{"id":4976,"date":"2026-06-13T12:38:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T12:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arbeidsjurist-eindhoven.nl\/?p=4976"},"modified":"2026-08-02T08:41:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T08:41:55","slug":"reflection-principle-dismissal-eindhoven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arbeidsjurist-eindhoven.nl\/en\/kennisbank\/afspiegelingsbeginsel-ontslag-eindhoven\/","title":{"rendered":"Redundancy Selection Order Eindhoven: What it Means for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is a reorganisation looming at your employer in Eindhoven or the region? Then the Reflection principle<\/a> is probably the most decisive concept for your position. It determines exactly who is first in line for dismissal in a redundancy for economic reasons, and whether your employer has applied that order correctly.<\/p>\n

What the principle of reflection entails<\/h2>\n

The reflection principle (afspiegelingsbeginsel) is a statutory method that employers must use to determine the order of dismissal in a redundancy for economic reasons. The aim is clear: after a round of redundancies, the age structure of the workforce should match the previous situation as closely as possible. This prevents younger and older colleagues from being disproportionately affected.<\/p>\n

In practice, employees with comparable, so-called interchangeable roles are divided into five age groups: 15\u201325, 25\u201335, 35\u201345, 45\u201355, and 55 and older. Within each group, the employer then looks at who has the shortest length of service. That person is the first to be put forward for dismissal. This principle is also known as \"last in, first out\".<\/p>\n

The dismissal order step by step<\/h2>\n

Before your employer even starts applying the reflection principle, fixed steps apply. First, the employer must part with external staff such as temporary agency workers, freelancers and seconded staff. Next come employees who have reached state pension (AOW) age, followed by on-call workers and employees with a fixed-term contract that ends within 26 weeks. Only if this is not enough to achieve the required reduction is the reflection principle applied to permanent staff.<\/p>\n

An important detail: the reflection occurs per business location<\/em> English by category interchangeable functions<\/em>. If your employer has operations in Eindhoven and Amsterdam, these branches will be calculated separately. This can have a significant impact on who ultimately becomes redundant.<\/p>\n

Interchangeable functions: the crucial question<\/h2>\n

The concept of an \"interchangeable role\" stands or falls with the content of your work. Roles are interchangeable if they are comparable in job content, required knowledge and skills, and equivalent in level and pay. So it is about the roles themselves, not about you as a person. Whether you could perhaps also carry out a colleague's tasks is not relevant.<\/p>\n

In practice, this leads to discussions. Consider an internal account manager versus an external account manager: the same job title, but different tasks and competencies. Such nuances partly determine whether you end up in a larger or smaller group for the reflection, and thus how strong your position is.<\/p>\n

Exceptions to the standard order<\/h2>\n

The reflection principle is strict, but it does have a few legal exceptions. Your employer can only make use of these if they can provide adequate justification to the UWV.<\/p>\n