Renate Vink-Dijkstra

Renate Vink-Dijkstra

Partner & Attorney at law

Employment & Employee Participation

Renate Vink-Dijkstra is a highly motivated and enthusiastic attorney with a great deal of interest in employment and employment participation. She considers it a privilege to work with directors, legal counsels, HR, works councils and other employment participation bodies, and to be able to contribute to effective employment participation within corporations, the government, healthcare and education.

‘Employment participation is about employees having a say and exercising influence, and about working together to achieve a result that is good for both the company and the employees. I examine issues from a legal, strategic and practical point of view so that the best possible solutions can be found. And if necessary, I have the legal expertise to help matters along.’

Education

Renate completed her law studies at Leiden University and graduated with a Master’s degree in Private Law in 2008. Since then, Renate has gone on to specialise in employment law, specifically in employment participation, and successfully completed the specialist course in Employment, Enterprise and Employment Participation at the University of Amsterdam in 2015.

Career

Renate has practised as an attorney in employment law and employment participation since 2009. She started her career at our firm and, after an interlude at a large international firm, returned to become one of the firm’s partners in 2022. Renate is also currently an external PhD student at Leiden University, where she is researching what could be the potential ‘next level’ of employment participation in the Netherlands, taking into account current developments within companies and on the labour market.

Renate’s daily practice

Renate’s enthusiasm for employment and employment participation is reflected in her daily practice, in which she assists her clients in the areas of collective employment law and employment participation. Her work ranges from negotiations on collective and individual terms and conditions of employment, application of collective labour agreements and guidance in reorganisations, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, to the design of an appropriate employment participation structure, guidance in consultation and consent processes and litigation. Renate also enjoys sharing her knowledge through publications and giving training courses or workshops. She is regularly invited to speak at conferences.

Selected cases

Guidance for a demerger in the healthcare sector

We assisted a works council that was engaged in a complex advisory process for a demerger, and the integration and evaluation of this.

Advising on a large-scale reorganisation within the government

Undertaking an advisory process with the works council on a major organisation-wide reorganisation, including the implementation.

Establishing the employment participation structure for an IT group

Together with the management and employment participation bodies, we advised on a new employment participation structure that would align with the restructured group.

Establishing collective terms and conditions of employment

At the request of the works council, we negotiated with the board on collective terms and conditions of employment throughout the whole group.

Litigating on the trade union position with respect to terms and conditions of employment

The entrepreneur asked us to litigate on their behalf on maintaining their own terms and conditions of employment, without mandatory consultation with the unions.

Stay up to date

The latest developments

Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

How can employee participation in healthcare be designed to be future-proof?

8 July 2025

In a recent report by the Governance Innovation and Advisory Committee (IAC), titled ‘Employee Participation and Co-Determination in Healthcare: Towards Innovative Forms of Participation?’, healthcare organizations share their experiences with new forms of input, engagement, and decision-making. The conclusion: formal councils are valuable, but no longer always align with today’s complex healthcare organizations.

Read more

Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

“Healthy towards retirement”: extension of RVU levy relief for physically demanding work

13 June 2025

On 28 May 2025, Minister Van Hijum (Social Affairs and Employment) informed the House of Representatives about the implementation f the agreements from the “Healthy towards retirement” accord. This negotiated agreement between the government and representatives of employers and employees was presented on 18 October 2024 and focuses on measures to help workers reach retirement age in good health. A key element is the adjustment and extension of the relief from the final levy on early retirement schemes (RVU). This blog briefly explains what an RVU is and outlines the proposed changes.

Read more

Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation

Remote working from abroad

6 June 2025

Hybrid working is here to stay! Working from abroad is also possible. However, this comes with several legal complexities. What should employers be aware of?

Read more