Ruben van Arkel
Background
Ruben van Arkel has been practicing law since 2006 and founded Sparkel in 2022. Before launching Sparkel, he spent more than fifteen years at Pels Rijcken, the firm of the Dutch State Advocate, where he became a partner during the final five years of his tenure. He also chaired the Employment and Public Sector Employment Law practice group and led a team of approximately fifteen lawyers.
Ruben is widely recognized as one of the Netherlands’ leading experts in equal treatment and discrimination law. The Legal 500 described him as “a noted expert in the field of equal treatment.” He regularly lectures, publishes, and speaks at conferences on these topics.
Expertise
Ruben van Arkel has registered the following principal and sub-areas of law in the legal practice areas register of the Dutch Bar Association:
o Employment Law (principal area of law)
o Employee Participation (sub-area of law)
o Pensions (sub-area of law)
o Employment Mediation (sub-area of law)
o Public Sector Employment Law (principal area of law)
o Military Personnel (sub-area of law)
This registration requires Ruben to obtain ten educational credits each calendar year in accordance with the standards of the Dutch Bar Association for each registered principal area of law.
Services
Ruben advises employers and senior-level employees on complex and sensitive workplace matters. His work includes cases involving equal treatment and discrimination, integrity and fraud investigations, whistleblower issues, employee participation, reorganizations, collective labour agreement disputes, remuneration, and dismissal matters. He also has a strong specialization in pension law. Chambers Europe recognized Ruben as one of the Netherlands’ leading experts in Employment: Pensions, highlighting his prominent pensions practice advising public bodies on historic pension contributions, new pension arrangements, and compliance with evolving pension regulations.”
Alongside his work as a lawyer, Ruben is also an MfN-registered mediator and is listed in the official register of the Mediatorsfederatie Nederland (MfN).”
Education and Memberships
Ruben obtained his Master of Laws degree from Leiden University and completed the postgraduate specialization programme in employment law there cum laude. He also completed the postgraduate programme in pension law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In addition to his legal practice, Ruben is actively involved in legal education. He teaches in the Grotius specialization programme in employment law and the Postgraduate Employment Law Programme (PALA). As a guest lecturer, he is affiliated with the Employment Law department of the Erasmus School of Law. Ruben has held several board and leadership positions within the Dutch employment law community. He served for nine years as chairman of the Vereniging Haagse Arbeidsrecht Advocaten and was a board member of the Vereniging Arbeidsrecht Advocaten Nederland (VAAN). He is also a member of the Equal Treatment Working Group of the Vereniging voor Arbeidsrecht (VvA), the Vereniging Ambtenaar & Recht (VA&R), and the Vereniging van Pensioenjuristen (VvPJ).
As a guest lecturer, he is affiliated with the Employment Law department of the Erasmus School of Law.
Ruben regularly publishes in leading legal journals and enjoys teaching both students and fellow legal professionals.
