Written by Onur Arslan, employment lawyer at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the practice-area register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 31 August 2026.

Did you receive a proposal today? Do not sign anything today. Have it read first — that is free of charge and costs you a day, not your rights. Call 070 450 0300 or request a review.

What exactly is a settlement agreement?

A settlement agreement is a written arrangement by which you and your employer end the employment by mutual consent, without the involvement of UWV or the subdistrict court. In practice it is also called a termination agreement, or VSO for short; legally it amounts to the same thing. It is an agreement, not a decision: it contains nothing you have not accepted yourself.

That is the most important thing to grasp straight away. Your employer has no power to impose a settlement agreement on you unilaterally. They make a proposal. For as long as you do not sign, your employment contract simply continues, with all the rights that go with it: pay, the accrual of holiday and pension, and the dismissal protection the law gives you.

So why do employers choose this route so often? Because the alternatives are uncertain and slow for them. For dismissal on business-economic grounds or long-term incapacity for work the employer has to go to UWV; for every other ground — underperformance, a disturbed working relationship, culpable conduct — to the subdistrict court. That division is in the statute: grounds (a) and (b) of Article 7:669(3) of the Dutch Civil Code (the loss of jobs on business-economic grounds, and long-term incapacity for work) run through UWV; grounds (c) to (i) run through the subdistrict court. Both routes require a case file that is often simply not there. With a settlement agreement your employer buys off that uncertainty.

What the agreement is legally about:

Element	What is recorded
The termination itself	that the employment ends, and with effect from which date
The ground	why, and on whose initiative
The payment	whether a termination payment is made, and how much
The final settlement	holiday days, holiday allowance, bonus, year-end payment
The clauses	what happens to the non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses
The property	handing in the laptop, phone, car and access passes
The discharge	that once the agreement has been performed the parties have no further claims against each other

Every one of those elements is negotiable. The fact that the proposal looks final — with a signature line and a deadline — changes nothing about that.

Source: the Dutch government on termination by mutual consent; Articles 7:669(3), 7:671a(1) and 7:671b(1) of the Dutch Civil Code (wetten.overheid.nl).

Do I have to sign a settlement agreement?

No. You are never obliged to sign, and refusing a proposal is not in itself a ground for summary dismissal or for withholding pay. A settlement agreement only comes about if both parties agree. If you do not, your employment contract remains in force until it ends in some other, legally permitted way.

Yet it rarely feels that way. Proposals are often made in a conversation where the tone has already been set: the relationship has broken down, your performance is said to be falling short, or there is "unfortunately no place left". A deadline of a few days is then mentioned alongside it. That pressure is understandable from the employer’s side, but it says nothing about your legal position.

What you can do in that conversation:

• Commit to nothing on the substance. "I will take this away and have it looked at legally" is a complete answer. You do not have to form a view on the spot.
• Do not agree orally. Under Article 7:670b(1) of the Dutch Civil Code an agreement terminating an employment contract is valid only if it was entered into in writing; an oral "yes" therefore does not in principle produce a valid settlement agreement. That is not a licence, though: an oral undertaking colours the file and can weaken the negotiation. Stick to "I will have it assessed".
• Ask for everything in writing. The proposal, the reason and the deadline.
• Ask for time to consider. A reasonable period in which to take advice is customary and is rarely refused.

Many people wonder what refusing means for their unemployment benefit (WW). That is a fair question, but not one with a single general answer: how UWV assesses your situation depends on the way your employment ultimately ends and on what is put on paper about it. Have that assessed before you accept or reject a proposal.

What happens if I do not sign?

Then your employer has to take the regular route: an application for dismissal at UWV or a petition for rescission at the subdistrict court, where they will have to prove a valid ground for dismissal. Without a properly built file that route is risky, slow and costly for them — and that is exactly where your negotiating room lies.

In practice it is almost never black and white. Refusing and signing are not the only two outcomes; most cases end in an amended proposal. A counter-proposal is therefore not a rejection but the normal next step.

