Employment Law in the Netherlands (Arbeidsrecht): Dismissal, Notice, Severance and the Courts

Dutch employment law starts from a position that surprises readers arriving from an American employment page. There is no at-will employment here, and an employer who wants to end an open-ended contract cannot simply give notice and stop.

What replaces it is a system of grounds and routes, set out almost entirely in Boek 7 of the civil code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW), in Titel 10 on the employment contract (arbeidsovereenkomst). The order is fixed: a ground, then a permission or a court decision, then notice, then a payment.

This page maps that title: which article does what, which body decides what, and where the annually indexed figures sit.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Netherlands law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Dismissal needs a ground and a redeployment check

Artikel 7:669 lid 1 BW sets two conditions, both of which must be satisfied before a contract can be ended by notice. The first is a reasonable ground (redelijke grond) from a closed list of nine.

The second is the redeployment duty (herplaatsingsplicht): the employer has to show that placing the employee in another suitable role within a reasonable period, if necessary with training (scholing), is not possible or not in de rede. Summaries that drop it understate the employee position, because it is an independent hurdle. A ground made out on its own does not carry the dismissal where a suitable vacancy existed.

A fixed term contract (bepaalde tijd) ends by operation of law instead, and lid 7 keeps the probation period (proeftijd) outside the scheme.

The nine grounds in artikel 7:669 lid 3 BW

The grounds are lettered onderdelen a to i, and which letter applies decides whether the file goes to an administrative body or a judge.

Onderdeel i is the most often misread. It lets individually incomplete grounds be added together, but the statute is explicit about the ingredients: onderdelen c tot en met e, g en h. Ground a, ground b and ground f can never be part of a combination.

The two routes, and the CAO variation

Artikel 7:671a lid 1 BW requires the employer to ask the UWV in writing for permission before giving notice on ground a or b, and that permission is valid for four weeks under lid 6.

Grounds c to i go straight to the kantonrechter, which dissolves the contract (ontbinding) on the employer application under artikel 7:671b lid 1 onderdeel a BW, and only where artikel 7:669 BW is satisfied and no dismissal ban applies. A refusal by the UWV is not the end of the matter either. Under artikel 7:671b lid 1 onderdeel b BW the employer may then ask the kantonrechter to dissolve on ground a or b anyway, and onderdeel c opens the same route for a fixed-term contract that cannot be terminated early.

One variation moves the whole file. Under artikel 7:671a lid 2 BW, where a collective agreement (CAO) designates a commission independent of the employer and impartial, the economic ground goes there rather than to the UWV.

Notice periods under artikel 7:672 BW

Artikel 7:672 BW fixes how much notice is required and when it takes effect. The employer term rises in steps with length of service.

The employee term is one month under lid 4, whatever the service, though lid 8 allows a longer term in writing up to six months.

Two further paragraphs do the practical work. Lid 1 provides that notice runs to the end of the month unless another day is fixed in writing, so a one month term started in mid March expires at the end of April. Lid 6 shortens the employer term by the UWV procedure, provided one month is left.

Severance: the transitievergoeding

Statutory severance is the transitievergoeding, set by formula rather than negotiated. Artikel 7:673 lid 1 BW makes it payable where the employer gives notice, applies for dissolution or does not continue a fixed term contract.

Lid 2 sets it at one third of a month of salary for each year the contract lasted, with a proportionate part (evenredig deel) for a shorter period, capped at EUR 102,000 or twelve months of salary if higher. Lid 3 re-indexes the ceiling every 1 January, so EUR 102,000 is the 2026 amount.

Service counting, what counts as loon and the worked calculations sit on the page for severance pay (transitievergoeding).

Ending by agreement, and the bedenktijd

A written termination agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst, also called a beëindigingsovereenkomst) avoids the UWV and the kantonrechter altogether. Artikel 7:670b lid 1 BW requires it to be in writing to be valid.

Lid 2 then gives the employee fourteen days from the date the agreement came about to dissolve it, without giving reasons, by a written statement to the employer. This reflection period (bedenktijd) applies by operation of law.

Lid 3 obliges the employer to mention that right in the agreement, and where it does not the period becomes three weeks. A clause excluding or limiting it is void under lid 6.

Summary dismissal: ontslag op staande voet

Summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet) skips the notice period, the UWV and the judge. Artikel 7:677 lid 1 BW lets either party end the contract at once for an urgent cause (dringende reden), on immediate notification of that cause.

Three elements must be present together, and they are read strictly: the cause must be urgent, the dismissal must be given without delay (onverwijld), and the reason must be communicated at the same time.

Artikel 7:678 BW defines the urgent cause on the employer side as conduct of the employee such that the employer cannot reasonably be expected to let the contract continue, with examples from deception at hiring to theft.

