Temporary contract not renewed: what are your rights in the Netherlands?

Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the legal practice areas register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 1 September 2026.

If your fixed-term contract is not renewed, two separate payments can apply and they are often confused: the notification payment (aanzegvergoeding) and the transition payment. Each has its own trigger, calculation and deadline. Watch the starting point: for the notification payment the clock does not start on the end date, but on the day your employer should have given notice — one month before the contract ends.

Can my employer simply refuse to renew my temporary contract?

In principle yes. A fixed-term contract ends by operation of law when the agreed time has passed, and your employer does not have to give a reason, apply for a dismissal permit or go to court. For most people that is the most sobering sentence on this page.

A fixed-term contract is an arbeidsovereenkomst voor bepaalde tijd, and it ends van rechtswege — "by operation of law", meaning automatically on the end date (article 7:667 paragraph 1 of the Dutch Civil Code, the Burgerlijk Wetboek or BW). There is no duty to renew and no right to an explanation. Your employer may decline because there is less work, because he is not satisfied, because he prefers someone else, or for no reason at all.

But "no reason needed" is not the same as "anything goes." The first limit is the reason itself:

Limit	What is at stake
Not renewing because of pregnancy, childbirth or motherhood	prohibited distinction on grounds of sex (article 7:646 BW)
Not renewing because of religion, race, sexual orientation, disability, age or working hours	prohibited distinction under equal treatment legislation
Not renewing because you invoked a statutory right (leave, unpaid wages, safe working conditions)	may conflict with good employment practice (article 7:611 BW)
You already had four contracts, or the chain exceeded 36 months	there is no temporary contract left to expire — see the chain rule

The second limit has nothing to do with the reason: even where the employer is entirely free not to renew, he still owes you written notice one month in advance and, as a rule, a transition payment. Both apply regardless of whether the non-renewal itself was allowed, and both are what people most often leave unclaimed. If the non-renewal results from seriously culpable conduct (ernstig verwijtbaar handelen), the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) can award a fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) on top of the transition payment (article 7:673 paragraph 9 BW). The threshold is high, but not out of reach.

How many temporary contracts can I get before it becomes permanent?

In principle your employer may give you a maximum of three fixed-term contracts within a period of 36 months; on the fourth contract, or as soon as the chain runs longer than 36 months, a permanent contract arises automatically. This is the ketenregeling, the chain rule, and it is what almost every question about temporary contracts comes down to.

It is set out in article 7:668a paragraph 1 BW and works with two limits side by side. If either is exceeded, the last contract is a permanent one:

Limit	What the statute says	When you are permanent
Number	more than three fixed-term contracts following one another with breaks of no more than six months	from the fourth contract onwards
Duration	contracts following one another with breaks of no more than six months that together — including those breaks — exceed 36 months	from the day the 36 months are passed

The breaks count towards the 36 months. The statute calculates the period "including those breaks" (deze tussenpozen inbegrepen). The 36 months are not months actually worked: they run from the start of the first contract to the end of the last, gaps included. Employers who stitch contracts together with short pauses reach the limit faster than they think. And no notice or dismissal permit is needed to stop the chain — which is exactly why employers so often decline the third extension: the fourth would be permanent.

For illustration. An employee at a distribution centre first receives an eight-month contract, then a one-year contract. There are four months in between during which he does other work, and then another one-year contract follows. He assumes he is nowhere near a permanent contract until he has two years of actual work behind him. But the four-month break counts towards the 36 months, because it is shorter than six months. The question is not how many months he worked, but how many months lie between the start of the first contract and the end of the last — pauses included. This is an illustrative situation explaining the rule, not a case of our firm.

Source: articles 7:668a and 7:667 of the Dutch Civil Code, text in force on wetten.overheid.nl.

When exactly does my temporary contract become a permanent one?

As soon as the fourth consecutive fixed-term contract starts, or as soon as the chain passes 36 months, the current contract counts by operation of law as having been entered into for an indefinite period — without you or your employer having to do or sign anything.

It happens by itself, even if the document is headed "for a definite period" and even if your employer insists you are temporary. What the heading says is not decisive. The arithmetic is decisive. Once you are permanent, your employer can no longer let the contract expire: ending it requires permission from the UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency), dissolution by the subdistrict court, or mutual consent in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). There must be a reasonable ground for dismissal and redeployment must not be possible (article 7:669 BW), and a notice period applies, calculated from the conclusion of the first contract in the chain (article 7:668a paragraph 4 BW) — so across your whole history.

