ABSTRACT
Diverse forms of discrimination are increasingly debated in the Netherlands. These concern, for example, racism in everyday life, ethnic profiling by the police and state institutions, sexism and pregnancy discrimination in employment, disability discrimination in the labour market, and discriminatory recruitment procedures due to the use of algorithms. Government initiatives are taken to tackle such discrimination in addition to the application of existing legislation. The Dutch equal treatment legislation has evolved since 1975 and now represents a sophisticated field of law that covers not only employment but also services and social protection. This legislation is scattered over different acts and is quite complex. It covers many grounds, in particular religion, belief, political opinion, race, sex, nationality, heterosexual or homosexual orientation, civil status, disability or chronic illness, age, working time and temporary work contracts. This chapter discusses Dutch equal treatment law applicable to employment, which is mainly shaped by the implementation of the relevant EU directives. The application of the legal provisions to numerous situations – by the Dutch equality body in particular – offers rich insights into the application of EU non-discrimination law at the national level and the potential of equal treatment law in practice.
