Dismiss an employee lawfully in the Netherlands
Dutch law does not allow an employer to dismiss at will. Depending on the reason, permission must be sought from the UWV (economic grounds or long-term illness) or the subdistrict court (personal or performance grounds), and a statutory transition payment is normally owed.
- Timeline
- UWV route around 4-6 weeks; court route roughly 1-3 months
- Cost
- No UWV fee; court fee for the kanton route; transition payment owed to the employee
- Steps
- 6 stages
Deadline — read this first
A transition payment is due from the first day of employment on employer-initiated termination; claims relating to dismissal generally have short limitation windows, often two months.
Who can file
Employers; the route is dictated by the ground for dismissal.
Step by step
- 1
Identify the ground and therefore the route
Economic redundancy and dismissal after two years of illness go to the UWV. Personal grounds — underperformance, a damaged working relationship, culpable conduct — go to the kantonrechter. The ground must fit one of the statutory categories.
- 2
Check for a dismissal prohibition
Dismissal is barred in protected situations such as during illness (subject to the two-year rule), pregnancy and maternity leave, and for works-council membership.
- 3
Build the file
For personal grounds the employer must show a documented file: performance reviews, an improvement plan and a genuine attempt at reassignment. A thin file is the most common reason the court refuses.
- 4
Apply to the UWV or petition the court
For economic or long-term-illness grounds, apply to the UWV for a dismissal permit. For personal grounds, file a petition (verzoekschrift) with the kantonrechter to terminate the contract.
- 5
Observe notice and pay the transition payment
After permission or termination, apply the statutory notice period and pay the transition payment. The court may add fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) where the employer acted culpably.
- 6
Consider a settlement agreement instead
In practice most terminations use a mutual settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst), which avoids the UWV and court. The employee has a statutory 14-day cooling-off period to withdraw consent.
Documents you must produce
- The employment contract and any applicable collective agreement (CAO)
- Documentation of the ground: redundancy rationale, or performance file and improvement plan
- Evidence of reassignment efforts
- Calculation of notice and the transition payment
Common mistakes that sink cases
- Choosing the wrong forum: the UWV and the court are not interchangeable, and using the wrong one gets the request refused.
- A weak personnel file on performance grounds, which routinely leads the court to reject termination.
- Overlooking a dismissal prohibition such as illness or pregnancy.
- Forgetting the employee's 14-day right to withdraw from a settlement agreement, which can unravel an agreed exit.
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