Notice period in case of dismissal

Do you want to dismiss staff or does an employee want to resign? In both situations a statutory notice period applies. The notice period starts the day after you gave or received notice. At the end of the notice period, the contract of employment ends.

There are also rules to address any conflicts that may arise.

Statutory notice period for employers

Do you want to end an employee’s contract? The length of the notice period depends on how long the employee has worked for the company. The minimum notice period is at least 1 month. The minimum is extended by 1 month after every 5 years of service, up to a maximum of 4 months. You may only shorten the notice period if the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) for your sector allows this. If not, the standard statutory notice period applies.

Giving notice for permanent contracts

An employer must always give notice when an employee has a permanent employment contract. The employer must give notice of dismissal before the end of the month, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Giving notice for fixed-term contracts

For fixed-term (temporary) contracts there is no statutory notice period. A fixed-term contract expires on the agreed end date. You must, however, inform your employee in writing if you will renew their contract or not. You may end a fixed-term contract early if the contract has an interim notice clause.

Statutory notice period for employees

The statutory notice period (in Dutch) for employees is 1 month, unless a different period is agreed to beforehand. This must be explicitly stated in the contract of employment. If your employee's notice period is more than 1 month, the employer's notice period must be at least twice as long. The maximum notice period for an employee is 6 months.

When is giving notice not required?

You do not have to give notice of termination when:

• the employee is in their trial period
• it is a case of summary dismissal, for instance due to gross misconduct
• the employee resigns with immediate effect (summary resignation), for example following a breach of contract

You and your employee may also agree to bring the dismissal or resignation into immediate effect. If so, this must be laid down in a written statement. You must still follow proper dismissal procedures.

You can seek advice about dismissal procedures from the Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV) or you can consult a lawyer specialised in labour law.

Compensation

If the employer fails to give the correct notice period, this may result in having to pay compensation (in Dutch) to the employee. This compensation amounts to what your employee would have earned if the regular notice period had been applied correctly.