Legal advice in the Netherlands: when it prevents costly mistakes

Legal advice in the Netherlands pays off most before you act, not after something has gone wrong. In practice, the costly problems tend to arise at a few predictable moments: signing a contract without checking who is authorised to sign, ending an employment relationship without following the dismissal rules, buying a home without using the protection the law gives you, and missing a deadline. The deadlines are short: fourteen days for a criminal appeal, six weeks for an objection to a government decision and three months for a civil appeal.

When does legal advice protect your rights?

Legal advice protects your rights when it comes before the decision that is hard to undo: the signature, the dismissal, the purchase or the end of a deadline. Afterwards, a lawyer can often still help, but the options are narrower and the costs are higher.

Dutch law gives individuals and businesses considerable protection. That protection, however, usually depends on a form requirement, a procedure or a time limit. If you do not know the rule, you can lose the protection without noticing. A lawyer’s first task is therefore often simple: telling you which rule applies to your situation and what you must do, and by when.

What protection does Dutch law give you?

Dutch law protects you in many situations, but often only if you take a step yourself. A few examples show how this works.

• Employment. The Netherlands has a closed dismissal system. An employer cannot simply end a permanent contract. For dismissal on economic grounds or after more than two years of illness, the employer needs permission from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). For other grounds, such as poor performance or a disrupted working relationship, the employer must ask the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). The alternative is ending the contract by mutual agreement.
• Buying a home. If you buy a home as a private individual, the purchase agreement must be in writing. After you receive the signed agreement, you have three days to dissolve the purchase without giving a reason (article 7:2 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW).
• Decisions by the government. If a municipality, the tax authorities or another public body takes a decision you disagree with, you can usually file an objection (bezwaar). The general time limit is six weeks (article 6:7 of the General Administrative Law Act, Awb).
• Court judgments. If you disagree with a judgment, you can often appeal. In civil cases the time limit is three months from the date of the judgment (article 339 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Rv). In criminal cases it is fourteen days (article 408 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Sv).

Each of these protections is valuable. Each of them can also be lost through a missed step or an expired deadline. That is why the timing of advice matters more than its length.

How do you limit your legal risks?

You limit your legal risks by checking the procedure and the deadline before you act, and by putting important agreements in writing. Many disputes start with an assumption about the rules that later turns out to be wrong.

A short review before you decide answers three practical questions. What does the law require here? What is the deadline? And what happens if the other party does not cooperate? With those answers, you can make an informed choice instead of reacting to the other side’s move.

The same applies when you deal with the police, a regulator or another authority. It helps to know your rights when dealing with the authorities before the conversation takes place, not afterwards. In contract negotiations, it helps to know which terms are standard and which ones shift risk to you. A lawyer can give you that overview and translate it into a concrete recommendation.

Which areas of law are involved?

The questions people bring to a lawyer usually fall into a handful of areas. Each has its own rules and procedures, so specialised knowledge matters.

Employment law, property law, immigration law and corporate law each have their own logic. For international residents and businesses, the challenge is often not the rule itself but the difference with the system they know from home. A rule that seems familiar can work very differently in the Netherlands. A lawyer who knows both the Dutch rules and the questions international clients typically have can bridge that gap.

The table below shows the main areas, typical questions and who usually needs this support.

Which costly mistakes does legal advice prevent?

Legal advice mainly prevents mistakes of form, procedure and timing. Those mistakes look small, but their consequences can be large: an invalid contract, a dismissal that does not hold up, or a claim that can no longer be brought.

Below we discuss the moments where a short check makes the biggest difference. For each, we explain the rule and what you can do yourself.

Who may sign the contract?

Before you sign a contract with a company, check that the person signing is authorised to bind that company. You can see this on an extract from the Dutch Business Register (Handelsregister) of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK).

The KVK advises checking that the name and KVK number in the contract match the Business Register. The extract also shows who is the owner, partner or director. Authority can be limited: a director may only be allowed to sign up to a certain amount, or only together with another director or partner. If the person who signed had no authority, the company is in principle not bound by the agreement. You then have a contract you may not be able to enforce.

A second point to check is whose general terms and conditions apply. Many businesses refer to their own terms in quotations and order confirmations. If both parties do that, it is not always clear which set applies. Settling this in the contract itself avoids a discussion later on, when there is already a dispute about payment, liability or delivery.

How do you end an employment relationship correctly?

An employment relationship in the Netherlands ends correctly through one of three routes: permission from the UWV, a decision by the subdistrict court, or a written agreement between employer and employee. Which route is open depends on the reason for the dismissal.

The UWV route applies to dismissal on economic grounds and to dismissal after more than two years of illness. For other grounds, the employer must go to the subdistrict court. In both routes, the employer must be able to substantiate the ground for dismissal with a proper file. Without that file, the request is likely to fail.

