Gelijkstelling

Gelijkstelling is a Dutch term used to describe the policy or practice of treating different but comparable situations as equal in terms of rights, duties, or benefits. In a legal and administrative context it refers to establishing parity between groups, positions, or circumstances to ensure consistent application of law and policy and to promote equal treatment.

The concept appears most often in social security, pensions and employment law. For example, gelijkstelling can involve recognizing pension rights or eligibility criteria for benefits in a way that makes different categories of workers comparable, such as between employees and certain categories of self-employed or between temporary and permanent staff under specific conditions. It can also aim to harmonize conditions for benefits that would otherwise vary because of differences in contract type, working hours, or career path.

Beyond social security, gelijkstelling is relevant in education, subsidies and public funding, where it can ensure that students, institutions or programs in comparable situations receive similar support or treatment.

In civil service and labor relations, gelijkstelling may concern aligning salary scales, job classifications, or career progression across different job families or contract regimes, so that similar work yields similar compensation and status.

Legal basis and procedures typically involve statutes, implementing regulations, or collective agreements. Mechanisms to achieve gelijkstelling can be administrative reinterpretation, regulatory harmonization, or judicial clarification when inequities arise, including challenges under constitutional or EU non-discrimination principles.

See also: gelijkheidsbeginsel, gelijkheidsrecht, non-discrimination, equal treatment.