Caroline Mehlem

Caroline Mehlem

Senior Associate | Attorney at law

Employment & Employee Participation

Caroline has considerable experience in guiding medium-sized to large national and international enterprises in every aspect of employment law, from individual dismissals and legal scans to complex reorganisations and company acquisitions. She also assists many educational institutions ranging from school districts to universities. In addition to ‘regular’ employment law, she also has a special interest in cross-border employment and education law.

Caroline is a highly motivated attorney who takes a solution-oriented approach underpinned by her strong interpersonal and decisive qualities. Her commitment, expertise and clarity inspire trust among her clients and colleagues. Caroline is French in origin and also has German, Spanish and English roots, making her multilingual – something which is of great practical benefit.

Education

Caroline studied Dutch law at Leiden University, majoring in International Law.

Career

Caroline has worked at De Clercq as an attorney since 2003, with a broad focus on employment law. She puts her multilingual background and international interest to good use in advising numerous international clients. She specialises in Education Law and Employment Law from a European perspective, and has completed mediation training, which also serves her practice well. As well as being an attorney, Caroline is a board member with the Technolab Leiden Foundation.

Caroline’s daily practice

On an almost daily basis, Caroline deals with matters such as individual dismissals, reorganisations, working remotely from abroad, expatriates, unacceptable behaviour and the investigation of this, and disability in the workplace. She also provides advice to companies at the policy level. Caroline acts as in-house counsel for a variety of companies, and values the opportunity to get to know her clients well. This often leads to fruitful collaborations that last for many years. The same applies to the educational institutions with which Caroline has long-term involvements with respect to employment law matters.

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The latest developments

Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

The Cybersecurity Act has entered into force: Works Councils, play your part!

20 August 2026

Cyberattacks targeting hospitals, municipalities, critical infrastructure and other public service providers are no longer exceptional. Organisations therefore need to strengthen their resilience against digital threats. On 15 August 2026, the Cybersecurity Act (Cyberbeveiligingswet, Cbw) entered into force. With this Act, the Netherlands implements the European NIS2 Directive. The aim of the Cbw is to require organisations to take their digital resilience seriously and ensure that it is properly addressed. For management boards, this is primarily a compliance issue. However, a closer look at what these obligations mean in practice shows that the works council also has an important role to play.

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Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

Changing a work-from-home policy? Don't forget the works council!

13 August 2026

ABN AMRO made headlines this week in the Financieele Dagblad. The bank wants employees to work from the office more frequently and is currently negotiating this with the trade unions. ABN AMRO is not alone in this – a broader trend is emerging across Dutch businesses. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has become the new normal. But the tide is turning. An increasing number of companies want employees to spend more time in the office again. Reasons cited include higher productivity, stronger connections with colleagues, greater creativity and a better work-life balance. This may sound logical. However, changing a work-from-home policy is more than simply a management decision.

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Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

Reorganising Despite Negative Works Council Advice: How Far Does Management Discretion Extend?

24 July 2026

A management board decides to implement a reorganisation, despite the works council (OR) having issued a negative opinion. The management board nevertheless intends to proceed with the decision. How far does its discretion to organise the company extend? A recent decision by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (OK) shows that this discretion is broad, provided that the management board follows the employee participation process carefully and provides a sound justification for its decision.

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