Many employment relationships end by mutual agreement in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). That agreement must be in writing. After signing, the employee may dissolve it in writing within two weeks, without giving a reason. If the agreement does not mention this right, the period is three weeks. As an employer, you therefore only have certainty once that period has passed.

For employees, the content of the agreement matters as well. Think of the end date, the notice period, any severance payment, the wording of the reason for dismissal and the consequences for unemployment benefit. Advice helps you to understand the legal requirements for a valid termination before you sign, so that you do not give up rights you did not know you had.

How do you avoid mistakes with property and deadlines?

With property, the decisive moment is the purchase agreement. With deadlines, it is the day the decision or judgment is issued. In both cases, the protection is real but short-lived.

If you buy a home as a private individual, you have three days after receiving the signed purchase agreement to dissolve the purchase (article 7:2 BW). After that, the agreement is binding. Whether you can still withdraw then depends on the conditions in the agreement itself, such as a financing condition. A financing condition is not automatic: it only applies if it is included in the agreement. If you need a mortgage, check before you sign that the condition is there and that its deadline is realistic.

Deadlines in legal procedures are strict. A late objection, appeal or notice is in principle inadmissible, however strong your case may be. The most important ones are:

• six weeks for an objection or an administrative appeal against a government decision (article 6:7 Awb);
• three months for an appeal against a civil judgment (article 339 Rv);
• fourteen days for an appeal against a criminal judgment (article 408 Sv);
• two weeks (or three weeks) for an employee to dissolve a settlement agreement.

The table below shows common mistakes, their possible consequences and how advice helps.

What should you check as a business?

A business needs legal support at recurring moments: set-up, important contracts, hiring and dismissal, and conflicts with customers, suppliers or shareholders. A sound legal strategy for international business sets this up correctly from the start. Check these points:

• Does the KVK Business Register show that the person signing for the other party is authorised?
• Is it clear in the contract whose general terms and conditions apply?
• Do the founders have written agreements on shares, decision-making and exit?
• Is there a proper file before you ask the UWV or the kantonrechter for dismissal?
• If you sign a settlement agreement with an employee, have you allowed for the two-week reflection period?

What should you check as a private individual?

A private individual usually needs advice at a turning point: a dismissal, a home purchase, a residence permit, a divorce or a government decision. Check these points:

• Has a settlement agreement been reviewed before you sign, given its effect on unemployment benefit?
• Does your home purchase agreement contain a financing condition with a realistic deadline?
• Have you noted the deadline in a decision or judgment: six weeks, three months or fourteen days?
• Do you understand documents written in Dutch, or do you need them explained in English?
• Have you kept all letters and decisions with their dates of receipt?

How do you choose the right lawyer in the Netherlands?

Choose a lawyer (advocaat) who is registered with the Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten, NOvA), has experience in the area your question concerns, and explains clearly what he or she will do and what it will cost. NOvA members are bound by professional rules and must follow permanent education.

The Bar keeps a public register of the areas of law in which lawyers are active, searchable through “Zoek een advocaat” on its website. Lawyers with registered areas can be found by area; others only by name. That gives you an independent way to check whether a lawyer works in the field of your question.

Why does specialisation matter?

Each area of law has its own rules, procedures and deadlines. A lawyer who works in employment law every day knows the UWV and kantonrechter routes; a property lawyer knows the pitfalls in purchase agreements. If your question may lead to court proceedings, ask about litigation experience in that area, and for international clients, whether the lawyer can explain the procedure in your language.

How do you judge whether a lawyer suits you?

You judge this in the first conversation. Ask which areas of law the lawyer works in, how he or she would approach your case, which deadlines apply, how the fee is calculated and who your point of contact will be. Clear answers say more than general claims about quality.

What can we do for you with legal advice in the Netherlands?

Our lawyers work in English and Dutch for businesses and individuals, before and after a decision:

• We review a contract, settlement agreement or purchase agreement before you sign it.
• We check in the KVK Business Register who may bind the other party.
• We note the deadline in a decision or judgment and file the objection or appeal in time.
• We explain a Dutch procedure, its costs and your realistic options in plain English.
• We represent you before the kantonrechter, the district court or the UWV if a dispute arises.

Summary

• Legal advice is most effective before you sign, decide or let a deadline pass.
• Check on the KVK Business Register extract that the person signing a contract is authorised to bind the company.
• Employment ends through the UWV, the subdistrict court or a written settlement agreement; an employee may dissolve that agreement within two weeks (three if the right is not mentioned).
• Deadlines are strict: six weeks for an objection, three months for a civil appeal, fourteen days for a criminal appeal, and three days to withdraw from a home purchase.
• Choose a lawyer registered with the Netherlands Bar who works in the relevant area of law and explains the steps and costs clearly.

Frequently asked questions