For illustration. An administrative employee signs a fourth contract, again headed "for a definite period" and again with an end date. There was never more than a few weeks between the contracts. As the end date approaches she is told the employment ends automatically, and she assumes this is right because that is what the document says. But on a fourth consecutive contract the agreement counts by operation of law as entered into for an indefinite period. The question is not what the contract is called, but how the chain counts. This is an illustrative situation explaining the rule, not a case of our firm.

Being told that your "fourth temporary contract" is expiring is therefore not an ending by operation of law but, as a rule, an invalid termination of permanent employment. Raise it in time and you are in a strong position; discover it months later and you run into the forfeiture periods described below.

When does the count start again, and does my agency time count?

The count only restarts after an interruption of more than six months; if the gap is six months or shorter, everything continues to count — including time at an agency or a previous company where your new employer is reasonably its successor.

Situation	Effect on the chain
Interruption of six months or shorter	the count continues; the gap also counts towards the 36 months
Interruption of more than six months	the counter resets; the next contract is "the first" again
You return to a different employer who is reasonably the successor of the previous one	the chain continues — successive employership, article 7:668a paragraph 2 BW
Seasonal work in a role designated in a collective agreement	the break can be shortened by collective agreement to at most three months (paragraph 13)

Successive employership (opvolgend werkgeverschap) is where most of the argument is. If you worked at a company through an agency and it then employs you directly, or your work is taken over by another business, the earlier contracts in principle simply count. Article 7:668a paragraph 2 BW deliberately does not require that the new employer had insight into your qualities: what matters is whether the employers must reasonably be regarded as each other's successors in respect of the work performed. A relaunch of the same business under a new name, or the step from agency to hirer, as a rule does not break the chain.

The Amsterdam District Court applied this to a museum worker who first gave guided tours through a payroll company and was then taken into direct employment for the same work, counting the earlier period (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2024:323). The Amsterdam Court of Appeal noted that the statutory text contains no limit in duration or number of successive contracts here — but the same ruling shows the counterweight: article 7:668a paragraph 6 BW allows a collective agreement (cao) to deviate to the employee's detriment, and in that case one did (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2022:1069).

The statute has exceptions too. A collective agreement can extend the limits to at most 48 months and six contracts, but only where the intrinsic nature of the business requires it for the roles concerned (paragraph 5). Employees at Dutch state pension age get 48 months and six contracts by law, counting only contracts entered into after that age (paragraph 12). The rule does not apply at all to employees under eighteen working on average no more than twelve hours a week (paragraph 11), or to Dutch vocational training (bbl) contracts (paragraph 10).

If an agency, payroll company or takeover features in your history, put the entire history on the table, including the applicable collective agreement.

Is it true that the chain rule changes on 1 January 2028?

A change to the law has been enacted that replaces the six-month interruption period with 36 months. That change does not apply yet: it takes effect on 1 January 2028. Until that date the six-month break applies in full. We say this explicitly, because a great deal of information now circulating presents the new period as if it were already in force. It is not.

The change comes from the Dutch Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers (Act on more security for flexible workers). The consolidated future text of article 7:668a BW on wetten.overheid.nl carries the note "future amendment(s) foreseen with effect from 01-01-2028" and shows the new wording:

Topic	Now (until 1 January 2028)	From 1 January 2028
Number of contracts	more than three is permanent	unchanged
Maximum duration of the chain	36 months	unchanged
Break after which the count restarts	more than 6 months	more than 36 months
Wider arrangement by collective agreement (48 months / six contracts)	possible where the intrinsic nature of the business requires it	abolished
Pupils and students working on average no more than sixteen hours a week	—	for them the break stays at six months
Seasonal roles and employees at state pension age	as described above	unchanged

The practical effect is large. The construction in which an employee is "away for a while" for seven months and then starts a fresh chain disappears: anyone returning to the same employer within three years will simply continue counting where they left off. If your chain runs into 2028, have it calculated how your contracts work out under both regimes — and do not let anyone tell you the new period already applies. For a contract ending in 2026 or 2027, the six-month period is decisive.

Source: future text of article 7:668a BW as published on wetten.overheid.nl, in force from 1 January 2028.

How far in advance must my employer tell me whether the contract continues?

