Dutch Notice Periods (Opzegtermijn) 2026: Artikel 7:672 BW and a Checker

The notice period (opzegtermijn) in Dutch employment law is a lookup, not an estimate. Artikel 7:672 BW writes the employer's term into a four band scale keyed to length of service, sets the employee's term at one month, and fixes the day the period takes effect.

What makes the article worth reading closely is everything around that scale: the end of month rule, the deduction for a UWV procedure, the limits on agreeing something different, and the payment owed when notice comes up short.

The scale presupposes a notice the employer is entitled to give in the first place. Artikel 7:671 lid 1 BW provides that an employer cannot validly give notice (niet rechtsgeldig opzeggen) without the written consent of the employee, unless one of the exceptions in that paragraph applies, chiefly permission as referred to in artikel 7:671a BW, notice during the trial period (proeftijd), or an urgent cause under artikel 7:677 lid 1 BW. Observing the right number of months does not by itself make a dismissal lawful.

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.

Notice takes effect at the end of the month

Artikel 7:672 lid 1 BW provides that opzegging takes place against the end of the month, unless another day has been designated for it by written agreement (bij schriftelijke overeenkomst) or by usage (door het gebruik).

The second limb is easy to miss and is genuine statutory text. A settled practice in the business or the sector can displace the month end just as a written clause can, so the contract is not always the last word on the question.

Where neither applies, the period runs from the end of the month in which notice was given. Notice given on 12 May 2026 with a two month term therefore takes effect at the end of May, so the term runs from 1 June to 31 July 2026 and the last day of the contract is 31 July, not 12 July.

One case is carved out. Under artikel 7:672 lid 5 BW, where the extent of the work has not been fixed, the employee's term is instead the period referred to in artikel 7:628a leden 2 and 4 BW, or four days for a role designated under artikel 7:628a lid 11 BW, and lid 1 does not apply at all.

The employer scale in artikel 7:672 lid 2 BW

The employer's term is set by how long the arbeidsovereenkomst had lasted on the day notice is given. The statute uses four bands and no other variables.

The bands are inclusive at their lower edge, and that is where the errors happen. Sub b covers a contract that has lasted vijf jaar of langer, maar korter dan tien jaar, so exactly five years of service gives two months rather than one.

Two adjustments sit beside the scale. Under lid 3 the employer's term is one month once the employee has reached the age referred to in artikel 7 sub a van de Algemene Ouderdomswet, whatever the length of service. Under lid 10, where a contract is restored under artikel 7:682 or artikel 7:683 BW, the periods before and after are treated as one uninterrupted contract for the purposes of lid 2.

The checker below applies lid 2 and lid 4 and, where a figure is entered for the UWV procedure, the lid 6 deduction and its one month floor. It leaves lid 3 and lid 5 out, so the output does not fit an employee who has reached the AOW age or whose hours are not fixed, and the paragraphs above govern those two cases. It reports an indication of the statutory periods and does not take account of a longer term agreed in writing or a cao variation.

The employee's term is one month

Artikel 7:672 lid 4 BW sets the term to be observed by the employee at one month. There is no scale on the employee's side, so twenty years of service and eight months of service produce the same period.

The end of month rule in lid 1 applies to the employee in the same way. Resigning on 3 September 2026 with the statutory one month term ends the contract on 31 October 2026, unless the contract or a usage designated another day.

Agreeing something different, and the limits on it

The two directions are not treated alike, and the asymmetry is deliberate. Artikel 7:672 lid 7 BW provides that the term in lid 2 or lid 3 can be shortened only by a collective agreement (cao) or by a regeling made by or on behalf of a competent bestuursorgaan. The same lid allows that term to be extended in writing.

An individual contract can therefore lengthen the employer's notice period but cannot cut it. The route to a shorter employer term runs through a cao, not through the employment contract.

Artikel 7:672 lid 8 BW governs the employee's side. The one month term of lid 4 can be varied in writing, an extended employee term may not exceed six months, and the employer's term must then be at least double the employee's.

A written three month term for the employee therefore carries a six month term for the employer. Lid 9 then allows a cao or a regeling of a competent bestuursorgaan to shorten that doubled employer term, provided it does not fall below the employee's own term.

A fixed term contract raises a prior question of its own. Under artikel 7:667 lid 3 BW an arbeidsovereenkomst voor bepaalde tijd can be given interim notice (tussentijdse opzegging) only where that right was agreed in writing for each of the parties, so without such a clause neither side can give notice at all and the periods above never come into play.

The UWV deduction under lid 6

Where permission was granted under artikel 7:671a lid 1 or lid 2 BW, artikel 7:672 lid 6 BW shortens the employer's term by the duration of the permission procedure. The period deducted begins on the date the complete request for permission was received and ends on the date of the decision on it.

The paragraph carries its own floor: a term of at least one month must remain. The deduction can therefore reduce a four month term to one month, but never below it.

The floor also means the deduction is worth nothing to an employer whose term was one month to begin with. A contract of under five years leaves nothing to deduct.

A worked example. An employee with sixteen years of service has a four month term under artikel 7:672 lid 2 sub d BW. UWV receives the complete request on 1 February 2026 and decides on 1 April 2026, a procedure of two months, so the remaining term is two months.

Notice given on 3 April 2026 then runs from the end of that month under lid 1 and expires on 30 June 2026. Had the same procedure applied to an employee with three years of service, the one month floor would have left one month standing rather than nothing.

