The chain rule in Dutch employment law: successive fixed-term contracts now and from 2028

The Dutch chain rule (ketenregeling) in Article 7:668a of the Dutch Civil Code limits how long an employer can keep an employee on successive fixed-term contracts. The last contract counts as permanent once the chain has lasted more than 36 months, or once there have been more than three fixed-term contracts. Until 31 December 2027, a gap of more than six months between contracts restarts the chain. From 1 January 2028, under the Act on more security for flexible workers, only a gap of more than 36 months does, and collective agreements can no longer extend the chain. Contracts concluded before 2028 remain subject to the old rule.

The chain rule at a glance

• Limits: more than 36 months, or more than three fixed-term contracts, leads to a permanent contract (Article 7:668a(1)).
• Gaps now: contracts with gaps of up to six months count as one chain.
• Gaps from 2028: contracts with gaps of up to 36 months count as one chain.
• Successive employers: the rule also applies when a new employer is reasonably regarded as the successor (Article 7:668a(2)).
• Collective agreements: can currently extend the chain to 48 months and six contracts; from 2028 that option disappears.
• Old contracts: fixed-term contracts concluded before 1 January 2028 remain subject to the current wording.

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How Does the Dutch Chain Rule Work Today?

From the day on which successive fixed-term contracts between the same parties have together exceeded 36 months, or on which more than three fixed-term contracts have followed each other, the last contract counts as a contract for an indefinite period. Until 31 December 2027, contracts that follow each other with gaps of up to six months count together, and the gaps are included in the 36 months (Article 7:668a(1) of the Dutch Civil Code).

Two further rules complete the picture. A contract of no more than three months that directly follows a contract of 36 months or more between the same parties does not trigger the 36-month limb (Article 7:668a(3)). And once the chain has turned into a permanent contract, the notice period is calculated from the start of the first contract in the chain (Article 7:668a(4)). For fixed-term contracts in general, including how they end, see fixed-term and permanent contracts.

Does the Chain Rule Apply if the Employer Changes?

Yes. The chain rule applies equally to successive contracts with different employers that, regardless of whether they have insight into the employee's qualities and suitability, must reasonably be regarded as each other's successors in respect of the work performed (Article 7:668a(2)).

This prevents an employer from escaping the chain rule by moving the employee to another group company or to an agency while the same work continues. Under the current text a collective agreement may deviate from this rule to the employee's detriment (Article 7:668a(6)); from 2028 that possibility is limited to the number of contracts.

Which Exceptions and Collective Agreement Deviations Exist?

The current Article 7:668a allows collective agreements to extend the chain and excludes certain categories of employees.

• Extension by collective agreement: the 36 months can be extended to at most 48 months and the three contracts increased to at most six, for functions where the intrinsic nature of the business requires it (Article 7:668a(5)).
• Seasonal work: a collective agreement or a ministerial regulation at the request of the Labour Foundation can shorten the interruption to three months for functions that can be performed for at most nine months a year (Article 7:668a(13) and (14)).
• Directors: the 36-month period can be varied to the detriment of a director of a legal entity by written agreement (Article 7:668a(7)).
• Designated functions: a collective agreement can exclude the rule for functions designated by the Minister where fixed-term work is the established and necessary practice (Article 7:668a(8)).
• Education: contracts entered into mainly for the employee's education can be excluded by collective agreement (Article 7:668a(9)); contracts for a work-based vocational programme (BBL) are excluded by law (Article 7:668a(10)).
• Young employees: the rule does not apply to employees under 18 who work on average at most twelve hours a week (Article 7:668a(11)).
• State pension age: for employees above state pension age the limits are 48 months and six contracts, counting only contracts concluded after reaching that age (Article 7:668a(12)).
• School replacements: the rule does not apply to replacement contracts in primary and special education in connection with illness of teaching staff (Article 7:668a(15)).

What Changes in the Chain Rule on 1 January 2028?

The Act on more security for flexible workers (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205) enters into force on 1 January 2028 (Bulletin 2026, 206). From that date, gaps of up to 36 months between fixed-term contracts no longer break the chain (Article 7:668a(1) as in force from 1 January 2028).