Your employer must inform you in writing, no later than one month before the end date, whether the contract will be continued and, if so, on what terms. This duty applies to every fixed-term contract of six months or longer with a fixed calendar end date. That is article 7:668 paragraph 1 BW, the aanzegplicht or notification duty. So the answer to "how many months in advance should I hear?" is one, not two or three.

There are two exceptions (paragraph 2): the contract does not end on a calendar date (for example "until the project is completed"), or it was entered into for a period shorter than six months — so at exactly six months the duty does apply.

It is an information obligation, not dismissal protection: your employer must give you clarity in time, but a forgotten notification does not save the contract. What you get is money — see the next section. Written means written: an email or WhatsApp message will as a rule suffice, a spoken remark in the corridor will not. And the notification must also be given when the employer does renew, stating the terms on which he wants to continue.

For illustration. A warehouse worker with a one-year contract asks in the canteen, three weeks before the end date, whether he can stay on. His team leader says: "it'll be fine, we're extending you." Nothing is put in writing. Two weeks later he hears it is not going ahead. He assumes an oral promise is worth nothing and lets it go. Legally, two separate questions arise: whether the employer gave timely and written notification, because that had to happen at least a month before the end date, and whether a promise was made on which he was entitled to rely. The first stands entirely apart from whether the non-renewal itself was allowed. This is an illustrative situation explaining the rule, not a case of our firm.

Courts hold firmly to the statutory text. The Midden-Nederland District Court put it this way: the requirement of a written document contributes to the high degree of clarity the legislator intended, and "a communication made only orally therefore does not qualify as a notification in accordance with the law" — certainly not where the parties disagree about what was said (ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2020:2224). Employers who think "but it says so in the contract" have in many cases not given notification at all: a sentence stating that the contract ends on a certain date does not as a rule create the clarity the duty exists for, particularly where the same contract leaves extension open.

My employer said nothing — what am I entitled to?

If your employer omitted the notification entirely, he owes you compensation equal to one month's salary; if he gave it late, he owes compensation pro rata for the days he was late. That is the sanction in article 7:668 paragraph 3 BW, and it is a right thousands of employees leave unclaimed every year. No notification at all means one gross monthly salary; two weeks late, roughly half a month; one day late, one day's pay.

What counts as "salary" here is set out in a separate government decree on the wage concept for the notification compensation and the transition payment. Broadly it is the gross hourly wage times the agreed working hours; fixed allowances in principle count, incidental payments do not. Part-timers, students and people with a side job are covered too, proportionately to their pay.

Here is the trap, and it is a hard one. The power to claim this from the subdistrict court lapses three months after the day the notification duty arose — that is, three months from one month before your end date (article 7:686a paragraph 4 under e BW). This is a vervaltermijn, a forfeiture period, not a limitation period: it cannot be interrupted or extended, and if you are late the right is gone however undisputed the claim. In practice you have roughly two months after your contract ends to act.

This compensation is moreover separate from the transition payment. You can have both. Employers regularly present it as a choice. It is not.

What happens if I simply keep working after the end date?

If you carry on working after the end date without anything having been agreed, the contract is deemed to have been continued on the old terms for the same period as before, up to a maximum of one year. You are not working "without a contract": the law fills the gap itself (article 7:668 paragraph 4 BW). A six-month contract is continued for six months, a one-year contract for a year, and a two-year contract for one year — the statutory maximum.

"On the former terms" means the same salary, job and hours: your employer cannot impose worse terms retroactively because he forgot to renew. Two routes lead here — he failed to comply with the notification duty and you carried on working (paragraph 4 under a), or the contract had no calendar end date and the work continued without objection (paragraph 4 under b).

The consequence almost nobody factors in: this tacit extension is a full new fixed-term contract and therefore counts in the chain rule. An employer who "accidentally" lets things run on after the third contract may have unintentionally created permanent employment. It is one of the strongest positions an employee can end up in.

Can a temporary contract be ended early?

Only if the contract contains an interim notice clause — and that clause must be agreed in writing and apply to both parties. If it is not there, neither you nor your employer can as a rule give notice before the end date. That is article 7:667 paragraph 3 BW, and it cuts both ways.

Look for a sentence like "this agreement may be terminated early by either party subject to the statutory notice period". If it is there, you can give notice with the applicable period — for the employee in principle one month, unless agreed otherwise in writing. If it is not, your routes are mutual consent, dissolution by the subdistrict court, summary dismissal given by you (only for an urgent cause such as structurally unpaid wages, and very risky), or sitting it out.

