De Unie, in your interest

What is the reflection principle?

The reflection principle determines, in case of dismissal for business reasons, the sequence in which the dismissals take place. The purpose of the reflection principle is to ensure that you allow the organization to shrink in such a way that the age structure of the workforce remains the same as much as possible before and after the layoff round. According to the reflection principle, an employer, per age group, must be the first to nominate the employee with the shortest employment contract for dismissal.

For application of the reflection principle, it is first examined whether there are interchangeable functions. After that, it is examined per age category who has the shortest employment contract in order to determine who is redundant. The age categories are as follows: from 15 to 24 years old; from 25 to 34 years old; from 35 to 44 years old; from 45 to 54 years old; ages 55 and older.

If rules on the reflection principle are included in a collective labor agreement, these rules apply. In that case, a collective labor agreement committee will assess the dismissal.