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

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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