Why not simply walk away. Giving notice when you are not entitled to makes you liable for damages: your employer can claim the salary over the remaining term, or over the notice period that would have applied. And resigning as a rule costs you your unemployment benefit, because you are then culpably unemployed. Without another job lined up, that is almost always decisive.

For your employer the same clause is the obstacle — a temporary contract is in fact less flexible for him than most people assume:

Route for the employer	Conditions
Notice during a probation period	only within a valid probation period, without notice period
Interim notice	only with an interim notice clause, and then still with UWV permission
Mutual consent	written settlement agreement, cooling-off period of fourteen days
Letting the contract expire	the usual route: no reason, no permit, no court

If you are handed a settlement agreement, do not sign on the spot. Under article 7:670b paragraph 2 BW you may dissolve it within fourteen days without giving reasons — three weeks if your employer failed to mention that right in the agreement. With a temporary contract there is an extra risk: signing for an end date earlier than the original one can affect your unemployment benefit.

How long can the probation period be in a temporary contract?

In a contract of six months or shorter there may be no probation period at all; in a contract longer than six months but shorter than two years it may last at most one month; and at two years or longer, at most two months. This is article 7:652 BW, and any clause conflicting with it is null and void (nietig) under paragraph 8 — not merely voidable, but legally non-existent.

Duration of the contract	Maximum probation period
Six months or shorter	no probation period permitted
Longer than six months, shorter than two years	one month
Two years or longer, or an indefinite period	two months
End not set on a calendar date	one month

The probation period must be agreed in writing and be the same for both parties (paragraphs 1 and 2). On a follow-up contract with the same employer no new probation period can in principle be agreed, unless that contract clearly demands different skills or responsibilities (paragraph 6 under b) — and the same applies with a successive employer (paragraph 6 under c).

Watch out for the "six months and one day" trick. Because a contract of exactly six months may contain no probation period, contracts of "six months and one day" are regularly offered purely to make one possible. That can work, but it stands or falls on what was actually agreed. The Rotterdam District Court held a probation clause void where the six-months-plus-one-day duration the employer relied on did not appear from the contract submitted (ECLI:NL:RBROT:2020:10325); the 's-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal accepted such a term where both parties had deliberately chosen it and it was recorded literally in the contract (ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2021:54). Read all the provisions about duration, not just the probation clause.

Why this matters. If the probation period is void — a one-month probation period in a six-month contract, or a second probation period on an extension — a dismissal "during probation" is not a valid dismissal: the contract in principle continues and salary is owed over the remaining term. To rely on that and challenge the dismissal, a forfeiture period of in principle two months after the end of the contract applies (article 7:686a paragraph 4 under a BW).

What happens if I am ill when my temporary contract expires?

Illness does not keep a temporary contract alive: it ends on the end date. From that moment the UWV takes over with a sickness benefit under the Dutch Sickness Benefits Act (Ziektewet), as a rule 70% of your daily wage, for at most two years from your first day of illness. The prohibition on giving notice during illness (article 7:670 paragraph 1 BW) does not help you, for the same reason as with pregnancy: ending by operation of law is not giving notice.

Up to the end date your employer continues to pay your salary during illness — by law at least 70%, for a maximum of 104 weeks, with the statutory minimum wage as a floor in the first year (article 7:629 paragraph 1 BW); your collective agreement may prescribe more. If you have been ill more than six weeks on the end date, your employer must draw up a reintegration report (re-integratieverslag) with you, which you need for your benefit application. He must also report you as leaving employment while sick (ziek uit dienst) to the UWV, at the latest on your last working day. From the end date the UWV pays the benefit and takes over absence guidance and reintegration.

Two things not to miss. The after-effect (nawerking): if you fall ill within four weeks of the end of your employment, there may still be an entitlement. And being ill does not release your employer from the notification duty or the transition payment.

Source: article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code; UWV, on leaving employment while sick.

Can my contract be left unrenewed because I am pregnant?

No. Not renewing because you are pregnant is prohibited distinction on grounds of sex — but the prohibition on termination during pregnancy does not protect you here, because a temporary contract ends by operation of law and there is therefore no termination. That distinction is essential, and it is where most information online goes wrong.

