The subdistrict court in Dutch employment law
In the Netherlands, all employment disputes are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). This applies regardless of the monetary value of the claim. The subdistrict court is a division of the District Court (rechtbank) and handles employment cases without the requirement for parties to be legally represented - although engaging an employment lawyer is strongly advisable in any case involving dismissal or significant financial claims.
The subdistrict court plays a central role in Dutch dismissal law. Where an employer wishes to dissolve an employment contract without the employee's cooperation, it must in most cases apply to the subdistrict court for dissolution (ontbinding) under Article 7:671b of the Dutch Civil Code. The subdistrict court assesses whether one of the legally recognised grounds for dismissal (ontslaggronden) under Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code is satisfied and whether the employer has complied with reintegration obligations and procedural requirements.
Types of employment cases handled by the kantonrechter
The subdistrict court hears: dissolution requests by employers; reinstatement and compensation claims by employees following dismissal; summary dismissal disputes; disputes about the transition payment and fair compensation (billijke vergoeding); wages and holiday allowance claims; and disputes about the content of the employment contract. The subdistrict court also rules on requests for interim injunctions (kort geding) in employment matters - for example, to suspend a dismissal or compel payment of wages.
Procedure before the kantonrechter
Employment proceedings before the subdistrict court are relatively swift compared to other civil proceedings. A dissolution procedure typically takes six to ten weeks from the filing of the application to the hearing. Oral arguments are held at a single hearing, after which the judge usually gives judgment within a few weeks. Parties can appeal to the Court of Appeal (gerechtshof) within three months of the judgment. The relatively quick procedure makes the subdistrict court the primary venue for resolving urgent employment disputes.
Dissolution proceedings before the subdistrict court are initiated by petition (not a writ of summons) under Article 7:686a(2)(3) CC and must generally be filed within two or three months after termination of the contract (Article 7:686a(4) of the Dutch Civil Code). The court must commence proceedings no later than four weeks after receiving the petition (Article 7:686a(5) of the Dutch Civil Code), and decisions in rescission cases are normally delivered within two months of the request. Crucially, appeals against District Court decisions in dismissal cases do not suspend the execution of those decisions (Article 7:683(1) of the Dutch Civil Code), meaning a dissolution takes effect even if it is appealed.