Unfair Dismissal in the Netherlands: What Expats Should Know

Getting fired is stressful. But in the Netherlands, you can’t usually just be shown the door. Firing someone in the Netherlands is a formal affair involving a pile of rules, paperwork, and sometimes a judge. So, for your benefit, let’s go through what’s meant by an “unfair dismissal,” when an employer in the Netherlands can bring things to a close, and what you can do about it.

How Dutch Employment Law Works In Dismissals

If an employer wants to end a permanent contract, they must seek permission. Essentially, it comes from one of two places:

• The UWV (The Employee Insurance Agency), which ensures that unemployed or unable-to-work individuals receive benefits, handles dismissals for business reasons or long-term illness (2+ years).
• The kantonrechter (subdistrict court) handles dismissals based on employee-specific reasons, such as performance or misconduct.

Dismissal during probation or an instant dismissal (in urgent cases where dismissal takes place right away with no delay) follow separate rules.

Read Also: Settlement Agreement in the Netherlands: What is it and How Can Expats Get Help?

What’s An Unfair Dismissal In The Netherlands?

“Unfair dismissal” is not a neatly defined term. It covers various circumstances. It could be:

• Your employer didn’t have a legally valid reason to let you go.
• They terminated you without the required permission from the UWV or court.
• They didn’t follow the proper steps; for instance, they didn’t properly document performance problems or give you a chance to improve (e.g., a performance improvement plan (PIP) or similar).
• Firing you because you’re pregnant, ill, or part of a works council.

Valid vs. Invalid

Dutch employment law lists specific grounds employers may rely on. If your situation doesn’t fit one, then the dismissal may not hold.

These grounds are valid:

• Economic reasons, like business decline, restructuring, or simply a role being canceled (which goes through the UWV).
• A long-term illness, where you are unable to work for at least two years (also handled via the UWV).
• Poor performance, but only if they explained it clearly, gave you a real chance to improve, and documented it properly.
• Culpable behavior, meaning serious misconduct from your side.
• A working relationship has been seriously damaged, where cooperation has completely broken down.
• Frequent sickness that brings consequences the company can’t accept.
• Refusal to work because of conscientious objection, and where reassignment is not possible.

There is also something called the combination ground (the “i-ground”). This allows a court to dismiss you when a few incomplete grounds add up to a reasonable case against you. If used, you may be given extra compensation on top of any severance pay (see the section below).

These grounds aren’t valid:

• Being pregnant or away on maternity leave.
• Being ill (in the first two years of sickness, you are broadly protected).
• Joining a union or working alongside the works council.
• Turning down Sunday work (where this applies).
• Discrimination.

“Poor performance” is the one most employers use, yet the one that cracks the easiest. If they never warned you, supported you or helped reassign you, a dismissal based on “performance” is on shaky ground.

What Role Do The UWV & Kantonrechter Play?

The UWV is an administrative agency. Not a court. An employer goes to the UWV to get permission to let you go. This is in cases of economic circumstances or long-term illness. Your employer makes its case in writing. You can then respond in the same. If the UWV decides yes, your employer can give notice and terminate.

The kantonrechter deals with personal matters: broken relationships, poor performance, etc. In these circumstances, the employer requests dissolution of the employment contract. A judge weighs in to decide if the ground(s) provided are valid, and if the process was fair. The judge can refuse the dissolution request, approve it, or approve and award you more money (where your employer acted more culpably or where the i-ground applies).

Disagree with the UWV decision? That’s fine. You can take it to the kantonrechter to review the employer’s termination. Decisions after that can be appealed.

How Do I Contest An Unfair Dismissal From Work?

Plenty of options, but it rests on how you were let go…

• Dismissed after UWV approval — Request the kantonrechter reverse the employer’s decision or award more compensation to you, arguing your dismissal from work wasn’t justified.
• Dismissed after kantonrechter decision — Appeal to the Court of Appeal within three months.
• Dismissed instantly — Challenge in court; ask within two months for compensation or reinstatement.