The seasonal three-month interruption, the exceptions for education, young employees and employees above state pension age, and the director rule remain in the 2028 text. The express exclusion for school replacement contracts does not appear in the 2028 text. The practical effect is that the common practice of a six-month break followed by a new series of fixed-term contracts will no longer work for contracts concluded from 2028.

Does the New Rule Apply to Contracts Concluded Before 2028?

No. Under the transitional law, Articles 7:667(4), 7:668a(1) and 7:691(4) as worded before the entry into force remain applicable to fixed-term contracts and fixed-term agency contracts concluded before that date (Article 228(4) of the Transitional Act for the new Civil Code, inserted by the 2026 Act).

• Collective agreements: a collective agreement in force at that time that uses the current options to extend the chain (Article 7:668a(5)) or to deviate from the successive-employer rule (Article 7:668a(6)) continues to apply to the contracts it covered for its remaining term, but for at most twelve months after the entry into force (Article 228(5)).
• Domestic workers paid from a personal budget: for household workers paid from a personal budget (pgb), "36 months" in Articles 7:667(4) and 7:668a(1) is read as "six months" until a date to be set by royal decree, not earlier than 2030 (Article 229).

How Does the Chain Rule Apply to Temporary Agency Workers?

Differently. Under the current Article 7:691, the chain rule applies to an agency contract only once the worker has worked in more than 26 weeks, and a collective agreement can extend that period to 78 weeks and the chain to 48 months and six contracts (Article 7:691(1) and (8)).

From 1 January 2028 the first phase becomes 52 weeks, and after that a separate agency chain applies: the last agency contract counts as permanent once successive fixed-term agency contracts with gaps of up to 36 months have exceeded 24 months, or once more than six such contracts have followed each other (Article 7:691(1) and (8) as in force from 2028). See temporary agency work in the Netherlands.

How Does the Chain Rule Work in Practice?

1. Four short contracts. An employee has four successive six-month contracts without gaps. On the start of the fourth contract, more than three contracts have followed each other, so the fourth contract counts as permanent, even though the total duration is only 24 months.
2. Two long contracts. Two contracts of 20 months each follow each other directly. From the day the total exceeds 36 months, the second contract counts as permanent.
3. A seven-month break, before 2028. After three contracts, the employee is out of work for seven months and then gets a new fixed-term contract in 2027. The gap exceeds six months, so a new chain starts.
4. A seven-month break, from 2028. An employee has three fixed-term contracts, all concluded in 2028 or later, then a gap of seven months, then a fourth contract. Under the new rule a gap of up to 36 months does not break the chain, so the fourth contract counts as permanent. Where earlier contracts in a chain were concluded before 2028, the transitional law described above must be checked.

What Happens When the Chain Limit Is Exceeded?

The last contract counts as permanent by operation of law, from the day the limit is exceeded (Article 7:668a(1)). No court decision is needed, and an agreement that the contract remains fixed-term cannot prevent the conversion, except to the extent the Article itself allows deviations.

From then on the employee has the full dismissal protection of a permanent employee: the employer needs a reasonable ground and, in most cases, permission from UWV or the court, and the notice period counts from the start of the first contract in the chain (Article 7:668a(4)). If the employment later ends at the employer's initiative, the employee is in principle entitled to a transition payment. For the wider rules on flexible contracts, see flexible working and flexible workers.

Must the Employer Say Whether a Fixed-Term Contract Will Be Renewed?

Yes. For a fixed-term contract of six months or longer with a calendar end date, the employer must inform the employee in writing at least one month before the contract ends whether it will be continued and, if so, on what terms (Article 7:668(1) and (2)).

If the employer does not do so at all, it owes the employee compensation equal to one month's wages; if it does so late, a proportionate amount (Article 7:668(3)). If the contract is continued after its end date without this information having been given, it is deemed continued for the same period, up to one year, on the same terms (Article 7:668(4)). Each such continuation is a new link in the chain.

Which Legal Sources Govern the Chain Rule?

• Article 7:668a of the Dutch Civil Code, the chain rule (current text and text from 1 January 2028)
• Article 7:668 of the Dutch Civil Code, notice of renewal and tacit continuation
• Article 7:691 of the Dutch Civil Code, agency workers
• Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205), including Articles 228 and 229 of the Transitional Act, and its entry into force (2026, 206)