Employment lawyer in the Netherlands: how to choose the right one

For an international employee or employer in the Netherlands, the right employment lawyer is one who works in English on the file itself, is honest about which statutory dismissal route under Article 7:671a or 7:671b of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) applies to you, quotes on the settlement agreement rather than only on an hourly rate, and understands how a dismissal interacts with a residence permit. Size and reputation matter far less than whether the firm has handled your particular type of exit before.

Why is choosing harder than it looks?

Almost every Dutch law firm lists employment law. Far fewer act regularly for internationals, and fewer still act for both sides of the table. Because Dutch dismissal law channels almost every case into one of a small number of routes, the quality of your outcome is decided early — often in the first fortnight, before anything is signed. That is the window in which the choice of lawyer actually matters.

Which six criteria separate a good choice from an available one?

1. English on the file, not only in the meeting

Your employer’s correspondence, the works council advice, the UWV file and the court submissions will be in Dutch. Ask whether the lawyer will read and answer those in Dutch while explaining and drafting to you in English — and whether the settlement agreement itself will be made bilingual. A lawyer who only speaks English in the meeting leaves you approving documents you cannot check yourself.

2. Clarity about which side the firm acts for

Some firms act only for employees, some only for employers. A firm that does both sees the other party’s playbook regularly, which is useful. Under the rules of conduct of the Netherlands Bar (NOvA), however, a lawyer may not act for both sides in the same matter, so a conflict check has to come first. Ask for that check before you share documents.

3. A straight answer on the route

Dutch law gives an employer three ways out: a dismissal permit from the UWV (Article 7:671a BW), dissolution by the subdistrict court (Article 7:671b BW), or a settlement agreement. Which one applies is not a matter of preference; it follows from the ground for dismissal. A lawyer who tells you in the first conversation which route your case sits on, and what that route typically costs in time and money, is telling you something concrete.

4. Willingness to price the settlement agreement

Most Dutch dismissals end in a settlement agreement, and reviewing and renegotiating one is a defined piece of work that can be quoted as a fixed fee. Many employers pay a contribution to the employee’s legal costs as part of the deal, so ask whether that is on the table before you agree to an open hourly arrangement.

5. Awareness of the immigration consequence

If your right to stay in the Netherlands is tied to your job, the employment negotiation and the residence permit are one problem, not two. The IND search period after job loss is three months, or six months if you have held the permit for two years or more. A lawyer who does not raise this unprompted is missing half your file.

6. Availability inside the reflection period

You have fourteen days to change your mind after signing a settlement agreement (Article 7:670b BW), and those days run whether or not your lawyer is on holiday. Ask directly who covers the file when your contact is unavailable.

What does Dutch employment law give you?

A dismissal needs a ground and a route

Under article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) an employer may only terminate an employment contract if there is a reasonable ground for doing so and there is no scope for redeployment within a reasonable period, if necessary with training. The grounds are listed exhaustively and lettered a to i: they run from redundancy on economic grounds and long-term incapacity for work through underperformance, culpable conduct and a damaged working relationship, to the residual “i” ground that allows a combination of partly-made grounds.

The route follows the ground. Dismissal for economic reasons or after two years of illness goes to the UWV, the public benefits agency, for a dismissal permit. All other grounds go to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). The third possibility is that both parties simply agree to end the contract in a settlement agreement, and in practice that is how the large majority of Dutch dismissals are resolved.

Severance: the transitievergoeding

An employee whose contract is ended at the employer’s initiative is entitled to a statutory transition payment (transitievergoeding, Article 7:673 BW) from the first day of employment. The formula is one third of a gross monthly salary for each full year of service, calculated pro rata for part years. In 2026 the payment is capped at €102,000 gross — or, where the employee’s gross annual salary is higher than that, at one gross annual salary.

That is the floor, not the ceiling. Where an employer has acted in a seriously culpable way, a court can award additional fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) on top, and in a negotiated exit the transition payment is routinely a starting point rather than the final figure.

The settlement agreement and the fourteen days

Article 7:670b of the Civil Code gives you the right to dissolve a settlement agreement within fourteen days of signing, in writing, without giving any reason. If your employer failed to mention that right in the agreement, the period is three weeks instead of two. The right cannot be contracted away, and it exists precisely so that you can take advice after signing.

Two practical points tend to decide whether a settlement agreement is a good one: whether it is drafted so that you keep your entitlement to unemployment benefit — which requires the termination to be at the employer’s initiative and without an urgent cause — and how it deals with the non-competition clause, any bonus or share entitlement, and the final reference.

What if your right to stay depends on the job?

For a highly skilled migrant, losing the job starts a search period. Since 22 May 2026, an employee who has held the residence permit for less than two years has three months from the end of the employment to find a new position with an IND-recognised sponsor at the required salary level; where the permit has been held for two years or longer, that period is six months. The search period can never run past the expiry date of the permit itself.

This changes the negotiation. A later termination date buys search time; a settlement that ends the contract quickly in exchange for a higher payment can cost more than it pays. Anyone advising you on the exit needs to be able to price that trade-off.

What should you ask in the first conversation?

Use the first conversation, usually within the fourteen-day reflection period or before signing, to test the lawyer on these questions:

• Which ground and which route does my case sit on, and why?
• Have you handled this type of exit for someone in my sector before?
• What would you expect the realistic range of outcomes to be, and what drives the difference?
• Can you quote a fixed fee for reviewing and renegotiating the settlement agreement?
• Will the agreement be bilingual, and who checks the Dutch text?
• Does my residence permit change the timing, and how?
• Who covers my file if you are unavailable during the reflection period?

What should you check as an employee?

Before you sign anything, check these points against your contract and Article 7:670b BW:

• Does the agreement state that the initiative came from the employer and that there is no urgent cause, so your WW benefit is protected?
• Is the end date set after the notice period, and does it leave time for an IND search period?
• Is the payment at least the transition payment under Article 7:673 BW?
• Are the non-compete clause, bonus, shares and holiday pay settled?
• Does the employer contribute to your legal costs?

What should you check as an employer?

As an employer, the route and the file determine your costs. Check these points:

• Which ground under Article 7:669(3) BW applies, and can you document it?
• Have you assessed redeployment within a reasonable period (Article 7:669(1) BW)?
• Is the employee sick? Then the prohibition on termination of Article 7:670(1) BW applies.
• Does the settlement agreement mention the fourteen-day reflection right?
• Does the employee hold a residence permit linked to the job, and must you notify the IND as recognised sponsor?

What can we do for you with an employment dispute?

Our employment lawyers act for employees and employers, in English and Dutch, and assess the immigration consequences on the same file:

• We review your settlement agreement and employment contract and tell you how many reflection days you have left.
• We calculate your transition payment and assess whether fair compensation is realistic.
• We renegotiate the settlement agreement, including WW-safe wording and the end date.
• We check the effect of the termination date on your residence permit and the IND search period.
• We conduct proceedings before the UWV or the subdistrict court.

Summary

• The route to dismissal (UWV, subdistrict court or settlement agreement) follows the ground; ask which one applies in the first conversation.
• You are entitled to a statutory transition payment, capped at €102,000 gross in 2026, usually a starting point rather than the final figure.
• A settlement agreement can be dissolved within fourteen days of signing, or three weeks if that right was not mentioned (Article 7:670b BW).
• If your residence permit depends on your job, the IND search period is three or six months and cannot run past the permit’s expiry date.

Frequently asked questions