การเลิกจ้างพนักงานประจำ: นายจ้างชาวดัตช์สามารถทำได้เมื่อใด?

No. A Dutch employer cannot terminate a permanent contract (contract for an indefinite period) at will. Under Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW) the employer needs a reasonable ground from a closed statutory list, must show that redeployment in another suitable role is not possible, and needs prior permission from the UWV or a dissolution order from the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). The exceptions: you agree to the termination in writing, or the employer dismisses you summarily for an urgent cause.

How can a permanent contract end?

ถาวร สัญญาการจ้างงาน has no agreed end date, and Dutch law prescribes exactly how it may end. In practice there are four routes, plus summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet) under Article 7:677 BW.

• You give notice yourself, observing the statutory notice period. This normally costs you unemployment benefit (WW) and the transition payment.
• You and the employer agree to end the contract in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst).
• The employer gives notice after permission from the UWV: the route for redundancy and long-term incapacity for work.
• The employer asks the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract: the route for all personal grounds.

Which reasonable grounds for dismissal does Dutch law accept?

Only the grounds listed in Article 7:669 paragraph 3 BW. The list is exhaustive, so an employer cannot invent a ground of its own.

• redundancy for business economic reasons;
• long-term incapacity for work lasting more than two years;
• frequent absence with unacceptable consequences for the business;
• unsuitability for the job, other than through illness;
• culpable acts or omissions by the employee;
• refusal to perform the work because of a serious conscientious objection;
• a seriously and permanently disrupted working relationship;
• other circumstances such that continuation cannot reasonably be required of the employer;
• the cumulation ground, introduced in 2020, under which two or more incomplete personal grounds can together justify dissolution.

Redundancy and long-term incapacity go to the UWV; all other grounds, including the cumulation ground, go to the subdistrict court. Where the court dissolves on the cumulation ground, it can award the employee an additional payment on top of the transition payment.

Why does redeployment matter so much?

Because without a proper redeployment assessment, even a proven ground is not enough. Article 7:669 paragraph 1 BW only permits dismissal if redeployment in another suitable position within a reasonable period, with retraining where appropriate, is not possible or does not make sense.

Within a group of companies the search can extend across the group. For unsuitability, the law also requires that you were told about the shortcoming in good time and given a genuine opportunity to improve. A file put together after the decision was taken tends to show exactly that, and courts read it accordingly. Our article on การปฏิเสธการทำงาน deals with a ground that is often misapplied.

How does dismissal by mutual consent work?

You and the employer sign a ข้อตกลงการตั้งถิ่นฐาน ending the contract. Many Dutch dismissals end this way, because it avoids a UWV or court procedure with an uncertain outcome.

Everything is negotiable: the end date, the payment, the notice period, the reference, the final holiday balance, a non-competition clause, an outplacement budget and a contribution to legal costs. The statutory transition payment is the usual benchmark; the strength of the employer’s file largely determines where the amount ends up.

What makes a settlement agreement safe for you?

It must preserve your unemployment benefit: the initiative is recorded as coming from the employer, no urgent cause or culpability is attributed to you, and the end date respects the notice period. A UWV benefit can otherwise be refused or reduced.

Under Article 7:670b BW you can dissolve the agreement in writing, without giving reasons, within fourteen days of signing. That period becomes twenty-one days if the employer did not point out this right in writing within two working days. Have an ทนายความด้านการจ้างงาน check the agreement first; employers often contribute to that cost.

How does the UWV route work for redundancy and long-term incapacity?

The employer applies to the UWV for permission to give notice. The procedure is in writing, you can respond, and the UWV assesses whether the ground is made out and redeployment was properly examined.

In a redundancy case the employer must also select the right employees under the reflection principle (afspiegelingsbeginsel). Employees in interchangeable positions are divided into age groups, and within each group the last in, first out rule applies. Getting the interchangeable positions wrong is a well-known reason for an application to fail.

หลังจากที่ UWV ตัดสินใจแล้วจะเกิดอะไรขึ้น?

If permission is granted, the employer must give notice within four weeks, observing the notice period. The time the UWV procedure took may be deducted from that period, but at least one month of notice must remain.

If permission is refused, the employer can still ask the subdistrict court to dissolve the contract on the same ground. Where a collective labour agreement (cao) provides for a sector dismissal committee, that committee replaces the UWV. When many employees are affected at once, the rules on การจัดการรายบุคคลในกรณีการเลิกจ้างแบบกลุ่ม เพิ่มชั้นเพิ่มเติมเข้าไปอีกชั้นหนึ่ง

How does the subdistrict court route work?

For all personal grounds, the employer files a petition with the subdistrict court asking for dissolution. You file a defence and can ask, in the same proceedings, for a fair compensation (billijke vergoeding). After a hearing the court gives a reasoned decision, and both parties can appeal to the court of appeal.

The court must find the ground fully made out; a partly proved ground is not enough on its own, which is why the cumulation ground exists. If it dissolves, it sets an end date that takes the notice period into account. It awards a fair compensation on top of the transition payment where the employer acted in a seriously culpable way, for example by causing the very disruption it now relies on.

The court can also refuse to dissolve, and the employment then continues. That is why disrupted-relationship cases are often settled before or after the hearing.

When is the employer not allowed to give notice?

Article 7:670 BW prohibits notice in a number of situations, regardless of the ground. The best known is illness: no notice during the first two years of incapacity for work. Others include pregnancy and maternity leave, works council membership, and union membership in connection with union activities.

