Dismissal in the Netherlands: grounds, routes and your rights

In the Netherlands, your employer can only dismiss you on one of the grounds listed in Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), with prior permission from the employee insurance agency (UWV) or the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). The exceptions are termination by mutual agreement, which you are free to refuse, and summary dismissal for an urgent reason.

That closed system gives you room to negotiate as an employee, and it makes a poorly prepared dismissal expensive for an employer. Below we explain the grounds, the two routes, what you are entitled to and which deadlines you must watch.

On which grounds can you be dismissed?

Only on one of the grounds listed exhaustively in Article 7:669 BW, labelled a to i. Each ground must be complete in itself and supported by facts.

• a: business economic reasons. Your position disappears because of a reorganisation, falling turnover, automation or a closure. This is the redundancy route; see our article on redundancy in the Netherlands.
• b: long-term illness. You have been unable to do your work for more than two years and recovery within 26 weeks is not expected.
• c: frequent absence due to illness, with unacceptable consequences for the business.
• d: underperformance. Your employer must have told you in good time, given you a real chance to improve and documented that process.
• e: culpable conduct by the employee.
• f: a serious conscientious objection to the work, where adjusting the work is not possible.
• g: a disrupted working relationship that the employer cannot reasonably be expected to continue.
• h: other circumstances that make continuing the contract unreasonable, such as a missing work permit.
• i: the cumulation ground, which allows circumstances from two or more incomplete grounds to be combined. The court may then award you extra compensation of up to half the transition payment.

Whatever the ground, your employer must also show that there was no suitable alternative position for you within a reasonable period, if necessary with training (Article 7:669(1) BW).

Which route must your employer follow?

The ground determines the route. For grounds a and b, your employer needs permission from UWV; for grounds c to i, your employer must ask the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract.

In the UWV procedure, the file is assessed in writing, and you are given the opportunity to respond. If UWV grants permission, your employer may terminate the contract with notice. If UWV refuses, your employer can still ask the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract.

In the court procedure, there is an oral hearing. The judge can reject the request, dissolve the contract, or dissolve it and award you compensation. Using the wrong route is not a formality: a request in the wrong forum fails, and the employer has to start again.

Can your contract end by mutual agreement?

Yes, and in practice most contracts end that way, through a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). No permission from UWV or the court is needed, and almost everything is negotiable.

Typical points are the end date, the severance payment, the notice period, legal costs, outplacement, a reference and the release of a non-compete clause. You are never obliged to sign. If you refuse, your employer must go to UWV or the court, where it bears the burden of proof.

Two safeguards matter. First, under Article 7:670b BW you have a cooling-off period of two weeks after signing, in which you can withdraw your consent without giving reasons. If the agreement does not mention this right, the period is three weeks. Second, the wording determines whether UWV will grant you unemployment benefit (WW). The agreement should make clear that the initiative came from the employer and that there is no urgent reason for dismissal. Our comparison of the settlement agreement and the UWV route explains when each option is preferable.

Which notice period applies?

For the employer, the statutory notice period depends on the length of service: one month for less than five years, two months for five to ten years, three months for ten to fifteen years, and four months for fifteen years or more (Article 7:672 BW).

The employment contract or a collective labour agreement (CAO) may provide otherwise. Notice is generally given to the end of a calendar month. After a UWV procedure, the employer may deduct the time the procedure took from the notice period, provided at least one month remains.

What are you entitled to on dismissal?

If your employer takes the initiative to end the contract, you are in principle entitled to a transition payment (transitievergoeding) under Article 7:673 BW. In serious cases, the court can also award fair compensation (billijke vergoeding).

The transition payment builds up from your first working day, at one third of your gross monthly salary per year of service, pro rata for part of a year. It applies regardless of how long you have worked for the employer. It is capped at a statutory maximum, which is adjusted every year, or at one year’s salary if that is higher. You are not entitled to it if you resign yourself, unless your employer acted seriously culpably, or if the contract ends because of your own seriously culpable conduct. Our article on transition compensation explains the calculation.

Fair compensation comes on top of that. The court can award it where the employer acted seriously culpably, for example by building a false performance file, dismissing you in breach of a prohibition, or creating a situation in which continuing to work became impossible. There is no formula: the amount depends on the seriousness of the conduct and the consequences for you.

When is dismissal not allowed?

Article 7:670 BW contains prohibitions on giving notice. The best known applies during the first two years of illness, but pregnancy and maternity leave, works council membership and trade union membership are also protected.

During those periods, the employer cannot give notice, apart from narrow exceptions such as the closure of the business. A request to the court to dissolve the contract remains possible, but only on grounds that have nothing to do with the protected circumstance. The illness protection does not apply if you refuse, without good reason, to cooperate with your reintegration.

What about summary dismissal?

Summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet) needs no permission and no notice period, but it requires an urgent reason. The employer must also act immediately and tell you the reason at once.

All three requirements must be met, and courts apply them strictly. An employer that waits too long without a good reason, for example while investigating for weeks without informing you, may lose the right to dismiss summarily. A summary dismissal can also affect your right to unemployment benefit. See our article on immediate dismissal.

What can you do if the dismissal was not lawful?

You can ask the subdistrict court to annul the termination and restore your contract, or to award fair compensation instead. The deadlines are short and strict.

A request must reach the court within two months after the contract ended (Article 7:686a(4) BW). A claim for the transition payment must be filed within three months. If you miss these deadlines, your claim lapses, however strong it was. Seek advice as soon as you receive a dismissal letter or a draft settlement agreement.

What should you check as an employee?

Most dismissal cases turn on a few points that you can check yourself as soon as you receive a letter or a draft settlement agreement:

• Which ground of Article 7:669 BW your employer relies on, and whether it is complete on its own.
• If underperformance is alleged, whether there was a documented improvement process.
• Whether a prohibition on notice applies, such as illness, pregnancy or works council membership.
• Whether the transition payment is based on your actual start date and full gross salary.
• Whether the settlement agreement protects your right to unemployment benefit (WW).
• When the two-month and three-month deadlines of Article 7:686a BW expire.

What should you check as an employer?

A dismissal request stands or falls with the file you build before you go to UWV or the court:

• Which single ground applies, and which route follows from it: UWV for grounds a and b, the subdistrict court for c to i.
• Whether the facts supporting that ground are documented, with dates.
• Whether you have genuinely explored a suitable alternative position, if necessary with training.
• Whether a prohibition on notice applies, for example because the employee has reported sick.
• The correct notice period under Article 7:672 BW or the CAO, and the transition payment due.

What can we do for you with a dismissal?

Our employment lawyers in Eindhoven and Amsterdam act for employees and employers; see also our dismissal lawyer page and our guide to Dutch employment law.

• We review the dismissal letter or the draft settlement agreement.
• We test the ground and the file against Article 7:669 BW.
• We calculate your transition payment and assess whether fair compensation is realistic.
• We negotiate the terms of a settlement agreement, including the wording that protects your WW benefit.
• We prepare the UWV application or the dissolution request, or draft the defence against it.
• We file a request with the subdistrict court within the two-month deadline.

Summary

• Dismissal requires a ground from Article 7:669 BW and permission from UWV (grounds a and b) or the subdistrict court (grounds c to i).
• The employer must first look for a suitable alternative position.
• Most contracts end by settlement agreement; you have two weeks to withdraw after signing.
• You are usually entitled to a transition payment, and in serious cases to fair compensation.
• Challenge a dismissal within two months, and claim the transition payment within three months.

Frequently asked questions