If a client terminates your freelance assignment, your right to payment does not automatically lapse. Work already performed, expenses incurred and sometimes compensation for the early termination may still be payable. Whether you can also invoice future hours or the remaining project amount depends on the agreement, the arrangements on termination and the legal reason for ending the contract.
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So do not simply respond with an invoice for all the remaining months. First establish who gave notice, with effect from what date and on what grounds. Keep your contract, timesheets, project deliverables and correspondence. With those documents you can distinguish between established payment rights, a dispute about the end date and a possible additional claim.
Start with the type of agreement
Many independent consultants, designers and interim professionals work on the basis of a contract for services (overeenkomst van opdracht). The rules of Article 7:400 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) et seq. apply to it. A self-employed professional in construction, however, may have a construction contract (aanneming). Employment, brokerage and mixed agreements also each call for their own assessment.
That distinction determines the financial settlement. For construction contracts, for example, Article 7:764 of the Dutch Civil Code contains a specific rule on termination and the contract price reduced by savings. You cannot simply apply that rule to every consultancy project. The label “freelance contract” does not in itself tell you which statutory regime applies.
Also check who your contracting party is. If an end client stops the engagement, your own agreement with an intermediary may still continue. Conversely, a termination clause in that agreement may make the loss of the end client directly relevant. Read the contractual chain before you send a payment request to the wrong company.
May a business client simply terminate?
Article 7:408(1) of the Dutch Civil Code provides as a starting point that the client may terminate the contract for services at any time. With a business client, there is room to deviate from this contractually. Think of a notice period, a limited option for early termination or an agreed minimum term. The precise wording and interpretation of the contract are therefore decisive.
An end date does not automatically mean that early termination is impossible. A separate termination clause may also apply. Conversely, a clause stating “a minimum of six months” may have significance for the fee or for the options to stop earlier. Read the term, termination, minimum commitment and cancellation arrangements together.
Where the client is a consumer, the protective rules are stronger. The statutory right to terminate and the relevant rules on remuneration cannot simply be departed from to the detriment of that client. That difference matters if you work for both businesses and private individuals. A single business cancellation clause is not automatically suitable for both groups.
Termination, rescission and cancellation are different routes
Termination by notice ends the collaboration in accordance with the rules that apply to it. It does not always require a breach. Rescission (ontbinding) is a different legal remedy and is linked to a failure to perform. Factors such as the seriousness of the failure and, where necessary, default play a role. “Cancel” is an everyday word that can have different meanings in law.
A client may say, for example, that it is stopping because of budget cuts. That is something different from claiming that your work is defective. If the client relies on errors, it must be clear which obligation has allegedly been breached, what you were told about it and whether it could still have been remedied. Not every form of dissatisfaction justifies immediate termination without a financial settlement.
Where the wording is unclear, ask for a written explanation. Do not unwittingly accept that an ordinary termination is later presented as an acknowledged failure to perform. Respond factually and reserve your rights. A sentence such as “I understand that you want to stop” need not mean the same as agreeing to all the consequences asserted by the client.
What is the significance of the notice period?
If a notice period has been agreed, check how it is calculated. Is it a calendar month, a number of weeks or a period ending at the end of a month? From what moment does the notice take effect and through which channel must it be given? A difference of a few days can be financially relevant on a sizeable assignment.
If the client does not observe the agreed period, that may give rise to a claim. Under many contracts, that claim is not simply equal to the number of missing hours multiplied by your rate. It may be a payment obligation, a cancellation fee or damages. Each legal basis has its own conditions and possible adjustments.
In the case of damages, for example, costs saved and replacement income are relevant, insofar as they must legally be taken into account. So keep track of whether you were able to take on other work during the period that became free. You do not have to pretend you are still working on a project if your access has been revoked, but do record what work you could and were willing to perform.
Hours already worked remain a separate issue
Start your final account with the work performed before the termination. With an hourly rate, timesheets, calendars, document versions and substantive e-mails are useful. Link the hours to the agreed activities and state which amounts have already been paid. A clear breakdown prevents a clear-cut part of your claim from being swallowed up in a dispute about future turnover.
A client may have objections to the quality, necessity or volume of the work. Respond to those objections on the merits. The mere ending of the assignment does not make earlier work free of charge, but an invoice does not in itself prove that everything is payable either. The assignment and its performance must together support your request for payment.
