Mediator & Senior Associate | Attorney at law
Employment & Employee Participation & Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
Ernst is recognised as an experienced consultant/mediator specialising in assisting directors and works councils of large international corporations, as well as many non-profit organisations such as orchestras, museums and provincial authorities. As a former musician himself (trumpet player), he provides advice to many in the arts. He is also a mediator to medical partnerships of professionals, based on his previous role as a dean. Ernst is regularly sought out as a business mediator and arbitrator through parties such as the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (Nederlands Arbitrage Instituut).
After completing his school education at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden, Ernst studied Civil Law at Leiden University and classical trumpet with the principal teacher of trumpet at The Hague Conservatory.
In 1983, Ernst became an attorney alongside the eponymous Paul de Clercq, with whom he went on to form the partnership De Clercq and Van Win Lawyers in 1987. He became a registered and certified business mediator in 1996. Ernst was one of the initiators of the Grotius Employment Law specialist course and has lectured in this, as well as in rules of conduct at the Professional Law School. He joined the Supervisory Council in The Hague in 2006, in the role of ‘Leids Deken’ (Dean of Leiden). In 2009, he was elected as ‘Haags Deken’ (Dean of The Hague) and held this supervisory and administrative position until 2012. He has been a member of the Lawyers’ Conduct Review Committee, and performs various administrative and supervisory roles in the art, museum and healthcare sectors.
Ernst handles matters and disputes on behalf of directors and supervisors, and provides boardroom advice on complex organisational changes. He deals with conflicts in partnerships and in behavioural and disciplinary law, and with employment and employment participation law matters, including in the art world. Ernst provides advice relating to Codes of Conduct and ethical issues.
Mergers of museums and orchestras
Provided advice on the employment and employment participation law aspects of proposed mergers and their finalisation.
Arbitration relating to the performance of a pension fund’s administration agreement and on a dispute involving an international partner of one of the big four accountants with his firm.
Guiding and settling of the dismissal of a director/shareholder in a rapidly growing start-up company
Negotiation and purchase of one of the oldest Rembrandts on behalf of Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden
Providing employment law guidance for professional musicians
Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
22 June 2026
This week, the Dutch Senate approved a bill introducing a statutory presumption of employment for workers earning a low hourly rate. What does this presumption entail, and what does it mean for organisations engaging self-employed workers?
Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
19 May 2026
Good news for employers dealing with employees on long-term sick leave: the proposed restriction of the compensation scheme for transition payments to small employers has been postponed. The intended effective date has been moved from 1 July 2026 to 1 January 2027. This means employers can continue to make use of the current compensation scheme for the time being.
Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
9 April 2026
Plans for the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive are on the way. Employers will soon be required to be more transparent about salaries, make pay differences visible, and take action where necessary. That sounds logical, as there is little debate that equal pay for equal work should be the guiding principle. However, the Council of State has raised several significant concerns about the legislative proposal - and these are relevant for every employer.