Termination of employment and dismissal in the Netherlands: routes, grounds and procedure

Dutch law has no dismissal at will. An employer that wants to end a permanent employment contract needs one of the nine reasonable grounds in Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code, must show that redeployment is not possible, and must use the route the law prescribes for that ground: permission from UWV for redundancy and long-term illness, a decision of the subdistrict court for everything else, or the employee's written agreement. The employee, by contrast, can resign by giving notice. Whichever route is used, the employer usually owes a transition payment.

That combination of a substantive test and a procedural gate is what sets the Dutch system apart. Getting the ground right is not enough if the route is wrong, and the right route does not help if the ground cannot be proved. This guide sets out every way an employment contract can end, which route belongs to which ground, and what each party can claim afterwards.

Dutch dismissal law at a glance

• Nine grounds, listed in Article 7:669(3) of the Dutch Civil Code: redundancy, long-term illness, frequent absence, poor performance, culpable conduct, conscientious objection, a disrupted working relationship, other circumstances, and a combination of grounds.
• Two gates: UWV for redundancy and long-term illness, the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) for the other grounds.
• No gate needed for a termination agreement, for notice with the employee's written consent, during a valid probation period, and for summary dismissal.
• Fourteen days to change one's mind: an employee who signs a termination agreement or consents to notice can withdraw without giving reasons.
• Notice periods for the employer of one to four months depending on length of service; one month for the employee.
• Transition payment from the first day of employment: one third of a month's salary per year of service, capped at EUR 102,000 in 2026 or one year's salary if that is higher.
• Two months to challenge most dismissals in court, three months to claim the transition payment.

On this page

What Are the Ways an Employment Contract Can End in the Netherlands?

An employment contract ends in one of about ten ways, and each has its own conditions. The table sets out who takes the step, what it requires and where the rule is.

All references in the table are to the Dutch Civil Code. Two routes that people often expect are missing. There is no dismissal "at will" and no dismissal by simply paying compensation: an employer who gives notice without UWV permission, without the employee's written consent and outside the probation period, where the law requires one of these, gives a notice that the employee can have annulled. And a permanent contract never ends by itself; it always needs notice, agreement or a court decision (Article 7:667 of the Dutch Civil Code (6)).

What Are the Grounds for Dismissal under Dutch Law?

Under Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code (1), the employer may only terminate if there is a reasonable ground and redeployment in another suitable position within a reasonable period, with or without training, is not possible or not appropriate. Paragraph 3 lists the reasonable grounds exhaustively. Each ground is known by its letter.

Two features of this list decide most cases. First, a ground must be complete in itself. An employer with a partial performance problem and a partially disrupted relationship does not meet ground d or ground g; ground i allows such parts to be combined, and when the court dissolves the contract on that basis it can award the employee up to half the transition payment on top of it (Article 7:671b of the Dutch Civil Code (8)). Second, redeployment is part of the test for every ground except culpable conduct, where the statute says it is in any event not appropriate.

The ministerial Dismissal Regulation (Ontslagregeling) fills in the details, including the order in which employees are selected in a redundancy, as Article 7:669(5) of the Dutch Civil Code provides. For the practical side of the individual grounds, see the pages on dismissal for poor performance, a disrupted working relationship, dismissal of an ill employee and building a dismissal file.

How Does Dismissal with UWV Permission Work?

For redundancy (ground a) and long-term illness (ground b), the employer asks the employee insurance agency UWV in writing for permission to give notice: Article 7:671a of the Dutch Civil Code (1). With permission, the employer gives notice itself. Without it, the notice can be annulled.

A collective labour agreement can appoint an independent committee to take UWV's place for redundancy (paragraph 2). UWV's decision is sent to both parties at the same time. The permission is valid for four weeks, and the employer must give notice in writing, stating the reason (paragraph 6).

For a permanent contract, UWV only grants permission for redundancy if the employer has first ended the working relationships of the people on the positions that disappear who are not on a permanent contract, who work on contracts without fixed hours, who are hired in, or who have reached state pension age (paragraph 5). Temporary and flexible workers on those positions therefore go first.