If you worked for a fixed price per phase, examine which phase had been completed and when the fee became payable under the contract. For a partly completed phase, a different calculation may be needed. In a payment dispute, refer to the relevant arrangements and attach the available deliverables, insofar as that is safe and appropriate.
A reasonable part of the fee on early termination
Article 7:411 of the Dutch Civil Code may be relevant if the assignment ends before completion or before the agreed time has elapsed, while payment of the fee depends on that. The contractor may then be entitled to a part of the fee to be determined on a reasonable basis. This is not a universal additional payment on top of every invoice for hours.
In that assessment, factors that count include the work performed, the benefit to the client and the reason for the termination. A usable draft that the client can continue to use differs from work that is entirely unusable because of an attributable error. The agreed payment structure and any deviations agreed between businesses must also be taken into account.
Under this statutory rule, the full fee is only at issue if additional conditions are met. The termination must be attributable to the client and payment of the full fee must be reasonable in view of all the circumstances. Savings resulting from the early termination are deducted from it. A reference to Article 7:411 of the Dutch Civil Code therefore does not automatically justify an invoice for the entire remaining contract sum.
Expenses, advance payments and savings
Look at which costs you incurred for the assignment and whether they were already included in your fee. Think of materials purchased specifically, agreed travel or external services. Article 7:406 of the Dutch Civil Code contains a starting point for reimbursement of expenses not included in the fee. The contract may set out the details further.
Substantiate costs with invoices and explain why they were incurred for this assignment. A subscription you use for all clients anyway is different from a non-cancellable external booking made solely for this project. Avoid double counting: the same costs may not be included in full in the project fee and then charged again separately.
Set off advance payments received in a transparent way. An advance payment is not automatically earned for good because it is in your account. The final account may show that part of it has to be repaid or that an additional amount is still outstanding. A clear overview of work, costs, advance payments and any termination fee makes negotiating easier.
Example of a final account
Suppose an independent communications consultant has accepted a project for a fixed price. After the research phase, the business client stops for internal reasons. The consultant has conducted interviews, delivered an analysis and booked an external designer. The contract contains arrangements on payment per phase and early termination.
The final account starts with the completed phase under the contract. Next, the work not yet invoiced and the costs actually incurred are assessed. For the remaining part of the project, the termination clause and, where applicable, Article 7:411 of the Dutch Civil Code are considered. Costs that no longer need to be incurred and work that can be used elsewhere may be relevant in that respect.
This approach avoids two extremes: claiming everything as lost turnover, or accepting only the most recently approved hours without any investigation. Which outcome is reasonable and legally enforceable follows from the specific arrangements and facts. The example is a hypothetical situation, not a judgment or result from a case we have handled.
If the client says your work is not good enough
Ask which specific performance the client considers missing or defective. Compare that complaint with the description of the assignment, interim feedback and acceptance arrangements. If a remedy is possible, record what you can put right and what cooperation is needed for it. Also examine whether the client has already properly called on you to perform.
A difference of opinion on the substance of advice is not the same as a demonstrable professional error. At the same time, an obligation to use best efforts is no licence for careless work. Your position is strengthened by a businesslike response supported by documents, not merely by asserting that the client complained too late. In the case of a damages claim, notification to your insurer may be necessary.
If payment is withheld in full, separate the disputed part from the other items. Suspension and set-off have their own conditions. Read more about a client who refuses to pay because of defects and have it assessed whether the extent of the refusal to pay in your case is justified.
Respond carefully in the first few days
Acknowledge receipt of the termination and ask for clarification of the grounds and the end date. State that you are still assessing the financial consequences and that you are not waiving any payment rights. Secure relevant documents within the limits of your authority. Do not export confidential client files that you are not permitted to keep for your records.
Ask how ongoing work will be completed and who the contact person is for the handover. If access to systems is revoked, note when that happened and which work could no longer be done as a result. Do not incur new costs on the assumption that the client will pay them without first seeking agreement on this.
Then send an itemised final account with a substantive explanation. Indicate which items are established and which require discussion. A specific proposal for handover and payment can lead to a solution more quickly than a general threat of proceedings. Also keep the responses to that proposal.