Rule	Does it work on an expiring temporary contract?
Prohibition on giving notice during pregnancy and maternity leave (article 7:670 paragraph 2 BW)	no — it prohibits giving notice, and ending by operation of law is not giving notice
Prohibition on distinction on grounds of sex (article 7:646 BW)	yes — distinction on grounds of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood counts as direct distinction
Nullity of a clause ending the contract because of pregnancy (article 7:667 paragraph 8 BW)	yes — such a clause is null and void
Prohibition on distinction when entering into a contract	yes — and an extension is the entering into of a new agreement

Your employer may decline to renew for a neutral reason, but not because you are pregnant. The difference lies in the motive. Article 7:646 paragraph 1 BW does not mention "not renewing" in so many words, but courts bring it under the article without hesitation: "The present case, in which the employment contract is not being renewed, must be brought under that heading" (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2020:5137). Where prohibited distinction is established the sanction is heavy: the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal held that seriously culpable conduct within the meaning of article 7:673 paragraph 9 BW "is without more present" where prohibited distinction between men and women is made, opening the way to a fair compensation (ECLI:NL:GHARL:2024:7584).

Proving the motive. A lighter burden applies: under article 7:646 paragraph 12 BW you only have to put forward facts that can give rise to a presumption of distinction, after which the employer must prove he did not breach the prohibition. But do not count on that too quickly. The case law is strict: the mere coincidence of "I reported my pregnancy" and "my contract is not renewed" is as a rule insufficient — in a 2026 case the Midden-Nederland District Court held the non-renewal did not amount to prohibited distinction and rejected the requests (ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2026:3041). The additional facts are what matter: a promised extension that disappears shortly after you reported the pregnancy; positive performance reviews; statements by managers about your availability or leave; colleagues in the same position who were renewed; whether the role was filled by someone else after you left.

Record it the moment it happens — the date, the exact wording, and a confirming email ("further to our conversation this morning, in which you said that…"). That is often the only hard evidence later. In the Arnhem-Leeuwarden case above the manager explained the reason by WhatsApp, stating that the employee was often absent and that "when you have given birth you also have to be there for your child". That is exactly the kind of additional fact that carries a case. You can also ask for a free, non-binding opinion from the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens).

If your contract ends during maternity leave, it still ends on the end date, but your pregnancy and maternity benefit in principle continues: the UWV pays it directly to you until your leave finishes. Arrange your bank details with the UWV as soon as you know — the payment transfers from your employer to you, and that is where delays arise. After the leave you in principle fall back on unemployment benefit, if you meet the conditions.

Am I entitled to a transition payment if my contract is not renewed?

In principle yes. Even where a temporary contract simply expires and the employer does not continue it, an entitlement to a transition payment (transitievergoeding) arises — from the first working day, regardless of how long you were employed. That the contract ends "by itself" makes no difference: what matters is that continuation fails to happen at the employer's initiative (article 7:673 paragraph 1 under a, sub 3° BW).

The payment is one third of a month's salary per year worked, with a proportionate part for a shorter period (article 7:673 paragraph 2 BW). A statutory maximum of € 102,000.00 applies, or a year's salary if that is higher; the amount is adjusted annually on 1 January. Note what this means for the figure still found on many English-language pages: there is no minimum period of service. The two-year requirement was abolished in 2020, so students, part-timers and people with a side job are entitled from day one, in proportion to what they earned.

Three points matter specifically for temporary contracts:

1. Earlier contracts count. Contracts following one another with breaks of no more than six months are added together for the calculation of the duration (article 7:673 paragraph 4 under b BW), and the successive-employership rule applies here too. Three one-year contracts build up over three years, not one.
2. There is an exception that is frequently invoked. If, before the end of your contract, a follow-up contract has already been entered into that can be terminated early and starts after a break of no more than six months, no transition payment is due at that moment.
3. The forfeiture period is three months from the day the contract ended (article 7:686a paragraph 4 under b BW).

Source: articles 7:673 and 7:686a of the Dutch Civil Code, wetten.overheid.nl.

What is different for agency work and payrolling?

For agency work the chain rule only starts to apply once you have performed work in more than 26 weeks, and during that opening period an agency clause can end your contract the moment the assignment stops. For payrolling that regime expressly does not apply: payroll employees fall under the ordinary chain rule from day one. That difference follows from articles 7:691 and 7:692a BW.

