Spotify announced a global reorganisation in December 2023, in which 17% of its employees would be laid off. As a result, Spotify NL also had to shed jobs. Spotify NL itself took the view that the reorganisation decision, with a loss of 19 out of 172 workplaces, did not require it to seek advice from the works council. This would not be a significant downsizing. Spotify NL substantiated this by arguing that there was no statutory collective redundancy (the limit of which is 20 employees). As 19 employees were made redundant here, Spotify would fall just short of this definition. Both the Works Council and the Enterprise Chamber disagreed with these views.
An 11% downsizing does constitute a significant downsizing that should have required the works council to be asked for advice, according to the Enterprise Chamber. The Enterprise Chamber made it clear that this reorganisation decision, in addition to a significant reduction in staff, also brought about a significant change in Spotify NL's organisation. Therefore, it was clear here: this was a reorganisation decision requiring an advisory opinion.
The consequence for Spotify NL is that they have to reverse the decision and its consequences. This means keeping all jobs (for now).
To then still come to a reorganisation, Spotify must first go through the advisory process with the works council. Only once that is all over can a new attempt at reorganisation be made.
This ruling shows the importance of seeking the advice of the works council in time, otherwise the song is quickly sung. 🎵
Marxman Advocaten advises and assists both employers and works councils in advisory and consent processes with the works council.
Here is the link to the full ruling.