Your employer needs a valid legal ground to dismiss you, and in most cases either UWV permission or a court decision — a dismissal without either of those, or without your written consent, is usually not valid. If you already signed a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst), you can normally cancel it in writing within 14 days. If you were fired on the spot (ontslag op staande voet), you have only two months from your end date to challenge it at court — after that, the right is gone for good.
What you can do now
- Sign nothing and say nothing today. Take the letter home and get it checked first.
- Ask for everything in writing: the reason, the ground, your end date, and the reaction deadline.
- Object in writing to any dismissal or meeting report you disagree with, dated.
- Keep working, or stay available for work, unless you were sent home on the spot.
- Write down your end date and count two and three months forward — those are your hard deadlines below.
Is this dismissal even legal?
Only if your employer has one of the legal grounds listed in article 7:669(3) of the Civil Code (BW), and only after either UWV permission or a court ruling — or your own written consent. Redundancy and long-term illness go through UWV; poor performance, a workplace conflict, or other personal grounds go through the cantonal court. Even a solid ground fails if your employer never seriously looked at redeploying you elsewhere in the company, since that is a separate legal requirement under the same article.
What is my notice period?
Your employer's notice period runs from one to four months, depending on how long you worked there: one month under 5 years, two months for 5–10 years, three months for 10–15 years, and four months for 15 years or more (article 7:672(2) BW). Your own notice period, if you resign, is normally one month regardless of your length of service. If your employer ends things too early, you are separately owed pay for the shortfall — on top of any severance.
I was fired on the spot. What now?
Object in writing immediately, state you remain available for work, and file a request with the cantonal court within two months of your end date — miss that and you lose the right to fight it. Summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet) requires an urgent cause, an immediate dismissal, and immediate notice of the reason (article 7:677(1) BW); if any of the three is missing, the dismissal does not hold up. This is the heaviest and fastest-moving dismissal route in Dutch law, and the deadline above is the one people miss most often.
Can I be dismissed while I'm sick?
While you are ill there is generally a dismissal ban under article 7:670(1) BW, but it is time-limited and has exceptions — after roughly two years of illness your employer can ask UWV for permission on that specific ground. Being sick makes you better protected, not untouchable, and signing anything during illness gives up that protection.
What can I claim?
Most employees whose contract ends on the employer's initiative are entitled to a statutory transition payment (transitievergoeding), and on top of that a court can award extra compensation if your employer acted seriously culpably. You have to actively claim the transition payment — employers rarely pay it out unprompted — and the deadline to do so is three months after your contract ends (article 7:686a(4)(b) BW).
What if I got a settlement proposal instead of a dismissal letter?
A 24- or 48-hour deadline on a settlement proposal is a negotiating tactic, not a legal deadline — as long as you haven't signed, your contract, pay, and full dismissal protection simply continue. A verbal "yes" in the meeting is not binding either: a settlement agreement must be in writing. Ask for the proposal, the reason, and the end date on paper, and get it checked before you sign anything.
By way of illustration. An employee is called into a meeting on a Friday afternoon and handed a settlement proposal with a deadline of Monday morning. Nothing in the letter is signed yet, so the employment contract, salary, and full dismissal protection all continue exactly as before, whatever the letter's deadline says. This is an illustrative example, not a case handled by our firm.
When it goes wrong
- Signing during illness or pregnancy. This gives up a dismissal ban you didn't have to give up — always get it checked first.
- Missing the two-month deadline. It cannot be paused by sending a letter, it runs through weekends and holidays, and once it's gone the claim simply no longer exists, however strong the case.
- Resigning out of frustration. This usually costs you both unemployment benefit (WW) and your transition payment — let the employer be the one who ends it.
For the full picture on dismissal grounds, the UWV and court routes, and settlement agreements, see our complete guide to dismissal protection in the Netherlands.
Call +31 70 450 0300 or send your documents via our contact page. The first conversation is free and confidential. We have six offices across the Netherlands and speak Dutch, Turkish, Polish and English.
This page gives general information and is not legal advice on your individual situation.