The prohibitions are not absolute. They do not apply where you consent in writing, where the contract is dissolved on a ground unconnected with the protected circumstance, or where the business is closed down. Nor do they protect an employee who fell ill after the UWV or the court received the dismissal request. Our article on ความเจ็บป่วย ความเหนื่อยล้า และความกดดันในการทำงาน ระบุถึงสิ่งที่ทั้งสองฝ่ายต้องทำในช่วงสองปีแรก

ระยะเวลาแจ้งล่วงหน้าใดบ้างที่ใช้บังคับ?

Article 7:672 BW sets the periods. Notice is given against the end of the month, unless a written agreement or established practice designates another day. The employee’s notice period is one month; the employer’s depends on length of service:

By written agreement the employee’s period can be extended to a maximum of six months, but only if the employer’s period is then at least twice as long. A collective labour agreement can shorten the employer’s period, and many do.

เมื่อใดจึงจะสามารถเลิกจ้างโดยไม่แจ้งล่วงหน้าได้?

Only for an urgent cause, and only if three strict requirements under Articles 7:677 and 7:678 BW are met. Summary dismissal ends the contract immediately, without notice and without UWV or court permission.

There must be an urgent cause, such as theft, fraud, violence or gross dereliction of duty. The dismissal must follow without delay once the cause is known. And the reason must be communicated to you at the same time. Failing any one requirement is fatal for the employer.

Courts weigh your personal circumstances, including length of service and the consequences of the dismissal, against the seriousness of the conduct. A summarily dismissed employee loses pay immediately and normally has no right to unemployment benefit, which is why the two-month deadline below matters so much. An employer that is unsure should suspend on full pay, investigate and then decide.

คุณมีสิทธิ์ได้รับเงินช่วยเหลือช่วงเปลี่ยนผ่านหรือไม่?

Yes, in most cases where the employer ends or does not continue the contract. Under Article 7:673 BW you are then entitled to a การชำระเงินผ่าน (transitievergoeding) from the first day of employment, including during the probationary period.

The payment is one third of a monthly salary for each year of service, calculated pro rata for incomplete years. The salary includes fixed allowances such as holiday pay. According to the Dutch government (Rijksoverheid), the maximum in 2026 is €102,000 gross, or one gross annual salary if that is higher.

เมื่อใดจึงจะไม่ต้องชำระเงินค่าเปลี่ยนผ่าน?

No payment is due where you acted in a seriously culpable manner, where you are under eighteen and worked limited hours, where you reach state pension age, or where the employer is bankrupt. In a bankruptcy the UWV wage guarantee scheme does not cover it either; see our article on the สิทธิของพนักงานเมื่อนายจ้างล้มละลาย.

The fair compensation is separate. The court awards it only where the employer acted in a seriously culpable way. There is no formula: the court assesses it on the circumstances, including the loss of income you can be expected to suffer.

Which deadlines can you not afford to miss?

The deadlines in Article 7:686a paragraph 4 BW are forfeiture periods. They cannot be extended, and the court applies them of its own motion.

To have a termination without permission set aside, including a summary dismissal, or to claim compensation instead, you must file the petition within two months of the day the contract ended. A claim for the transition payment must be filed within three months of that day. Miss the two-month deadline and the dismissal stands, however unlawful it was.

ในฐานะพนักงาน คุณควรตรวจสอบอะไรบ้าง?

Start with the ground and the file. The employer must be able to name the statutory ground under Article 7:669 BW and show the documents that support it.

• Ask for the dismissal ground and the supporting file in writing.
• Check whether a notice prohibition applies, such as illness in the first two years (Article 7:670 BW).
• Check that the proposed end date respects your notice period under Article 7:672 BW.
• Do not sign a settlement agreement on the spot; you have fourteen days to dissolve it after signing.
• Check that the wording of the agreement protects your WW benefit.
• After a summary dismissal, object in writing at once, say you remain available for work, and note the two-month deadline.

ในฐานะนายจ้าง คุณควรตรวจสอบอะไรบ้าง?

Start from the file, not from the decision. The UWV and the court test the ground and the redeployment assessment separately.

• Identify which statutory ground in Article 7:669 paragraph 3 BW applies, and whether it goes to the UWV or the court.
• Document the redeployment search, including vacancies elsewhere in the group.
• For unsuitability: record the warnings, the improvement plan and the support offered.
• Check for notice prohibitions and the cao for a dismissal committee or a shorter notice period.
• Calculate the transition payment and the notice period before you start negotiations.
• For an urgent cause: suspend, investigate quickly, then dismiss without delay with the reason stated.

What can we do for you with dismissal on a permanent contract?

How we assist employees and employers is explained on our ทนายความฝ่ายไล่ออก page; in short:

• We review your settlement agreement and termination letter.
• We calculate your transition payment and the correct notice period and end date.
• We assess the dismissal file against the statutory ground and the redeployment requirement.
• We draft the defence or the response in a UWV or subdistrict court procedure.
• We file a petition against a summary dismissal within the two-month deadline.
• We negotiate the terms of a settlement agreement with the other party.

สรุป

• An employer can only end a permanent contract on a statutory ground under Article 7:669 BW, after a redeployment assessment, and with UWV permission or a court decision.
• Redundancy and long-term incapacity go to the UWV; all personal grounds go to the subdistrict court.
• A settlement agreement is common; you have fourteen days (sometimes twenty-one) to dissolve it without reasons.
• Notice prohibitions, such as during the first two years of illness, protect you regardless of the ground.
• To challenge a dismissal you have two months after the contract ends; for the transition payment, three months.

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