The Dutch Lower Chamber (Tweede Kamer) has approved a legislative proposal today on the basis of which the works council (WC) gets an endorsement right (instemmingsrecht) in case that the employer wants to change a pension scheme. The WC already has an endorsement right in case that the employer wants to lay down or withdraw a pension scheme, but not in case that the employer wants to amend a pension scheme.
As a consequence of this amendment employees get, through the WC, more influence on their own pension.
The endorsement right of the OR is applicable to the content of the working condition ´pension´. The employer is and will remain free in its choice for the pension provider. The WC has no endorsement right with regard to the choice for the pension provider. There is one exception to this rule: the WC does have an endorsement right in case that the employer wants to relocate the pension scheme to a pension provider located outside of the Netherlands. Such relocation can have consequences for the working condition pension and therefore the employer needs the WC’s endorsement.
