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.’
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.
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 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.
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.
Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
18 November 2025
Additional powers usually work effectively only when they are clearly and formally agreed upon in writing between the Works Council and the management. This helps prevent disputes about what is actually intended and which rights the Works Council truly holds.
Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
10 November 2025
In this section, we introduce a colleague each month from the Employment, Co-Determination & Mediation team. This month, it is Ymke Stam’s turn, Legal Officer within the Employment & Co-Determination team. Curious about her story and what drives her? Read on!
Employment, Employee Participation & Mediation
10 November 2025
In the Netherlands, nearly 1.7 million people work in healthcare — and yet there is still a significant staff shortage. These shortages create new challenges for managers and HR professionals. In practice, we see that this sometimes leads to hiring healthcare workers who later turn out not to be well-suited for the role. In this blog series, we discuss various employment law issues that can arise, from the recruitment process to the end of the employment relationship.