Civil service law

Find out more about what civil service law entails and what our lawyers can do for you in this regard. Feel free to contact us. We will be happy to tell you more about the possibilities.

What is civil service law?

Civil service law is a separate specialism within the field of labour law and regulates the legal status of all civil servants employed by the government. Until 1 January 2020, the legal relationship between the public employer and the civil servant was a special regime different from civil labour law. On 1 January 2020, the Standardisation of the Legal Status of Civil Servants Act (Wnra) came into force and with it, a new system for civil servants also applied.

Civil service law changes
The law applicable to civil servants has been normalised since 2020. This has given civil servants virtually the same legal position as ordinary employees. Only a few groups of civil servants, such as mayors, aldermen, defence and police officers, are still exempted from this normalisation. What are the implications of this change in civil service law:

• With the introduction of the Wnra, civil ‘normal’ labour law also applies to civil servants. In essence, this means that the one-sided nature of tenure has been replaced by a two-sided employment contract, to which a collective agreement may apply.
• In addition, civil servants are no longer protected in situations of dismissal and labour disputes on the basis of public law regulations. This means that civil servants can no longer object to or appeal any legal status decision taken by the public employer, but must go to the civil courts.
• Because of the public interest that the government has to pursue and the far-reaching powers with which it can restrict citizens’ freedom, the government remains a special employer. The Civil Service Act 2017 continues to regulate elements of civil service status that are closely linked to this special nature of working in government.

What do our civil service lawyers offer?

Both government organisations and individual civil servants can come to us with questions on a variety of issues. Bout’s civil service lawyers can advise you on, among other things, the possibilities of amending the employment contract, collective agreement issues (and possible dissolution issues), integrity issues, disciplinary sanctions and dereliction of duty. They can also assist you in disputes arising from the submission of an employment or continuation agreement and in dismissal matters.

Our lawyers are also (still) happy to serve the groups of civil servants exempted in the Wrna, such as mayors, aldermen, defence and police officers. We can also assist these officials in the decision-making process or afterwards in administrative proceedings.

Contact civil service law lawyer from Groningen

Feel free to contact one of our specialists to the right or fill in here the contact form if you think you need a civil service law attorney. Bout Advocaten from Groningen is happy to be at your service!