The time the procedure took is deducted from the notice period, but at least one month must remain (Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code (6)). Permission is not granted while a dismissal prohibition applies (Article 7:671a(11)). If UWV refuses, the employer can still ask the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract on the same ground (Article 7:671b(1)(b)). See the separate page on the UWV dismissal procedure.

How Does Dissolution by the Subdistrict Court Work?

For grounds c to i, the employer asks the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract: Article 7:671b of the Dutch Civil Code. The court can only grant the request if the conditions of Article 7:669 are met and no dismissal prohibition applies.

When the court dissolves a permanent contract, or a fixed-term contract that can be terminated early, it sets the end date at the moment the contract would have ended with regular notice, minus the time between the court receiving the request and its decision. At least one month must remain, and the deduction does not apply if the dissolution results from seriously culpable conduct by the employer (paragraph 9(a)). If the employee's conduct was seriously culpable, the court can set an earlier date (paragraph 9(b)). If the employer's conduct was seriously culpable, the court can award the employee fair compensation (paragraph 9(c)).

For a fixed-term contract that cannot be terminated early, the court sets the end date and can award the employee up to the salary for the rest of the term (paragraph 10). Where a dismissal prohibition applies, the court can still dissolve the contract if the request has nothing to do with the circumstances the prohibition covers, or if ending the contract is in the employee's interest (paragraph 6).

The employee can also ask for dissolution, where circumstances are such that the contract should in fairness end immediately or after a short time (Article 7:671c of the Dutch Civil Code). More on the procedure: dissolution of the employment contract and the subdistrict court in employment cases.

How Does Termination by Agreement Work?

Many Dutch employment contracts that end at the employer's initiative end by agreement, usually in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). An agreement to end the contract is only valid in writing, and the employee can undo it within fourteen days without giving reasons: Article 7:670b of the Dutch Civil Code (1) and (2).

Free toolSettlement agreement generatorA settlement agreement for termination by mutual consent, with the reflection period and WW-safe wording.Draft an agreement

The employer must mention that right in the agreement; if it does not, the period becomes three weeks (paragraph 3). The right cannot be excluded (paragraph 6), and it does not come back if the parties conclude a new agreement within six months of a previous withdrawal (paragraph 4).

The same protection applies where the employer gives notice and the employee consents in writing. The employee can revoke that consent within fourteen days, and if the employer does not point out that right in writing within two working days after the consent, the period is three weeks (Article 7:671 of the Dutch Civil Code (2) and (3)).

Agreement is not the same as resignation: in an agreement the parties settle the terms of the ending, including any payment, themselves. The content of the agreement is covered on the pages on the settlement agreement, termination by mutual consent and the reflection period.

How Does a Fixed-Term Contract End?

A fixed-term contract ends by operation of law when the agreed term expires, without notice: Article 7:667 of the Dutch Civil Code (1). It can only be terminated early if both parties agreed that right in writing (paragraph 3).

For a fixed-term contract of six months or longer, the employer must tell the employee in writing, at least one month before the end date, whether the contract will be continued and on what terms (Article 7:668 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)). This does not apply to a contract whose end is not set on a calendar date. If the employer does not give notice at all, it owes one month's salary; if it gives notice late, a proportional amount (paragraph 3). If the contract simply continues after the end date, it is deemed renewed for the same period, up to a maximum of one year, on the same terms (paragraph 4).

Not renewing a fixed-term contract at the employer's initiative also triggers the transition payment (Article 7:673 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)(a)(3)). How many fixed-term contracts may follow each other before a permanent contract arises is covered on the page on the chain rule.

What Notice Periods Apply in the Netherlands?

Notice is given to the end of a calendar month unless another day has been agreed in writing or follows from custom (Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)). The employer's statutory period depends on how long the contract has lasted on the day notice is given.

The employee's statutory notice period is one month (paragraph 4). The employer's period can only be shortened by collective labour agreement, but it can be extended in writing (paragraph 7). The employee's period can be changed in writing, but if it is extended it may not exceed six months, and the employer's period must then be at least twice as long (paragraph 8).

