The
Netherlands Employment Agreement
Under Netherlands employment law a Netherlands employment agreement need not
be in writing, although the employer is obliged to provide the employee with
a notification in writing, containing the essential parts of the employment
agreement. Under employment laws some obligations however, are valid only
if accepted in writing. An important example of that latter is provided by
so called non-competition clauses, which are allowed under Netherlands employment
law. Noncompetition clauses may be annulled or moderated by the competent
court, if equity demands so. The Netherlands probationary period has to be
agreed in writing in the employment agreement as well.
Terminating
the Netherlands Employment Agreement
Under Netherlands employment law in the absence of mutual agreement or cause,
an employer may not terminate a Netherlands employment contract for an indefinite
period without a permit from the Director of the (local) "RBA" (labour
office). The Director has to balance the interests of the employer and the
employee. If the permit is refused, the employment agreement cannot be terminated
in a valid way, and the employer should continue to pay to the employee his
salary, etc. Especially in complicated cases, the Director may need quite
some time (varying from two months or even longer) before rendering his decision.
Although there are some applicable guidelines, it is often quite hard to predict
whether a permit will be granted or not.
Notwithstanding the fact that an employer has terminated the contract of an employee in compliance with Dutch employment law, a compensation may be due, if the dismissal is found to be "clearly unreasonable". This may be the case if the reason for termination of employment is false or insufficient; it may also be the case if the financial effects of the termination of employment would otherwise be a burden on the employee.
A
Netherlands employment contract can also be terminated by judicial order at
any time. The Netherlands termination of employment proceedings will take
approximately 2 months, and the court can award termination of employment
damages to the employee, depending on the duration of the employment, the
age of the employee and the reason for the termination. If the contract is
terminated by judicial order, no notice period has to be observed and no permit
from the Director of the RBA has to be obtained.
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Under
emploment laws, for an indefinite period Netherlands employment agreement,
two months is the maximum probationary period. Specification of a greater
period will result in
there being no probationary period at all.
REINSTATEMENT
If
the employer seeks termination of employment in Netherlands by judicial order,
the court may order reinstatement and that the
parties make a good faith effort to make the employment succeed. An
employer found not to make such an effort can incur substantial financial
penalties.