Sınaq müddəti ilə işdən çıxarılma: Hollandiyada işçi kimi hüquqlarınız

If you are dismissed during your probation period (proeftijd) in the Netherlands, your employer may end the contract immediately, without a notice period, without UWV permission and without going to court (Article 7:676 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW). The main exceptions: the dismissal is unlawful if the probation clause is void or the reason is discriminatory, and you are still entitled to a transition payment and, on request, to the reasons in writing.

This article looks at the position of the employee. The employer side is explained in our article on sınaq müddəti ərzində işçinin işdən çıxarılması.

What may your employer do during the probation period?

During a valid probation period both employer and employee may end the contract with immediate effect under Article 7:676(1) BW. No reason, notice period, UWV permission or court order is needed.

The termination can be given on any day of the probation period, including the first and last day, and even before you have started work if the contract has already begun. It can be given orally, but ask for written confirmation of the date, because that date starts every deadline that follows.

The statutory prohibitions on dismissal, for example during illness, do not apply during probation. You can therefore be dismissed while you are ill. You may not be dismissed because you are ill, pregnant or disabled, because that is discrimination.

The probation period cannot be extended, not even with your consent or because of illness. If the employer lets the end date pass, the ordinary dismissal rules apply from the next day.

Is your probation clause valid?

Check this first: if the clause is void, there was no probation period and the dismissal had no lawful basis. Under Article 7:652 BW the clause must be agreed in writing, be equally long for both parties and stay within the statutory maximum; any clause that breaches the article is void.

Under Article 7:652(7) BW only a collective labour agreement (cao) or a government regulation may deviate from the one-month maximum to your disadvantage. Check the applicable cao before concluding that a two-month clause in a one-year contract is void. A clause that exceeds the maximum is void in its entirety; the court does not reduce it to the lawful length.

Does a second contract allow a new probation period?

No, as a rule. Article 7:652(6) BW excludes a probation period in a follow-up contract with the same employer, unless the new contract demands clearly different skills or responsibilities.

The same applies to a new employer who must reasonably be regarded as the successor of the previous one for the work you do. This catches, for example, moving from an agency or payroll assignment onto the payroll of the company where you already worked. Courts read the exception for clearly different skills strictly; a promotion within the same field will rarely be enough.

How do you get the reason for your dismissal?

Your employer does not have to give a reason, but must give one in writing if you ask for it (Article 7:676(2) BW). An email is enough to make the request.

The written reason is the most useful document you can obtain. It fixes the employer’s explanation before a dispute has been prepared, it shows whether the reason has anything to do with your suitability, and a refusal or evasive answer is itself a fact the court will weigh. Compare the reason with the timing: a dismissal within days of telling the employer about a pregnancy, a chronic illness, planned parental leave or a complaint calls for an explanation that holds up on its own.

Which reasons are not allowed?

Equal treatment law applies in full during probation. A dismissal because of sex (including pregnancy), race, nationality, religion, belief, political opinion, sexual orientation, civil status, disability or chronic illness, age, working hours or a fixed-term contract is unlawful.

Under Article 7:681(1)(c) BW the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) can annul a dismissal that breaches a prohibition of discrimination, or one given because the employee invoked such a prohibition. Once you put forward facts that suggest discrimination, the employer must prove that there was none. Beyond that, the duty to act as a good employer (Article 7:611 BW) still applies, for example when the employer never gave any feedback or dismisses you for facts it knew before hiring you.

What are you entitled to when the contract ends?

You are entitled to a transition payment (transitievergoeding) under Article 7:673 BW, because the employer terminated the contract. It accrues from the first day of employment: one third of a monthly salary per year of service, pro rata, so after a few weeks it is a small but real amount.

The transition payment is not due if you resign yourself or if the termination results from seriously culpable conduct on your part. You are also entitled to a final settlement: salary up to the last day, untaken holiday hours, and the pro rata holiday allowance.

On request, your employer must give you a reference (getuigschrift) under Article 7:656 BW, stating the nature of the work, working hours and the period of employment. An assessment of your performance is included only if you ask for it. A non-compete clause in a fixed-term contract is valid only with a written statement of compelling business interests (Article 7:653(2) BW), so check whether it binds you at all.

Can you claim unemployment benefit?

Usually yes, if your employer ended the contract and you meet the weeks condition. Under Article 17 of the Unemployment Insurance Act (WW) you must have worked in at least 26 of the 36 calendar weeks before your first day of unemployment; weeks with earlier employers count.

If you resign yourself during probation, the UWV will as a rule regard you as culpably unemployed and refuse benefit. Register with the UWV and apply as soon as the contract ends, and keep the written confirmation of the termination date, because the UWV will ask for it.

How do you challenge a dismissal during probation?

There is no appeal to the UWV. You file a petition with the subdistrict court, which under Article 7:681 BW can annul the dismissal, so that the contract continues with back pay, or award fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) instead.

The deadlines in Article 7:686a(4) BW are forfeiture periods: a request under Article 7:681 BW must be filed within two months after the day the employment ended, and a claim for the transition payment within three months. Negotiations, illness or waiting for written reasons do not extend them.

You can also file a complaint with the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens). Its opinion is not binding but carries weight in court. The complaint does not stop the two-month deadline.

İlk günlərdə nə etmək lazımdır?

Do not sign a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) on the spot, and do not resign. If you do sign a settlement agreement, Article 7:670b BW gives you fourteen days to dissolve it in writing without giving reasons (three weeks if the agreement does not mention this right).

Record the date and time of the dismissal, who was present and what was said, and what you told the employer in the days before about health, pregnancy, leave or a complaint. Keep the contract, the correspondence and any feedback, and take advice quickly, because the two months run from the end of the contract.

İşçi olaraq nəyi yoxlamalısınız?

• Is the probation clause in writing, equal for both parties and within the maximum for your type of contract?
• Is this a follow-up contract with the same employer or a successor, for similar work?
• Did you ask for the reason in writing, and does it relate to your suitability?
• Does the timing coincide with a pregnancy, illness, leave request or complaint?
• Have you received the transition payment, holiday pay and final settlement?
• When does the two-month deadline for a request to the subdistrict court end?

İşəgötürən olaraq nəyi yoxlamalısınız?

• Is the probation clause valid under Article 7:652 BW, including any cao provisions?
• Is the termination given before the end of the last day of the probation period, in a provable way?
• Can you give a written reason related to suitability if the employee asks?
• Is the reason free of any link to pregnancy, illness, disability or another protected ground?
• Have you calculated the transition payment and final settlement?

Sınaq müddəti ərzində işdən çıxarılma ilə bağlı sizə nə edə bilərik?

Bizim işdən çıxarma vəkilləri assist employees and employers; see also our guide on işdən çıxarılma qanuni olaraq necə həyata keçirilir.

• We check the validity of your probation clause against Article 7:652 BW and the applicable cao.
• We request the written reason for the dismissal on your behalf.
• We calculate your transition payment and check the final settlement.
• We review a settlement agreement before you sign it, or within the fourteen-day period.
• We file the request with the subdistrict court within the two-month deadline.

xülasə

• During a valid probation period the employer may end the contract immediately and without UWV permission (Article 7:676 BW).
• A probation clause that is not in writing, unequal, too long or in a follow-up contract is void (Article 7:652 BW).
• You may demand the reason in writing; a discriminatory reason makes the dismissal unlawful.
• You are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of employment.
• Challenge the dismissal within two months; claim the transition payment within three months (Article 7:686a BW).

Tez-tez soruşulan suallar