Involuntary termination

Redundancy means your employer needs to end your contract for business reasons. If you do not agree to your redundancy, your employer will have to seek our permission before ending your contract. They will also have to prove they have genuine business reasons for making you redundant and will need to follow specific rules and procedures during the redundancy process.

When does your employer have genuine business reasons for ending a contract?

• if the company is struggling financially
• if there is not enough work for you
• if your role has become unnecessary due to business restructuring or new technologies
• if the company is shutting down or closing a part of its operations
• if the company is relocating
• if your employer has stopped receiving financial support (‘loonkostensubsidie’) for you

What rules and procedures must your employer follow?

• They must apply the anti-age discrimination redundancy method (‘afspiegelingsbeginsel’) when selecting employees for redundancy. This ensures the selection process is fair and maintains the same age distribution within the company before and after the redundancies.
• They must do their best to find a suitable alternative role (‘herplaatsing’) for you, including providing any necessary training.
• They have a rehiring obligation (‘wederindiensttredingsvoorwaarde’) towards you. This means if a similar role becomes available in the company within 26 weeks of your redundancy, you must be offered this job first.

Your employer is not allowed to dismiss you for the first 2 years that you are unable to work due to an illness or occupational disability. This is because you are protected by a dismissal ban (‘opzegverbod’) during this time. Your employer will usually be able to end your employment after these 2 years have passed. However, if you do not agree to this, they will need to obtain our permission before proceeding further.

How we decide whether your employer will be allowed to end your contract

Your employer will only receive our permission to dismiss you if they can prove all of the following:

• You cannot work due to a long-term illness or occupational disability.
• You are not expected to recover enough within the next 26 weeks to be able to return to work.
• You are not expected to be able to return to work on modified duties (‘werk in aangepaste vorm’) within the next 26 weeks.
• Your employer has tried to find a suitable alternative role for you, but has not succeeded, even with the possibility of training.
• Your employer is no longer required to pay your salary as the dismissal ban has been lifted.

Your employer will also be required to send us a statement of fitness for work from an occupational health physician (‘verklaring bedrijfarts’). This statement should assess your potential to return to work. When evaluating this, we might seek further advice from an UWV physician or occupational disability employment counsellor (‘arbeidsdeskundige’). They will then provide their opinion on whether you will be able to return to work in the next 26 weeks, either in your current role (including on modified duties) or in an alternative role. Our decision will then largely be based on their recommendations.

If your employer needs our permission to end your contract, they will initiate this process by submitting a dismissal or redundancy request (‘ontslagaanvraag’). Once we have received this request, we will send you a copy along with a form that you will need to complete.

On the provided form, you will need to specify 1 of the following:

• if you agree with the proposed redundancy or dismissal 
• if you wish to challenge the proposed redundancy or dismissal

Make sure you return the completed form to us within 14 days. If you challenge the dismissal or redundancy, both you and your employer may be given the opportunity to present your positions to us in writing. We will only ask you to do this if we consider this necessary.

We will usually need at least 4 weeks to evaluate the dismissal or redundancy request and make a decision. This process may extend to 7 weeks if you challenge the redundancy, or it could take up to 8 weeks if we need to seek advice from an UWV physician or occupational disability employment counsellor.

If we approve your employer’s request to end your contract, they will be required to inform you of your dismissal or redundancy within 4 weeks. If we do not grant them permission, your employment contract will remain legally binding and you will continue to be employed by your current employer.

If you disagree with our decision because you do not feel the dismissal or redundancy is valid, you can ask a district judge to review the case in court. Your employer has this right as well if they believe our decision was incorrect and their request was valid. If either one of you decides to pursue this option, you must do so within 2 months of receiving our decision.

Your employer may want to end your contract for reasons that are not business-related or due to occupational disability. It is important to be aware that the only other situations in which your employer is allowed to dismiss you are the following:

• if they want to dismiss you for excessive absenteeism (‘frequent ziekteverzuim’)
• if they want to dismiss you for poor performance (‘disfunctioneren’)
• if they want to dismiss you for misconduct (‘verwijtbaar handelen of nalatigheid’)
• if they want to dismiss you due to a breakdown in trust and confidence (‘verstoorde arbeidsrelatie’)
• if they want to dismiss you for having a conscientious objection (‘ernstig gewetensbezwaar’) to performing certain work duties
• if they want to dismiss you for some other ‘substantial reason’ (for example, if you are sent to prison)

If your employer wants to dismiss you for any of these reasons and you disagree with their decision, they will be required to ask a district judge to make a ruling on your contract in court. To find out more about the actual dismissal procedure with a district judge, visit this page.

If you are summarily dismissed, your employer can end your employment immediately without any warning. They do not need permission from us or a district judge to do this. However, your employer is only allowed to do this if your behaviour is so unacceptable it seriously harms the company or its employees. Such behaviour is classed as gross misconduct and includes the following types of actions:

• theft or fraud
• violence or harassment
• discrimination or deeply offensive behaviour
• refusal to work (‘werkweigering’)

If your employer suspects you of gross misconduct but is not completely sure, they can investigate the situation. They are entitled to suspend you from work (‘op non-actief stellen’) during this time.

Keep in mind if you are summarily dismissed, you will probably not be entitled to an unemployment benefit, as this type of dismissal is considered your responsibility. We therefore recommend immediately seeking out legal advice to determine the best course of action. The Dutch Law Centre (‘juridisch loket’) offers free legal advice and has a very useful page on what to do if you are summarily dismissed (in Dutch).

Your employer will be able to dismiss you without needing permission from us or a district judge in the following situations:

• if you are in your probation period
• if you have a fixed-term contract (tijdelijke arbeidsovereenkomst) that has reached its end date and will not be renewed
• if you have reached the state pension age (‘AOW-leeftijd’)
• if you are being made redundant because your employer cannot pay you what they owe you
• if you belong to 1 of the groups for which permission is not required (for example, if you provide home help services and work less than 4 days a week)