Notice that is too short: onregelmatige opzegging

Giving notice against an earlier day than the one that applies between the parties does not usually undo the ending. It creates a payment obligation instead.

Artikel 7:672 lid 11 BW makes the party who gives such notice liable to the other for a vergoeding equal to the amount of the wages (het in geld vastgestelde loon) over the period for which the contract should have continued had notice been regular. The rule is symmetrical, so it applies to an employee who leaves too early as well.

A worked example. An employee with eleven years of service has a three month term under artikel 7:672 lid 2 sub c BW, and the employer gives one month instead. On a monthly wage of EUR 3,200 the two missing months produce a vergoeding of EUR 6,400 gross.

Artikel 7:672 lid 12 BW allows the kantonrechter to moderate that amount where the circumstances make it fair, within two floors. The moderated figure cannot fall below the wages over the notice period of lid 2, nor below three months of wages.

On these figures moderation has nothing to work on. Both floors stand at EUR 9,600, since three months of wages at EUR 3,200 and the wages over the three month lid 2 term are the same amount, so the EUR 6,400 owed under lid 11 already sits below them. The floors do not raise a vergoeding: lid 11 fixes the amount and lid 12 only limits how far the kantonrechter may cut it.

Summary dismissal is a separate route rather than a short notice period. Artikel 7:677 lid 1 BW allows either party to end the contract at once for an urgent cause (dringende reden), notified at the same time, and no opzegtermijn runs in that case.

Notice periods when the contract ends by agreement

A settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) ends the contract by mutual consent on the date the parties choose, so no notice is given and no term has to be observed for the ending to be effective.

The employer's term returns through the benefit rules. Artikel 19 lid 3 WW withholds a WW-uitkering for as long as the rechtens geldende opzegtermijn has not expired, and states that on an ending by mutual consent it is the employer's term that applies.

That term is deemed to start on the date the ending was agreed in writing and is in practice counted from the end of that month, which is why an end date set inside it leaves a period with neither salary nor benefit. The drafting points that follow from it are set out on the page for settlement agreements (vaststellingsovereenkomst).

The notice period also decides nothing about severance. Statutory severance pay is calculated on its own formula in artikel 7:673 lid 2 BW, and the calculation and the 2026 ceiling of EUR 102,000 are on the page for severance pay (transitievergoeding).

Where a notice dispute is decided

Artikel 93 sub c Rv assigns cases concerning an arbeidsovereenkomst to the kantonrechter telkens ongeacht het beloop of de waarde van de vordering, that is, regardless of the amount at stake. A claim under artikel 7:672 lid 11 BW belongs there however large it is.

Artikel 79 lid 1 Rv allows a party to appear in person before the kantonrechter, without an advocaat. The wider dismissal system in which these periods sit, including the UWV and kantonrechter routes and the nine grounds, is mapped on the Netherlands employment law section page, and the structure of Dutch law generally on the Netherlands law overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the notice period in the Netherlands?

For the employer it depends on how long the contract has lasted at the day of notice. Artikel 7:672 lid 2 BW sets one month under five years, two months from five to under ten years, three months from ten to under fifteen years, and four months at fifteen years or more. The employee's term is one month under lid 4, whatever the length of service.

When does a Dutch notice period start and end?

Artikel 7:672 lid 1 BW provides that notice takes effect at the end of the month, unless another day has been designated by written agreement or by usage. Notice given on 12 May with a two month term therefore takes effect at the end of May, so the term runs from 1 June to 31 July and the last day of the contract is 31 July, not 12 July.

Is the notice period five years of service one month or two?

Two months. Artikel 7:672 lid 2 sub b BW covers a contract that has lasted five years or longer but shorter than ten years, so the band is inclusive at its lower edge. Sub a covers only a contract shorter than five years.

Does the UWV procedure shorten the employer's notice period?

Yes, within a floor. Artikel 7:672 lid 6 BW deducts the period running from the date the complete permission request was received to the date of the decision, with the qualification that a term of at least one month must remain. An employer with a one month term therefore gains nothing from the deduction.

Can a longer notice period be agreed in the employment contract?

Artikel 7:672 lid 8 BW allows the employee's one month term to be varied in writing, capped at six months on extension, and requires the employer's term in that case to be at least double the employee's. Under lid 9 a cao or a regeling of a competent bestuursorgaan may shorten that doubled employer term again, provided it is not shorter than the employee's.

What happens if an employer gives too little notice?

Artikel 7:672 lid 11 BW makes the party who gives notice against an earlier day than applies between them liable to the other for a vergoeding equal to the wages for the period the contract should have continued on regular notice. Under lid 12 the kantonrechter may moderate that amount where the circumstances make it fair, but not below the wages over the lid 2 notice period and not below three months of wages.

Does a notice period apply to a vaststellingsovereenkomst?

The contract itself ends on the date the parties agree, because a mutual ending is not an opzegging. The term returns through the benefit rules instead: artikel 19 lid 3 WW withholds a WW-uitkering until the employer's notice period has expired, deemed to start on the date the ending was agreed in writing and in practice counted from the end of that month.

Does the notice period change at the AOW age?

Artikel 7:672 lid 3 BW sets the employer's term at one month, by way of exception to lid 2, once the employee has reached the age referred to in artikel 7 sub a van de Algemene Ouderdomswet. Length of service no longer raises it beyond that point.