Maartje Govaert

Expertise

Portrait of Maartje
Maartje Govaert is head of our Employment & Pensions team. She is a leading employment lawyer, certified pension lawyer (CPL) and experienced litigator with extensive international and domestic experience.
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Maartje regularly advises and litigates on complex and cross-border employment law issues, including in the context of mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and reorganisations. She has extensive experience in all aspects of employment law compliance, including whistleblowing policies, claims and investigations, works council and trade union issues, outsourcing, pensions, data protection, discrimination/ harassment issues, flexible work and working relationships with independent contractors.

Maartje has particular expertise in handling highly sensitive and confidential matters affecting both employers and works councils. She often acts as a trusted advisor at board level for large companies and financial institutions on employment and pensions issues, including remuneration, executive appointments, terminations and non-compete restrictions. She also has extensive experience advising platform businesses such as online delivery companies.

She advises, publishes and is a frequent speaker on ESG-related topics such as Diversity & Inclusion, harassment & discrimination, whisteblower issues and work culture. She is often asked as a speaker on the Whistleblowers Act and for research within companies, and also lectures on pensions for the Employment Law Specialisation Programme (PALA+).

Maartje is based in our Amsterdam office. Previously, she has also worked in New York and London.

  • Work highlights
    • Assisting private equity firm Advent International with its EUR 3,7 billion major acquisition of DSM's engineering materials business and its joint venture with LANXESS, the listed specialty chemicals company from Germany, including advice in communication and negotiation with the relevant trade unions in relation to a 'transfer CLA' and vis-à-vis DSM's works council in relation to the advisory right consultation procedure (2023)
    • Advising Central Works Council of Johnson & Johnson on the amendment of its pension scheme administered by an IORP as a result of the new pension legislation (2023)
    • Advising Reckitt Benckiser on all its Dutch employment law-related matters, including its pension agreements, establishing a works council, a major internal restructuring, individual dismissals and ill employees (2023)
    • Advising several clients in respect of the implantation on the new whistleblowing legislation, the speak-up infrastructure, culture change, follow up on whistleblowing claims in respect of a variety of topics amongst which harassment, fraud and conflict of interest.
    • Assisting a leading global professional service firm in connection with a whistleblower's report of irregularities in the handling of claims by an employee (2023)
    • Advising and litigating for a wide range of parties and/or their pension funds, including the pension fund of the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), Dutch Central Bank (DNB), ECN, Deutsche Bank and UTC (2022)
  • What others say
    • ‘Maartje Govaert brought great expertise to the table and was very committed.’
      The Legal 500 2024
    • ‘Maartje Govaert is very experienced and knowledgeable. Her positive attitude and innovative way of explaining the law and case law to a lay audience make it a pleasure to work with her. We feel immensely strengthened in our position just by having Maartje support us.
      The Legal 500 2024
    • 'Maartje Govaert will support you in the best way she can, which may include advising you to do something other than what you were asking for. She will always go the extra mile for a client.'
      Legal 500 2023
    • 'Maartje Govaert provides very practical advice and knows a lot about the industry.'
      The Legal 500 2023
  • Thriving together - interview in our 2023 Sustainability & CSR Report

    In the context of ESG reporting, the social pillar is receiving increasing attention. "Ensuring a safe and inclusive working environment is an important aspect”, observes Maartje Govaert. Read the full interview.

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