For agency work (uitzendwerk, article 7:691 BW):

Topic	What the statute provides
Chain rule	article 7:668a BW only applies once you have performed work in more than 26 weeks (paragraph 1)
Agency clause (uitzendbeding)	may be agreed in writing; the contract then ends by operation of law as soon as the hirer stops the assignment (paragraph 2)
Lapse of the agency clause	it loses its force once you have performed work in more than 26 weeks (paragraph 3)
Adding periods together	periods following one another with breaks of no more than six months count together (paragraph 4)

In practice the collective agreement for agency workers (CAO voor Uitzendkrachten) fills this in with the familiar phases A, B and C — phase A, in which the agency clause can be used, counts in weeks worked, not calendar weeks, so it can last longer than a year. The phase lengths are set in the collective agreement that applies to you, not in the statute.

Payrolling is different, and in your favour. A payroll contract (payrollovereenkomst, article 7:692 BW) is an agency contract in which the client relationship did not come about through bringing supply and demand together on the labour market, and where the employer may only place you elsewhere with the client's consent — the classic case where the company recruited you itself and only put you on a payroll company's books administratively. Article 7:692a paragraph 1 BW provides that article 7:691 does not apply to it: no 26-week deferral and no agency clause. The ordinary chain rule of article 7:668a BW applies to you from your first day.

One point deserves particular attention: if the hirer takes you into direct employment, that hirer is as a rule a successive employer and your agency period simply counts (article 7:668a paragraph 2 BW). The company does not start with a clean slate — the museum ruling cited earlier (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2024:323) is exactly this situation.

The full explanation of phases, notice periods, the agency clause and illness during agency work is on our page about agency workers.

Source: articles 7:690, 7:691, 7:692 and 7:692a of the Dutch Civil Code, wetten.overheid.nl.

I think a permanent contract has already arisen — what do I do?

Do not let the end date pass in silence. Establish the position in writing before the contract "expires", make clear that you remain available for work, and keep working if you are allowed to. If a permanent contract has arisen under the chain rule there is nothing to expire — and the employer who acts as if there is, is terminating permanent employment without permission.

1. Do the arithmetic and write it down. List every contract: start date, end date, and the gap to the next. Count the contracts and the total span from the start of the first to the end of the last, gaps included. Add any agency or payroll period at the same workplace, and collect the contracts, extension emails and payslips.
2. Notify your employer in writing, before the end date if possible. State plainly that in your view the last contract counts by operation of law as entered into for an indefinite period under article 7:668a BW, that you do not accept an ending by operation of law, and that you remain available to perform your work. Keep it short and factual.
3. Keep offering to work. If you are refused entry, confirm in writing that you presented yourself and were refused; a claim for continued payment of salary depends on it.
4. Claim salary, not only compensation. If the contract is in fact permanent, your primary claim is that the employment continues and salary is owed — a different and usually far stronger claim.
5. Watch the clock. Where an employer terminates without the required permission, the request to the court must in principle be brought within two months of the end of the contract (article 7:686a paragraph 4 under a BW). That period is where most otherwise strong cases are lost.

What are the deadlines, and what should I do first?

Most rights around a temporary contract are lost not because the case was weak, but because a forfeiture period of two or three months went by unnoticed.

Claim	Deadline
Notification compensation	three months from the day the notification duty arose (one month before the end date)
Transition payment	three months from the day the employment contract ended
Challenging a probation dismissal or an irregular termination	in principle two months from the end of the employment contract

These are forfeiture periods. They cannot be interrupted or extended, and the court cannot work around them. Straight away: write down the end date, work out whether the notification was on time and in writing, count your contracts and the total length of the chain (gaps included), check whether an earlier employer could count as a successive employer, and ask in writing for the reason if you suspect pregnancy, illness or a complaint played a part. Then claim the notification compensation and the transition payment in writing, and do not sign a settlement agreement without having someone look at it.

Have your position assessed first if you are unsure whether you are still in time — before anything else.

Putting your situation to us

Is your contract ending soon, have you just heard that it will not be renewed, or are you unsure whether you already have a permanent contract? Put it to us before the deadlines expire — you can have your contract and your situation assessed by us free of charge, and in many cases a ten-minute calculation is enough to see whether there is anything to claim. Our full Dutch-language explanation of the chain rule and extensions is on our page about the temporary contract.

Call 070 450 0300 or send your question via arslan.nl/contact. We have offices in The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Tilburg and Eindhoven, and our firm also speaks Turkish and Polish.

Bring to a first meeting: all your employment contracts with their start and end dates, any notification letter or email, your last payslip and — if there is one — the settlement agreement you have been given. With those documents it is usually clear within a short conversation where you stand.

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