The bedenktermijn for vaststellingsovereenkomsten under Dutch law
Under Article 7:670b paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, an employee who signs a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst, VSO) to terminate the employment contract by mutual consent has the right to dissolve - effectively withdraw from - the agreement within 14 calendar days of signing, without giving reasons. This cooling-off period (bedenktermijn) is a mandatory statutory right that cannot be waived or shortened by contract.
The 14-day reflection period begins on the day after the employee signs the VSO. The employee may invoke the right to withdrawal simply by notifying the employer in writing (or by any other means that demonstrates that the agreement has been dissolved) within this period. No explanation is required. The employment contract then continues as if the VSO had never been concluded.
Employer's duty to inform
The employer is required to inform the employee of the existence of the bedenktermijn in the settlement agreement itself. If the settlement agreement does not contain this notification, the reflection period is extended from 14 to 21 calendar days. This extension applies automatically by operation of law. Failure to include the notification clause is a common error in employer-drafted VSOs and can significantly affect the timeline of an agreed termination.
The employee may only invoke the bedenktermijn once in a six-month period. If a new VSO is signed within six months of a previous VSO that was dissolved within the bedenktermijn, the reflection period does not apply to the new agreement. This prevents employees from repeatedly signing and withdrawing from settlement agreements.
Practical implications under Dutch employment law
During the bedenktermijn, the employee is strongly advised to consult an employment lawyer or seek advice from a trade union to assess whether the agreed terms - including compensation, transition payment, notice period, and references - are reasonable. If the agreed compensation is lower than what could be obtained through litigation, withdrawing and renegotiating may be the better option. The VSO should also specify the WW benefit position to ensure the employee does not become verwijtbaar werkloos (culpably unemployed).
All dismissal-related court proceedings in the Netherlands must be initiated by petition rather than writ of summons under Article 7:686a(2) of the Dutch Civil Code, and most must be presented within two or three months after termination of the employment contract (Article 7:686a(4)). Courts must start proceedings no later than four weeks after receiving the petition, and decisions in dissolution cases are normally delivered within two months of the request (Article 7:686a(5)). These short procedural timelines reinforce the practical importance of the bedenktermijn: a settlement agreement that is not dissolved within the 14-day (or 21-day) window will result in the termination of the employment by mutual consent, after which the ordinary dismissal protection avenues are no longer available to the employee.