Scenario after refusal	What in principle happens	What it means for you
The employer comes back with a better proposal	the most common course of events	you carry on negotiating from a stronger position
The employer starts a UWV procedure	only possible for business-economic dismissal or long-term incapacity for work	you can put in a defence; the review is preventive
The employer starts rescission proceedings	the subdistrict court reviews the ground relied on	if granted, in principle entitlement to the transition payment, possibly more: under Article 7:671b(9)(c) of the Dutch Civil Code the subdistrict court can award fair compensation if the rescission is the result of seriously culpable acts or omissions by the employer
The employer does nothing	happens more often than people think	your employment continues; the relationship may well stay tense
The employer starts putting pressure on you	being relieved of duties, a change of role, a stop on pay	have that assessed at once — not everything that happens is permitted

What you need to be realistic about: refusing is not without consequences. It can lead to longer proceedings, a disturbed working relationship and months of uncertainty. For one person that weighs heavily; for another it is the price of a substantially better outcome. The answer to "should I refuse?" therefore does not depend on the law alone, but also on your file, your financial position and what you want to achieve.

*Read on: refusing a settlement agreement: what are the consequences?*

How much time to reconsider do I have after signing?

In principle two weeks. Within that period you can go back on your signature in writing and without giving reasons; if the agreement did not mention the cooling-off period, three weeks applies in principle. This right is statutory and your employer cannot contract it away — a clause in which you waive the cooling-off period is even expressly void. The statute puts it like this: the employee may rescind the agreement without giving reasons within fourteen days of the date on which it was concluded, by a written statement addressed to the employer (Article 7:670b(2) of the Dutch Civil Code); if the employer does not mention that right in the agreement, the period is three weeks (paragraph 3); and any clause excluding or limiting the right is void (paragraph 6).

Source: Article 7:670b of the Dutch Civil Code, wetten.overheid.nl.

Three questions that keep coming up about this:

When does the period start? The statute ties it to "the date on which the agreement was concluded" (Article 7:670b(2)) — so to the moment of signing, not to the end date of the employment and not to the moment you received the proposal. If changes are made after your signature and the document is signed again, that raises the question of which date counts; have that assessed rather than assumed.

Does the cooling-off period have to be in the agreement? Yes, the employer is supposed to point it out to you in writing in the agreement itself. If they fail to do so, the sanction is not invalidity but an extension of your period. That is one of the few places where a careless employer gains you time — so always check that clause.

How do I revoke? In writing, and demonstrably so. An e-mail with a read receipt or a registered letter. You do not have to give a reason and do not have to ask permission. Simply state that you are rescinding the settlement agreement of 31 August 2026, relying on your statutory cooling-off period.

What the cooling-off period is not:

• It is not a licence to sign without reading. After revoking you are back where you started — the original proposal is off the table and your employer can make a less favourable proposal or start proceedings.
• It is not an unlimited right. If within six months of an earlier rescission or revocation you enter into another termination agreement, the cooling-off period does not apply to that second agreement (Article 7:670b(4)).
• It does not apply in every case. For a director of a legal entity the cooling-off period does not apply where reinstatement of the employment contract is not possible under Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code; the same goes for the director of a comparable foreign legal entity (Article 7:670b(5)).

Have you already signed and are you having doubts? Act the same day. The period is short, runs through the weekend and cannot be extended by talking.

Do I keep my right to unemployment benefit after a settlement agreement?

In principle yes, provided the agreement is drafted neutrally: the employer took the initiative, no urgent cause or culpable conduct on your part is stated as the ground for dismissal, and the notice period has been correctly reflected. If one of those elements is missing, UWV may find that you became culpably unemployed and refuse the benefit. A settlement agreement therefore never gives a guarantee — the wording determines the outcome.

UWV makes its own assessment. Your employer saying that "it has all been properly arranged", or a standard sentence to that effect, is not decisive. UWV reads the agreement itself and looks at what it actually says.

