A fixed-term employment contract in the Netherlands ends by operation of law on the agreed date. You need no dismissal permit from the UWV, no application to the subdistrict court and no notice of termination: when the term runs out, the contract is over. The main exception is the chain rule in article 7:668a of the Dutch Civil Code (BW): exceed it and the contract becomes permanent without anyone signing anything.
The automatic ending does not mean the employer has nothing to do. The duty to notify the employee in advance, the chain rule, and the limits on probationary periods and non-competition clauses all apply. Each of them carries a price if it goes wrong. Employees, in turn, have markedly less security under a temporary contract than under a permanent one.
What is a fixed-term employment contract?
A fixed-term contract, also called a temporary contract (tijdelijk contract), is entered into for a limited period. Six months and a year are the usual choices, but a few months or several years are equally possible. At the end of the term the contract expires without either party having to act.
The end does not have to be a calendar date. A contract can also run for the duration of a project, or to cover a colleague on long-term sick leave until that colleague returns. In those cases the ending must be objectively determinable – the completion of the project, the return to work – so that it does not depend on the will of the employer or the employee. A vaguely described end is a real drafting risk: a court may then read the contract as open-ended.
How many temporary contracts may follow one another?
Under the current chain rule, an employer may conclude at most three successive temporary contracts within at most thirty-six months. Exceed either limit and the last contract is automatically a contract for an indefinite period (article 7:668a BW).
Contracts count as successive if the employee has been out of service for six months or less between them. Breaking the chain therefore requires an interruption of more than six months. Count the days carefully: an interval that falls a few days short keeps the chain intact.
Two refinements matter in practice. First, a collective labour agreement (cao) may depart from the statutory limits. It can allow more contracts for specifically designated jobs, or a shorter interval of three months for seasonal work, and it can also be stricter than the law. The applicable cao is therefore the first document to read, not the last. Second, the chain carries over between successive employers who are considered each other’s successors. This arises on a company takeover, and equally where an employee first works through an employment agency and is then engaged directly for the same or similar work. The employer changes; the count does not restart.
What changes under the More Security for Flexible Workers Act?
The interval that breaks the chain will rise from six months to three years. The More Security for Flexible Workers Act (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers) was adopted by the Senate on 7 July 2026 and published in the Staatsblad in July 2026. Contracts drafted now may still be running when the new rules apply.
The core of the reform for temporary contracts takes effect on 1 January 2028. The rule of three contracts in thirty-six months stays. What changes is the interval: the six-month break that now resets the chain becomes three years. In practice that ends the familiar construction in which an employee is brought back after a seven-month gap on a fresh series of temporary contracts. Pupils and students with a small side job keep the six-month interval, and for seasonal work a cao can keep the interval at three months.
The same act replaces the zero-hours contract with a bandwidth contract and changes the position of agency workers. The rules on equal terms of employment for agency workers apply earlier, from 31 December 2026. How the new rules treat contracts that are already running depends on the transitional law of the act, so check that before you rely on an existing chain.
What may and may not go into a temporary contract?
The content of a fixed-term contract largely mirrors that of a permanent one. Three clauses, however, follow their own rules.
Is a probationary period allowed?
Not always. Under article 7:652 BW, a probationary period cannot be agreed in a contract of six months or less. In a contract of more than six months but less than two years, the maximum is one month. In a fixed-term contract of two years or more, and in a permanent contract, the maximum is two months. A probationary period that is longer than allowed is void in its entirety – it is not reduced to the lawful maximum. A dismissal during that period then has no basis.
Can the contract be terminated early?
Only if it contains an interim notice clause (tussentijds opzegbeding, article 7:667 paragraph 3 BW). Without one, neither side can give notice before the end date. Including the clause is usually wise, and the notice period should be stated expressly. Remember that the clause cuts both ways: it allows the employee to leave early just as much as it allows the employer to end the contract.
Can a non-competition clause be included?
In principle not. Since 1 January 2015, a non-competition clause in a temporary contract is valid only if the contract contains a written statement of reasons showing that the clause is necessary because of substantial business or service interests (article 7:653 BW). A boilerplate justification will not survive scrutiny, and a clause without any reasons is void.
How does a fixed-term contract end?
The contract ends when the agreed period expires or the project is completed. For contracts of six months or longer, the employer must notify the employee in writing at least one month before the end date (the aanzegging, article 7:668 BW). The notice states whether the contract will be continued and, if so, on what terms.
If the employer fails to give notice, it owes compensation of one month’s salary. If the notice comes late, it owes a proportionate part of that amount. The employer must be able to prove that written notice was given in time. Registered post, or an email with delivery and read confirmation, is therefore worth the small effort. The obligation applies even where continuation is obvious to everyone.
When does a temporary contract become permanent?
Conversion happens automatically, by operation of law, once the chain rule is exceeded. That is the case when a fourth successive contract is concluded, or when the series runs beyond thirty-six months while the intervals stay within six months. No document records the change. From then on, ending the employment requires a dismissal permit from the UWV, a court order or a settlement.
Who falls outside the chain rule?
The chain rule does not apply to everyone. Apprenticeship contracts under a BBL vocational programme and employees under eighteen who work on average no more than twelve hours a week are excluded. For agency workers with an agency clause (uitzendbeding), the ordinary chain rule only applies after a first period with the agency. Employees who have reached the state pension age fall under a separate regime, under which six temporary contracts in four years are permitted.
How do you avoid disputes about temporary contracts?
Many disputes about temporary contracts start with the drafting rather than with a conflict: a probationary period that is too long, an interval a few days too short, an aanzegging that cannot be proven. A model contract drawn up carefully and used consistently prevents most of these problems. It is also considerably cheaper than the claim that follows a mistake. Our guide to Dutch employment law sets the temporary contract in its wider context.
In summary
- A fixed-term contract ends automatically on the agreed date or event; no dismissal permit or notice is needed.
- Currently, three contracts within thirty-six months are allowed; an interval of more than six months breaks the chain. From 1 January 2028 that interval becomes three years.
- No probationary period in contracts of six months or less; one month up to two years; two months from two years.
- A non-competition clause in a temporary contract needs a written statement of substantial business interests.
- For contracts of six months or longer, the employer must give written notice one month before the end date, or pay up to one month’s salary.
Frequently asked questions
Does a temporary contract have to be terminated?
No. It ends automatically on the agreed date. For contracts of six months or longer, the employer must notify the employee in writing at least a month in advance whether the contract will be continued. That is a notification, not a termination.
What happens if the employer forgets the aanzegging?
The contract still ends, but the employer owes compensation of one month’s salary, or a proportionate part of it if the notification was merely late. The claim is subject to a short limitation period, so if you want to rely on it, do not wait.
Can a temporary contract be ended early?
Only if the contract contains an interim notice clause, or in the event of summary dismissal for urgent cause. Without such a clause, ending the contract early is a breach, and the party in breach may owe compensation equal to the salary for the remaining term.
Does a break of six months really reset everything?
Under the current rules, an interruption of more than six months breaks the chain. From 1 January 2028 that interval becomes three years, which will make the construction largely unusable for regular work.
Can a pregnant employee’s contract simply be left to expire?
Letting the term run out is lawful in itself, but the reason for not renewing it can be reviewed. Declining to renew because of pregnancy or chronic illness is prohibited discrimination. The employee can challenge that decision even though the contract ended by operation of law.
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