A party that gives notice to an earlier date than the one that applies owes the other party the salary for the part of the notice period that was skipped (paragraph 11). With UWV permission the procedure time is deducted from the notice period, as explained above. More detail: notice periods in the Netherlands.

When Is Summary Dismissal Possible?

Either party may terminate the contract immediately for an urgent reason, provided the reason is communicated to the other party immediately: Article 7:677 of the Dutch Civil Code (1). No UWV permission or court decision is needed. It is the most drastic route and the one most often overturned.

An urgent reason is a circumstance that makes it unreasonable to expect the employer to let the contract continue even for the notice period. The test is strict and fact-dependent, and an employer that waits, or does not state the reason straight away, loses the route. A summary dismissal does not automatically cost the employee the transition payment. The Supreme Court held in Dräger that an urgent reason is not the same as seriously culpable conduct, and only the latter excludes the transition payment.

The requirements, the risks and how to contest a summary dismissal are set out in detail on the page on summary dismissal in the Netherlands.

When Is Dismissal Prohibited?

Article 7:670 of the Dutch Civil Code prohibits notice in a number of situations, and the court cannot dissolve the contract while such a prohibition applies, unless an exception applies.

The main prohibitions protect an employee during the first two years of illness, during pregnancy and maternity leave and for six weeks after returning, and while serving as a member of a works council or a candidate for one. Other prohibitions forbid notice because of a circumstance, such as trade union membership, taking statutory leave or a transfer of undertaking. The ban on discrimination (Article 7:646 of the Dutch Civil Code and the equal treatment acts) applies to every dismissal.

Some prohibitions do not apply where the employee consented in writing, during the probation period, on summary dismissal, or where the business ceases entirely (Article 7:670a of the Dutch Civil Code (2)). The full list, with the exceptions, is on the page on dismissal prohibitions.

What Is the Transition Payment?

The transition payment (transitievergoeding) is the statutory severance payment. It is due from the first day of employment when the employer terminates the contract, has it dissolved, or does not renew a fixed-term contract: Article 7:673 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)(a).

The amount is one third of a month's salary for each year the contract has lasted, and a proportional part for a shorter period (paragraph 2). For 2026 the maximum is EUR 102,000, or one year's salary if that is higher. The cap is indexed every 1 January (paragraph 3). Previous contracts between the same parties, with gaps of no more than six months, count towards the length of service (paragraph 4).

No transition payment is due when the contract ends before the employee turns eighteen and the employee worked twelve hours a week or less on average, when it ends in connection with the agreed retirement age or the state pension age, or when the end results from seriously culpable conduct by the employee (paragraph 7). Conversely, an employee who resigns because of seriously culpable conduct by the employer is entitled to it (paragraph 1(b)). In a termination agreement the parties decide the amount themselves. See the page on the transition payment and the transition payment calculator.

Free toolTransition payment calculatorThe statutory severance on dismissal or non-renewal, based on salary, holiday pay and bonus.Calculate the payment

What Applies to a Collective Redundancy?

An employer that intends to end the contracts of at least twenty employees working in one area within a period of three months must notify the relevant trade unions in writing for consultation, and must send the same notification to UWV: Collective Redundancy Notification Act, Article 3(1).

The individual dismissals still need a ground and a route: UWV permission or court dissolution for each employee, or an agreement with each employee. On top of that come the consultation obligations towards the trade unions and the works council's right to advise on the reorganisation, and the ministerial rules on the order in which employees are selected. The details are on the pages on collective redundancy, the notification duty and redundancy selection criteria.

How Can an Employee Challenge a Dismissal?

The remedy depends on the route the employer used, and so does the deadline. All of these requests go to the subdistrict court, and all are forfeiture periods that cannot be extended by a letter: Article 7:686a of the Dutch Civil Code (4).

Fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) comes on top of the transition payment. The Supreme Court held in New Hairstyle that the court sets it by reference to all the circumstances of the case, at a level that matches the exceptional circumstances, and that the consequences of the dismissal for the employee may be taken into account insofar as they are attributable to what the employer is to blame for. An appeal does not suspend the court's decision (Article 7:683 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)).

The deadlines are short and they are strict. See deadlines for contesting a dismissal, fair compensation and protection against unfair dismissal.

How Can an Employee End the Employment Contract?

An employee does not need a ground to leave. Resignation by notice is enough, with a statutory notice period of one month to the end of a month unless something else was agreed in writing: Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code (1) and (4).

Resignation should be clear and unambiguous. An employee who leaves because the employer's conduct was seriously culpable keeps the right to the transition payment (Article 7:673 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)(b)), and can ask the court for fair compensation by requesting dissolution under Article 7:671c instead of resigning. A fixed-term contract without an early termination clause cannot be ended by notice at all; the employee then needs the employer's agreement or a court decision.

Dismissing an Employee in the Netherlands: A Checklist for Employers

Work through these questions before taking any step. Most failed dismissals go wrong at question two or three, not at the end.

1. Is there a valid probation period that has not yet expired? Then termination during probation is possible, with its own limits.
2. Which of the nine grounds applies, and is it complete in itself, or does it need to be combined under ground i?
3. Is there a documented file that proves the ground, for example written warnings and a genuine improvement plan for poor performance?
4. Has redeployment in another suitable position been examined and recorded?
5. Does a dismissal prohibition apply, such as illness, pregnancy or works council membership?
6. Which route belongs to the ground: UWV for grounds a and b, the subdistrict court for grounds c to i?
7. Is an agreement a realistic alternative, and has the employee been told in writing about the fourteen-day withdrawal right?
8. Which notice period applies, to which date, and how much of it will the procedure absorb?
9. What is the transition payment, and is fair compensation a risk because of the employer's own conduct?
10. If twenty or more employees in one area are affected within three months, have the trade unions and UWV been notified and the works council consulted?

Where a dismissal is contested, the questions above are exactly what the court or UWV will examine. A Dutch employment lawyer can review the file before the procedure starts, which is when it can still be improved.

Worked Examples

Each example assumes Dutch law governs the employment contract and no collective labour agreement changes the statutory rules.

Redundancy. An employer closes a department and three permanent positions disappear. It first ends the contracts of the temporary workers on those positions, then asks UWV for permission. The procedure takes five weeks. The employees have been employed for seven years, so the notice period is two months; after deducting five weeks, the statutory minimum of one month remains. The employer gives notice in writing within four weeks of the permission and pays each employee the transition payment.

Poor performance. An employer believes an employee is not performing. Without earlier warnings or an improvement plan, ground d is not complete, because the statute requires that the employee was told in time and given sufficient opportunity to improve. Giving notice is not possible for this ground at all; only the court can dissolve the contract, and on this file the request is likely to fail. The realistic options are an improvement plan first, or a settlement agreement.

A settlement agreement. The parties sign a settlement agreement on 1 March that does not mention the employee's right to withdraw. The withdrawal period is therefore three weeks rather than fourteen days. On 18 March the employee withdraws in writing, without giving a reason. The agreement is dissolved and the contract continues.

A fixed-term contract. A one-year contract ends on 30 June. The employer says nothing and the employee keeps working in July. The employer failed to give written notice about continuation at least a month in advance, so it owes one month's salary, and because the contract continued it is deemed renewed for another year on the same terms.

A notice without permission. An employer gives notice for poor performance without going to court and without the employee's written consent. The notice breaches Article 7:671 of the Dutch Civil Code. The employee asks the court within two months to annul the notice, or chooses fair compensation instead under Article 7:681(1)(a).

Leading Dutch Authority

Two judgments of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands shape how the consequences of a dismissal are assessed. Both are linked to the official text.

The rest of this page rests directly on the statute: Articles 7:667 to 7:686a of the Dutch Civil Code for the dismissal system, and Article 3 of the Collective Redundancy Notification Act, each linked above to the current text on wetten.overheid.nl.