Deloitte Legal

Employment, Pensions and Benefits

Stijn Demeestere heads the firm’s Employment, pensions and benefits team.

Stijn Demeestere joined Deloitte’s Global Employee Services in 2013 before becoming head of Deloitte Legal - Lawyers’ Employment, Pensions and Benefits team in 2015. In 2020 he took on the additional role of Talent Partner.

Stijn has garnered ample expertise in all legal HR matters and particularly specialises in dismissal law (both individual and collective), maximising flexibility in salary and working conditions, the specific HR needs of top executives (social status, contract drafting) and various types of business reorganisations (M&A, cross-border mergers, outsourcing).

He particularly enjoys strategic communications and negotiations at individual and collective levels (social unrest, strikes), finding the spot where flexibility can be introduced against the rigid background of employment law, and is in his element when he can defend or plead in court. The contentious matters he handles are, amongst others, disputes over protected employees, white-collar crime, harassment, and the dismissal of high-level employees following allegations of misconduct.

He advises HR directors of large and medium-sized companies, always looking for the right balance and where possible a cost-effective amicable settlement for the client in case of a dispute, and otherwise looking into tailoring individual schemes to the benefit of the company and working out how they can be applied to remuneration, different types of employment.

Stijn combines a dry sense of humour with sharp analytical skills.  He is regularly interviewed by De Tijd, had a weekly column in Jobat and is frequently invited as speaker at HR Fora. In addition, Stijn has written many books on topics such as protected employees and anti-discrimination as well as articles on, amongst others, the new dismissal legislation, outplacement and the bridge pension.