Illness: sick pay and the dismissal ban

Illness engages two provisions that are commonly run together. Artikel 7:629 lid 1 BW keeps 70 percent of salary running for 104 weeks where the employee cannot work through illness, pregnancy or childbirth, with a floor at the minimum wage for 52 weeks. The 70 percent is calculated on salary up to the statutory maximum daily wage.

The second is the dismissal ban (opzegverbod). Artikel 7:670 lid 1 BW stops the employer giving notice while the employee is unfit through illness, with two exceptions: where the incapacity has lasted two years, or where it began after the permission request was received.

Those two years are why the incapacity ground at onderdeel b only opens once the statutory period has run, and they carry re-integratie obligations on both sides.

The non-compete clause

The non-compete clause (concurrentiebeding), which restricts what an employee may do after the contract ends, is governed by artikel 7:653 BW. It is valid only where the contract is for an indefinite period and the clause was agreed in writing with an adult employee.

Lid 2 allows one in a fixed term contract only where a written motivation in the clause shows it is necessary because of compelling business or service interests (zwaarwegende bedrijfs- of dienstbelangen). Under lid 3 the court can annul it entirely where that interest is not made out, or in part where the employee is unfairly disadvantaged.

A modernisation of this article has been announced but is not law. The plan would limit it to one year, name the geographic area and require compensation when invoked. Rijksoverheid.nl records that the wetsvoorstel was expected to reach the Tweede Kamer at the end of 2026, after Raad van State advice, so artikel 7:653 BW governs.

Which court hears an employment case

Employment cases go to the subdistrict judge (kantonrechter). Artikel 93 sub c Rv assigns cases about an employment contract and a collective agreement to it telkens ongeacht het beloop of de waarde van de vordering, that is, whatever the claim is worth.

The same article, in sub a, separately gives the kantonrechter ordinary claims up to EUR 25,000. The two grants are independent, so a wage claim (loonvordering) of EUR 60,000 is still a kanton case and that threshold has nothing to do with it.

Artikel 79 lid 1 Rv allows parties to conduct their own case in person before the kantonrechter, so an advocaat is not required.

What this section covers

Each topic on this page has its own article with the statutory text, the figures and worked examples.

• Dismissal (ontslag) takes the nine grounds and the UWV and kantonrechter routes in detail.
• Summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet) covers the dringende reden and why delay defeats it.
• Severance pay (transitievergoeding) carries the formula, the 2026 cap and the worked calculations.
• Notice periods (opzegtermijn) sets out both terms, the end-of-month rule and the UWV deduction.
• The settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) covers the bedenktijd and the effect on WW.
• Sick pay and the dismissal ban covers the 104 weeks of wage payment and the reintegration duties.
• The non-compete clause (concurrentiebeding) covers its form requirements and how a court limits it.

Netherlands law gives the wider structure, and recording laws covers whether a workplace conversation may be recorded at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employer in the Netherlands fire someone without a reason?

No. Artikel 7:669 lid 1 BW sets two cumulative conditions: a reasonable ground (redelijke grond) from the closed list in lid 3, and the impossibility of redeploying the employee within a reasonable period, if necessary with training, in another suitable role. A ground made out on its own does not carry a dismissal where a suitable vacancy existed.

Does a Dutch dismissal go to the UWV or to the court?

It depends on the ground. Artikel 7:671a lid 1 BW requires prior written UWV permission for ground a (bedrijfseconomisch) and ground b (langdurige arbeidsongeschiktheid), while grounds c to i go to the kantonrechter under artikel 7:671b lid 1 BW. Where a CAO designates an independent and impartial commission, artikel 7:671a lid 2 BW sends the economic ground there.

How much notice does a Dutch employer have to give?

Artikel 7:672 lid 2 BW ties it to length of service: one month under five years, two months from five to under ten, three months from ten to under fifteen, and four months at fifteen years or more. The employee term is one month under lid 4. Under lid 6 the employer term is shortened by the UWV procedure, provided one month remains.

How much severance pay is due when a Dutch contract ends?

Artikel 7:673 lid 2 BW sets the transitievergoeding at one third of a month of salary for each year the contract lasted, plus a proportionate part (evenredig deel) for a shorter period. The 2026 ceiling is EUR 102,000, or twelve months of salary if that is higher, and lid 3 re-indexes it each 1 January.

How long is the bedenktijd after signing a vaststellingsovereenkomst?

Fourteen days. Artikel 7:670b lid 2 BW lets the employee dissolve a written termination agreement, without giving reasons, within fourteen days of the date it came about. Where the agreement does not mention that right, lid 3 extends the period to three weeks.

Which court hears a Dutch employment case, and is an advocaat needed?

The kantonrechter. Artikel 93 sub c Rv assigns employment and CAO cases to it regardless of the value of the claim, a grant separate from the EUR 25,000 threshold in sub a, so a wage claim of EUR 60,000 is still a kanton case. Artikel 79 lid 1 Rv allows parties to appear in person there.