There is a 14-day cooling-off period after signing a settlement agreement, whereby you can withdraw. You don’t need to give reasons.

The Transition Payment (Transitievergoeding)

Employees whose employer ends their contract are almost always due a transition payment, whether they have a permanent or temporary contract.

This is how the transition period payment is worked out:

• For every full year you worked, take one third of your monthly salary, and use that as the basis.
• If you work only a partial year, or have remaining months, it is pro-rated, meaning the amount is scaled down or up accordingly.
• Your “monthly salary” usually also covers holiday allowance and some structural add-ons, so it is not simply your base pay.

A few things to know:

• The transition payment is capped at a maximum amount that gets adjusted each year. Currently, it’s €102,000 gross, or one gross annual salary, whichever is higher.
• You lose your right to it if you were dismissed because of culpable conduct on your side.
• If you resign, you generally don’t get it unless the employer’s serious misconduct really pushed you out.

Deadlines Not To Be Missed

Dutch dismissal law is rather unforgiving here. A strong case goes out the window if you miss the Dutch dismissal deadline.

• Settlement agreement “cooling off”: you usually get 14 days to withdraw your signature after signing (or about three weeks if the agreement didn’t clearly mention the withdrawal right).
• Challenging a dismissal in kantonrechter: as a rule, you have two months (this also covers instant dismissal), but it depends on the remedy sought and type of termination. For example, the employment-end date after a UWV dismissal, or the dismissal date in an instant-dismissal case.
• Claiming the transition payment: you can generally wait up to three months after the contract ends to make the claim.

Two months sounds like a while. It’s not. Between the first shock, the paperwork, and finding a lawyer who can move fast, it goes quickly. Act fast.

What to Do If You Think You Have Been Unfairly Dismissed

Ok, here’s the practical playbook if it actually happens to you:

1. Don’t sign anything on the spot. Sometimes employers hand you a settlement agreement and sort of imply you need to sign right now. Don’t. Take it home. Read it. Get advice. Signing can waive rights you didn’t know you had.
2. Keep everything in writing. Save emails, warnings, and anything about your dismissal from work. If the conversation was verbal, follow up with an email summarizing what was said and when.
3. Check your contract. Look at your notice, contract type, and how long you’ve worked there. These factors affect your rights and the money you receive during transition. Notice periods are: less than 5 years is 1 month, 5–10 years is 2 months, 10–15 years is 3 months, and more than 15 years is 4 months’ notice.
4. Watch the clock. Note the date your employment ends, and count your deadlines from that moment. Then put them in your calendar.
5. Don’t resign or stop attending. Walking out can cost both severance and your unemployment benefits. If things are unbearable, get advice before you act. Here’s something to remember: the burden of proof is on an employer to show dismissal has valid grounds.

A Word About Contracts and Benefits

A couple of things are worth flagging, because they change the picture.

First, if you’re on a temporary contract that ends on its agreed date, that’s not really a dismissal, and the rules are different—even if you still might be owed some kind of transition payment. Second, if you’re still in your probation period, your employer can stop things with far fewer hurdles, so your protections are more limited.

If you lose your job because of no serious fault on your side, you may qualify for unemployment benefits (WW) through the UWV. How you leave matters a lot here, and that’s exactly why resigning, or signing the “wrong” agreement, can backfire. Protect your benefits by handling your exit correctly.

Read Also: Help, I am Being Fired! Five Helpful Tips in Case of (Imminent) Dismissal

Final Thoughts

For dismissal, there must be a genuine reason, a proper process, and, in most cases, an official sign-off. Timelines are tight, paperwork matters, and you should understand your rights. So don’t rush decisions, get legal advice, and keep as much documentation as you can.

Losing a job is rough. Losing it, plus the compensation you’re actually owed, because a two-month deadline slipped by, is even worse. Know the rules, move fast, and you’ll usually end up in a much better spot than most people who walk into it without looking.