The three formulations that matter:

Point	What the agreement should say	What goes wrong if it is missing
Initiative	that the initiative to terminate comes from the employer	it can look as though you resigned yourself — which in principle means culpably unemployed
A neutral ground	a neutral reason, for instance a difference of view or business-economic circumstances; expressly no urgent cause and no culpable conduct on your part	an urgent cause in the text is the most direct route to a refusal
Notice period	that the notice period applicable to the employer has been observed, with an end date that fits it	the WW starts later (see the next section)

Where it goes wrong in practice:

• "At the employee’s request" somewhere in the recitals, while elsewhere it says the employer made the proposal. Self-contradiction in the document is a classic.
• The reason is stated too concretely. An employer who wants to put their case on record — "on account of repeated underperformance despite warnings" — helps you out of your benefit. That sentence adds nothing to the termination itself.
• A reference to an incident. Even without the words "urgent cause", a description of conduct can be read as culpable behaviour.
• Being relieved of duties described as a suspension. That colours the file.
• The end date falls before the end of the notice period, without that being compensated for.

By way of illustration. An administrative employee receives a proposal after a conversation about workload. In the covering e-mail the employer writes that they are taking the initiative, but the recitals of the agreement itself say the parties are terminating "at the employee’s request". For the termination that sentence makes no difference; for UWV it does, because UWV reads the agreement and not the e-mail. The question is then not who actually proposed it, but what the text says — and whether that text contradicts itself. This is an illustrative example of the rule, not a case from our firm.

What UWV also assesses, separately from the agreement: whether you have a sufficient employment history, whether you are available for work, and whether you register and apply in time. A perfect settlement agreement will not help you if you submit the application too late. UWV sets three requirements that stand apart from your agreement: in the last 36 weeks before becoming unemployed you worked at least 26 weeks (the weeks requirement), you lose enough working hours, and you are immediately available for paid work.

That hours test has two routes, and the second is often overlooked. If you worked at least 10 hours a week on average, you have to lose 5 hours or more a week. If you worked less than 10 hours a week on average, a different test applies: you then have to lose at least half of those hours, and the pay for them. For young people, part-timers and on-call workers with a small job, that is precisely the difference between getting WW and not. So work those hours out before you agree to an end date. Source: UWV, "When am I entitled to WW?".

Pay particular attention to the application deadline — it is shorter than people think. You can apply for WW from one week before your first day of unemployment, and up to one week after it at the latest. If you have already been unemployed for more than a week when you apply, UWV says you will probably temporarily receive a lower benefit or none at all. So apply around the end date and do not wait until the final settlement and the payment have come through.

Source: UWV, "When are you entitled to WW?" and "Applying for WW benefit".

When exactly does my unemployment benefit start?

Not automatically on the end date in the agreement: UWV works with the notional notice period — the period your employer would have had to observe on an ordinary termination. If the agreed end date falls before that, the start date of your WW is pushed back. In that interval you receive neither pay nor benefit.

This is the most expensive detail in the whole agreement, and at the same time the least visible. An end date that is "nice and quick" sounds attractive if you want to leave anyway, but it can cost you one or two months of income.

How the notional notice period works:

The statutory notice period for the employer increases with the length of the employment. Article 7:672(2) of the Dutch Civil Code sets out four steps, measured on the day notice is given:

Length of employment	Employer’s notice period
less than five years	one month
five years or more, but less than ten years	two months
ten years or more, but less than fifteen years	three months
fifteen years or more	four months

That period can only be shortened by collective agreement; extending it in writing is allowed (Article 7:672(7)). Your collective agreement or employment contract may therefore prescribe a longer period; always check both. Notice is also in principle given as at the end of the month, unless another day has been designated in writing or by custom (Article 7:672(1)) — which can push the actual end date back further.

Source: Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code, wetten.overheid.nl.

A worked example for illustration, with made-up figures: if a two-month notice period applies to you and you agree an end date one month after signing, roughly a month is missing. UWV may then let the WW start about a month later. If instead you ask for an end date that respects the full period, that gap is closed — often without costing your employer anything more than patience.

Your choice	Effect on your income
End date respects the full notice period	pay up to the end date, then in principle WW immediately afterwards
An earlier end date, without compensation	an income gap the size of the missing part
An earlier end date, with a higher payment as compensation	negotiable; work out whether the compensation really covers the gap
An end date later than necessary	longer pay and longer accrual, but the WW also starts later — sometimes an advantage

By way of illustration. A warehouse employee has been with the company for just over six years and, at the start of the month, receives a proposal giving the end of that same month as the end date. He would quite like to leave and finds that quick date agreeable. His employer, however, has a two-month notice period, and UWV uses that notional notice period for the start date of the WW. The end date in the agreement is therefore not the date on which his benefit begins. The question that has to be answered before signing is which period falls between those two dates — and whether there is pay or benefit to cover it. This is an illustrative example of the rule, not a case from our firm.