Negotiating a termination agreement
Sometimes a settlement agreement is the practical solution. In it, you can arrange the end date, compensation, handover, rights of use and a full and final discharge. Pay attention to exactly what the final discharge covers: only the settlement of this assignment, or also unknown damages claims and other collaboration? A broadly worded clause may go further than you intend.
Check whether a non-solicitation clause, confidentiality obligation or intellectual property arrangement will continue to apply. If necessary, make the discharge conditional on timely payment and the agreed handover. Also agree how the parties will communicate with the end client or the team. The aim is a workable arrangement that prevents new disputes.
If negotiations fail, it must be assessed which procedure is appropriate and whether the other party has the means to pay. A limited, well-substantiated payment claim may call for a different approach from a complex damages claim. The explanation of business debt collection offers a first route, but an assignment terminated early often requires a substantive analysis of the contract.
If your access is cut off immediately
Sometimes a self-employed professional only discovers that the assignment has ended because access to e-mail, scheduling or project software has been revoked. Respond factually. Ask in writing whether the client is terminating the agreement, with effect from what date and on what grounds. Closing an account can make performance impossible, but does not in itself fully answer the question of the financial settlement.
Record which work you can no longer carry out and what information is needed for a responsible handover. Keep evidence you already lawfully hold. Do not try to access protected systems through colleagues’ accounts or an old access code. Ask for a controlled export of your timesheets, relevant instructions and the agreed project records. Take into account confidential information and other people’s personal data.
If you work through an intermediary, determine which party terminated your contract. The end client may in practice stop an assignment while the payment obligation towards you lies with another company. A notification from the end client is not automatically the same legal act as a termination by your contracting party. Check the contractual chain and any arrangements that link the two events.
Then distinguish between reserved capacity, guaranteed hours and a non-binding expectation of follow-up work. A calendar full of blocked-out days does not in itself prove that all those days must be paid for. It may, however, be relevant to the interpretation of the arrangements and the consequences of the termination. The basis for this belongs in the contract for services for freelancers. If you want to keep working for a client involved after you leave, also check the non-solicitation clause in your freelance contract.
Frequently asked questions
Will I always be paid for the remaining months?
No. That depends on the payment arrangements, minimum commitment, termination clause and applicable law. An end date alone does not automatically give entitlement to all future turnover. However, work already performed, a contractual fee or an amount of remuneration to be determined on a reasonable basis may be payable. Substantiate each item separately.
My contract does not mention a notice period: what now?
For a contract for services, the statutory rules are an important starting point. In addition, the interpretation of the arrangements and the principles of reasonableness and fairness may be relevant. There is no single fixed statutory notice period that applies to all business assignments for self-employed professionals. The nature, duration and structure of the collaboration are relevant.
Can I refuse to hand over files until everything has been paid?
Do not do so without an assessment. Rights of use, ownership, confidentiality and any rights of suspension must be kept apart. Blocking crucial systems can cause damage. Look for a proportionate solution, for example handover combined with a payment arrangement or a clear reservation, and have your position reviewed in advance.
May the client stop immediately because it is dissatisfied?
Dissatisfaction may be a reason to use an option to terminate, but it does not automatically prove a failure to perform or a right to terminate at no cost. Additional conditions apply to rescission and damages. Ask for specific complaints and check whether a remedy, a notice of default or other contractual steps were required.
What if I have since found a replacement assignment?
That may be relevant to damages or to the reasonableness of a fee, depending on the legal basis. Report and document the facts carefully. It does not in itself mean that all your earlier payment rights lapse. Work already performed and separate contractual obligations still call for their own assessment.
Can I also terminate immediately myself?
Different statutory starting points apply to a professional contractor than to the client. The term, completion and compelling reasons, among other things, may be relevant. Your contract may contain additional arrangements. So do not stop ongoing work without investigating first, especially where the client may suffer foreseeable loss as a result.
Have your final account assessed
Arslan Advocaten can help establish which termination route was used and which amounts you can still claim. Bring your contract, appendices, notice of termination, timesheets and invoices. With those, a specific final account can be drawn up and an appropriate response determined. See our corporate and commercial law services or discuss your situation.
Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Content reviewed on 12 September 2026 against the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl and the judgments cited on rechtspraak.nl.
