarding additional compensation,may be the most striking. The WWZ recommendations mainly concern the practice of settlements at the hearing, whether or not linked to a pro forma termination of the employment contract. Both pieces are briefly discussed below.