A practical rule: negotiate the end date first, and only then the amount. An extra month of employment is often worth more net than an extra month’s payment, because pension accrual, holiday allowance and continuing insurance are attached to it. On top of that, a termination payment is treated for tax purposes as a one-off payment: your employer withholds wage tax at the special rate, and the payment counts towards your income in the year it is paid.

Source: Belastingdienst, "Do I have to pay tax on a severance payment?".

May I sign if I am ill?

You may, but this is the most dangerous situation in which to sign a settlement agreement. Anyone who agrees to termination while unfit for work risks losing both the continued payment of wages and the safety net: UWV can refuse a Sickness Benefits Act payment because you consented voluntarily, and WW is not a given because you are not available for work. In the worst case you are left with neither.

The reason this goes wrong so often is that the usual reassurances do not work here. A neutral ground for dismissal and a correctly reflected notice period — the two things everyone looks at — change nothing about the problem where illness is involved. That is the misunderstanding that costs people most.

What is different where illness is involved:

Element	What can happen
Continued payment of wages during illness	Article 7:629(1) of the Dutch Civil Code in principle gives a right to 70% of pay for 104 weeks (for the first 52 weeks at least the minimum wage); that right is tied to the employment and stops with the end date
Sickness Benefits Act	UWV can refuse a payment where you consent to termination while unfit for work
WW	in principle requires availability for work; during illness that is not automatically met
WIA	whether and how a later application is affected depends on your situation and on how your period of illness runs; have this assessed before you sign
Prohibition on termination	the employer cannot give notice for as long as the incapacity has lasted less than two years (Article 7:670(1)); by consenting you give up that protection
Wage sanction	an ongoing or looming reintegration dispute does not disappear with the signature

When can it still be sensible? That is not a standard question and certainly not a standard answer. It depends on the nature and expected duration of the incapacity, how far the waiting period has run, how the reintegration process is going, whether recovery is in sight, and what is being offered financially. There are situations in which a well-constructed arrangement is defensible — for instance where the incapacity has all but ended, or where there is a substantial payment that covers the risk. But that is the exception, and it requires pay, Sickness Benefits Act, WW and WIA each to be assessed separately before anything is signed.

Also relevant if you only report sick after the proposal. Whether you are unfit for work on the end date is a question of fact; it does not go away because the agreement was concluded earlier. So always tell your adviser about a sickness report during the term.

Source: the Dutch government and UWV, on dismissal during illness and the consequences for benefits.

Am I entitled to a transition payment in a settlement agreement?

Not as a matter of law: the right to a transition payment attaches to notice or rescission, not to termination by mutual consent. In practice, though, the transition payment does act as the floor of a serious proposal, because with the agreement your employer is buying off precisely that procedure — and the payment that goes with it. A proposal that stays below that figure is generally not in line with the market.

So always work out what the transition payment would have been on a regular termination, even though you have no formal claim to it. That figure is your anchor. The calculation rule is in Article 7:673(2) of the Dutch Civil Code: one third of a month’s salary for each year the employment contract has lasted, plus a proportionate part for the remaining period. The payment amounts to no more than €102,000.00 (2026 figure, indexed annually on 1 January) or, if that is higher, twelve months’ pay.

Source: Article 7:673(2) and (3) of the Dutch Civil Code, wetten.overheid.nl (version in force from 1 January 2026). Check the maximum figure again after each turn of the year.

What influences the amount in practice:

Factor	How it works
The strength of the employer’s file	without a properly evidenced file the procedure is risky for them — that is your room
Years of service, age and position in the labour market	longer employments, and ones that are harder to replace, negotiate more heavily
Urgency on the employer’s side	a reorganisation with a deadline, or a takeover, gives you room
The cost of the alternative	proceedings cost the employer time, money and delay
Culpability on the employer’s side	in cases of seriously culpable conduct a court can award more than the transition payment; that shadow carries into the negotiation
A social plan or collective agreement	always compare with what colleagues are getting

When calculating, note that the payment should be based on your full remuneration, not just the bare monthly salary. Holiday allowance and a fixed year-end payment count, and so do the agreed fixed pay components over the last twelve months and the variable pay components over the three calendar years before that. Only overtime payments and shift allowances are designated as fixed components; bonuses, profit distributions and year-end payments are designated as variable components.

Source: the Dutch decree on the concept of pay for the notification-period payment and the transition payment, Article 3; the regulation on pay components and working hours, Articles 4 and 5.

For tax purposes: a termination payment is taxed; your employer withholds wage tax at the special rate and the payment counts towards your income in the year you receive it. The gross figure in the agreement is therefore not what lands in your account, and it can affect benefits in the current year. Moving the payment date into the next calendar year is negotiable and sometimes advantageous. Discuss that before signing.

Source: Belastingdienst, "Do I have to pay tax on a severance payment?".

What is there to negotiate besides money?

Practically everything the agreement says, and a number of things it does not yet say. Anyone who only negotiates the amount leaves half of it on the table — it is precisely the non-financial points that cost the employer little and are sometimes worth more to you than an extra month’s salary.

Negotiating point	Why it matters	What you ask for concretely
A later end date	longer pay, longer accrual, and the notional notice period is covered	an end date that respects the full notice period
Release from work on full pay	room to apply for jobs without using up holiday	release from a specific date, with all emoluments retained
Holiday days	paid out or taken — not both, and not silently set off	explicit payment of the balance, with the number of days stated
A positive reference letter	you are in principle entitled to a reference letter; the tone is negotiable	the text as an annex to the agreement, not "to be drawn up later"
A positive reference	a reference letter is rarely read, a phone call is	a named contact person and an agreed line
Outplacement or a training budget	often from a different budget than the payment, so easier to agree to	a specific amount or a named programme
Study costs	repayment clauses are often forgotten on termination	express cancellation of any outstanding study costs
Laptop, phone, car	taking them over at residual value or for nothing	name the device, the date and the condition
Non-competition and non-solicitation clauses	see the next section	have them expressly lapse, not "limited"
Bonus, commission, year-end payment	pro rata over the current year	the amount or the method of calculation written out
Reimbursement of legal costs	see further below	a specific amount, paid directly to your representative
Confidentiality about the arrangement	can often be made reciprocal	the same obligation for the employer
Final discharge	the scope is negotiable	name exceptions for anything not yet paid out

Two negotiating principles that yield most in cases like these:

First: negotiate the package, not the amount. An employer who cannot give "a euro more" because head office has approved the payment can often still agree to an outplacement programme, three extra months of employment and the lapse of a non-competition clause. Those items come out of other pots.

Second: let someone else do the talking. Not because you cannot, but because the relationship between you and your employer continues and your representative’s does not. That makes firm positions possible without you paying the price in atmosphere.

*Read on: dismissal via UWV versus a settlement agreement “ — compare your alternative before you negotiate.*

If a study-costs clause is still running, also agree how you will settle the study costs on leaving.

What happens to my non-competition and non-solicitation clauses?

Without an express provision, non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses in principle simply continue to apply after the employment ends. That is the most underestimated provision in the whole agreement: people sign for a payment and discover months later that they may not practise their trade in their own region.

So make sure it says the clauses lapse — not that they are "limited", not that the employer "will not invoke" the clause. An undertaking not to invoke is weaker than having it lapse: on a takeover or a change of management you do not want to depend on a successor’s goodwill.

Clause	What it does	What to watch for
Non-competition clause	prohibits working for a competitor or as a self-employed person in the same market	duration, geographical scope and the definition of "competitor"; preferably have it lapse entirely
Non-solicitation clause	prohibits contact with the employer’s clients or business contacts	often drafted more broadly than people think — even being approached passively sometimes counts
Confidentiality	prohibits sharing company information	usually stays, and that is reasonable; make sure it is not so broad that you cannot mention your own experience
Secondary activities	relevant up to the end date	important if you want to start elsewhere during the period of release
Penalty clause	attaches an amount to a breach	a lapsed clause without a lapsed penalty clause is only half a result

By way of illustration. A shop manager signs an agreement that says nothing about the non-competition clause; she was told orally that the employer "really will not make an issue of it". A few months later she applies to a shop belonging to another chain in the same town, and it turns out the management has since changed. The clause is still there, and nothing was recorded about the oral undertaking. The question is then no longer whether anyone considers it reasonable, but what the agreement says — and it says nothing about this. This is an illustrative example of the rule, not a case from our firm.

What if the employer refuses to let it lapse? Then there is a middle way: limit the duration, limit the area, or exclude named employers from the prohibition. Also record that the employer will respond in writing within a short period to a request for release in respect of a specific job.

Apart from that, a non-competition clause is not untouchable: Article 7:653 of the Dutch Civil Code sets requirements for validity and gives the court room to intervene. A non-competition clause is valid only if it was agreed in writing with an adult employee and the employment contract was entered into for an indefinite period; in a fixed-term contract it is permitted only with written reasons showing that it is necessary because of compelling business or service interests. The court can set the clause aside in whole or in part if, weighed against the employer’s interest, it prejudices you unfairly. And if the employment ends because of seriously culpable conduct by the employer, they can derive no rights at all from the clause. That, however, is litigation after the event; dealing with it in the settlement agreement is considerably cheaper.

Source: Article 7:653 of the Dutch Civil Code, wetten.overheid.nl.

What should the agreement say?

These points should be stated explicitly in the text; what is not there cannot be enforced later. Go through the list point by point against the proposal you have received.

1. That the initiative to terminate lies with the employer.
2. A neutral ground for termination, with no urgent cause and no culpable conduct on your part.
3. A end date that respects the notice period applicable to the employer.
4. The cooling-off period, expressly stated with the correct period.
5. The termination payment: the gross amount, when it is paid and how it is paid.
6. The final settlement: holiday days (number and amount), holiday allowance, pro rata bonus, thirteenth month, expenses.
7. Release from work from a stated date, with pay and emoluments retained.
8. That the non-competition and non-solicitation clauses lapse, including the associated penalty clause.
9. A reference letter, preferably with the text as an annex, and arrangements about references.
10. Arrangements about company property: what you hand in, when, and what you may keep.
11. Treatment of study-costs or repayment clauses.
12. Where applicable, outplacement or a training budget, specifically named.
13. A reimbursement of legal costs, preferably paid directly to your representative.
14. Arrangements about pension and about any current insurance attached to the employment.
15. A final discharge that only takes effect after full performance.

Also agree when you will receive the final payment, and use it to check the final settlement on termination.

What should specifically not be in it

1. No urgent cause and no description that can be read as culpable conduct.
2. No "at the employee’s request" or any other wording placing the initiative with you.
3. No waiver of the cooling-off period — that clause should not be there and in principle has no effect.
4. No an admission of underperformance, warnings or earlier improvement plans; they add nothing to the termination.
5. No an unlimited final discharge covering items not yet paid out or claims not yet known.
6. No a one-sided confidentiality clause about the arrangement.
7. No penalty clause attached to vague obligations such as "not to speak negatively".
8. No an end date in the past or a date that does not fit the notice period.
9. No set-off of the payment against outstanding claims without those being specified.
10. No reference to illness or incapacity for work as the reason, without the consequences for benefits having been assessed.

Which mistakes are made most often?

Most of the damage is not caused by poor negotiation but by speed: signing before someone who knows the field has read the text.

• Signing on the spot, in the meeting itself. The pressure feels real; the deadline rarely is.
• Looking only at the amount. The end date, the clauses and the discharge together often determine more than the payment.
• Not checking the end date against the collective agreement. The collective-agreement period can be longer than the statutory one.
• Signing during illness without an assessment of your Sickness Benefits Act, WW and WIA position.
• Leaving the reason as the employer wrote it. For the termination the wording makes no difference; for your benefit it does.
• Forgetting that the non-competition clause stays in force if nothing has been agreed about it.
• Applying for WW too late, so that the benefit of a well-drafted agreement is lost after all.
• Thinking the cooling-off period repairs everything. Revoking takes you back to the start, not into a better position.
• Making no counter-proposal. A first proposal is rarely the best proposal; employers expect to be pushed back.
• Agreeing orally and only then asking for advice.
• Letting holiday days be set off twice — first taking them during the period of release, then not being paid for them.
• Not working the payment through from gross to net, so that the amount disappoints and benefits are affected.

What does a lawyer cost for a settlement agreement?

With us a first review of your settlement agreement costs nothing, and in practice the employer often bears the cost of legal assistance in whole or in part — although that is not a fixed rule and not a right. Employers include such a budget because it speeds up the process: an employee who has been properly informed signs sooner and does not come back later.

Form of funding	How it works	What to watch for
A costs contribution in the agreement	the employer includes an amount for your legal assistance	have it paid directly to your representative and state whether the amount includes or excludes VAT
Legal expenses insurance	your policy covers employment disputes	check the waiting period and whether the dispute was already running when you took out the policy; also ask how your policy deals with choosing your own lawyer
Trade union	members often get assistance	the turnaround can be longer than your cooling-off period
State-funded legal aid	an assignment through the Legal Aid Board, with a personal contribution	income and capital limits apply; the current amounts and contributions are published by the Legal Aid Board
A fixed fee for a review	a defined amount for reading, advising and amending	ask in advance what is and is not included
Hourly rate	for negotiation or litigation	ask for an estimate up front and for interim updates

What it yields is almost always more than what it costs. Not because a lawyer negotiates harder, but because the difference lies in details that do not stand out: an end date that moves by a month, a clause that lapses, a sentence about the reason that comes out. Those are the items where the money is.

Ask for the budget explicitly. "Will you cover the cost of a legal review?" is a customary question with a termination proposal and is rarely regarded as unreasonable.

What does the timeline look like, from proposal to signature?

Reckon on roughly one to three weeks between the first proposal and a signed agreement, plus in principle two weeks’ cooling-off period after that. That pace is normal and employers know it. A 24- or 48-hour deadline is a negotiating instrument, not a legal reality.

Stage	What happens	Guide
Day 0	you receive the proposal, orally or in writing	say you will come back to it, nothing more
Day 0–1	you ask for everything in writing and for a reasonable period to respond	ask straight away about a budget for legal costs
Day 1–3	legal review: WW wording, end date, clauses, discharge, illness	this is where the gains are identified
Day 3–7	counter-proposal, in writing and with reasons	negotiate the package, not just the amount
Day 7–14	one or two rounds back and forth	most cases land here
Signature	only once everything is in the text	oral undertakings do not count later
After that	in principle two weeks’ cooling-off period	use it to check, not to have second thoughts
Around the end date	apply for WW, check the final settlement	do not wait until everything has been paid out

Is it taking longer? That is usually no problem: for as long as there is no agreement, your employment continues and your pay keeps coming. The time pressure is more often on the employer than on you.

Your situation in particular

Situation	What it turns on	Read on
Pension	your accrual stops on the end date; check current arrangements and survivors’ cover	settlement agreement and pension
Comparing the UWV route	what the preventive review can gain you compared with an arrangement	dismissal via UWV versus a settlement agreement
Statutory director	no preventive dismissal review, different rules on the cooling-off period and on removal under company law	settlement agreement for a managing or statutory director
Expat or international contract	applicable law, competent court and the consequences for your residence permit	settlement agreement for expats
Reorganisation	compare with the social plan and with what colleagues are getting	settlement agreement in a reorganisation
Subdistrict court	when litigating yields more than settling	settlement agreement or proceedings before the subdistrict court
Underperformance	watch closely what is recorded about your performance	settlement agreement and underperformance
Refusing	what happens if you do not sign	refusing a settlement agreement: what are the consequences?
Non-competition clause	whether you may go to work for a competitor after leaving	settlement agreement and the non-competition clause: how do you handle it?
Settling pragmatically	when an arrangement without full proceedings is the wiser course	a pragmatic settlement or a settlement agreement?

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About this advice

Arslan Advocaten runs employment law cases from offices in The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Tilburg and Eindhoven. We review your settlement agreement free of charge: you send us the proposal, and we tell you what is good and not good about it, what it means for your benefit and what there is still to gain. Besides Dutch we speak Turkish and Polish.

Call 070 450 0300 or send us your question via the contact form. We will tell you where you stand and what the next step is.

This page provides general information and is not legal advice about your own case.