ნიდერლანდების დასაქმების კანონმდებლობა: დამსაქმებლებისა და დასაქმებულებისთვის ძირითადი წესები

ნიდერლანდების დასაქმების კანონმდებლობა is largely mandatory: the rules in Book 7, Title 10 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) apply whatever the parties have agreed, and a clause that departs from them to the employee’s disadvantage is void. The main exception is that a collective labour agreement (cao) may deviate from some rules, for example the 36-month limit of the chain rule in Article 7:668a BW.

In practice four blocks of rules do most of the work: the employment contract itself, pay and working conditions, dismissal, and equal treatment. This article explains each block, what it requires from an employer and what it gives an employee. A contract drafted under foreign law rarely survives a Dutch court unchanged when the work is done in the Netherlands.

What counts as an employment contract under Dutch law?

Under Article 7:610 BW there is an employment contract when someone performs work for another party, in that party’s service, for pay and for a certain period. The label the parties use is not decisive; a “freelance” agreement can still be an employment contract if the worker is in fact under the employer’s authority.

The employer must give the employee written or electronic information about the essential terms, such as the job, the start date, the place of work, holiday entitlement and the termination procedure. That obligation follows from Article 7:655 BW and applies to every employee, whether or not a written contract is signed.

ვადიანი კონტრაქტები და ჯაჭვური წესი

A fixed-term contract ends automatically on its end date, but successive fixed-term contracts are limited. Under Article 7:668a BW the last contract becomes one for an indefinite period once more than three fixed-term contracts have followed each other, or once they have together exceeded 36 months, with gaps of six months or less counted as continuous.

Probation period and non-compete clause

A probation period (proeftijd) must be agreed in writing and is the same for both parties. Under Article 7:652 BW it is at most two months for a permanent contract, at most one month for a fixed-term contract of more than six months but less than two years, and at most two months for a fixed-term contract of two years or more.

A non-compete clause (concurrentiebeding) is valid only if it is agreed in writing with an adult employee. Under Article 7:653 BW it is in principle limited to permanent contracts; in a fixed-term contract it is only valid with a written statement of the compelling business interests that require it.

Which rules govern pay and working conditions?

Pay may not fall below the statutory minimum wage under the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag). The amounts are adjusted on 1 January and 1 July each year, so check the current figure on government.nl. Article 15 of that Act gives the employee a holiday allowance of at least 8% of the gross salary.

Every employee builds up statutory holiday of at least four times the agreed weekly working hours per year, under Article 7:634 BW. A full-time employee working five days a week therefore has at least 20 days of statutory leave; employment contracts and collective agreements often add more.

The Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) sets maximum working times. Under Article 5:7 of that Act an employee aged 18 or over may work at most 12 hours per shift and 60 hours per week, and on average no more than 48 hours per week over 16 weeks. The Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) requires the employer to run a safe and healthy workplace, and the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) supervises both Acts.

When does a collective labour agreement apply?

A collective labour agreement applies to an employer that is a member of a signatory employers’ organisation. When the Minister of Social Affairs declares it universally binding (algemeen verbindend), it applies to every employer in that sector, member or not, for the period of that declaration.

როგორ შეიძლება შეწყდეს სამუშაო ხელშეკრულება?

An employer cannot simply give notice. Under Article 7:671 BW a permanent contract can only be terminated with the employee’s written consent, with permission from the UWV, or through dissolution by the subdistrict court (kantonrechter), apart from exceptions such as dismissal during the probation period or summary dismissal.

The employer also needs a reasonable ground listed in Article 7:669(3) BW, such as business-economic reasons, long-term illness, poor performance or culpable conduct, and redeployment in another suitable position must not be possible. For business-economic reasons and long-term illness the route is the UWV (Article 7:671a BW); for the other grounds it is the subdistrict court (Article 7:671b BW).

An employee who gives written consent to dismissal may withdraw it within 14 days, without giving reasons, under Article 7:671(2) BW. During the first two years of illness the employer generally cannot give notice (Article 7:670 BW).

Notice periods and the transition payment

The statutory notice period for the employer depends on the length of service: one month up to five years, two months from five years, three months from ten years and four months from fifteen years (Article 7:672 BW). The employee’s statutory notice period is one month.

When the employer ends the contract, the employee is entitled to a transition payment (transitievergoeding) under Article 7:673 BW. It amounts to one third of a monthly salary for each year of service, pro rata for shorter periods, with a 2026 cap of €102,000 or one annual salary if that is higher.

Strict deadlines apply after dismissal. Under Article 7:686a(4) BW an employee has two months after the end of the contract to ask the subdistrict court to challenge a summary dismissal or notice given without consent, and three months to claim the transition payment.

How does Dutch law protect against discrimination at work?

Several statutes prohibit unequal treatment in recruitment, pay, promotion and dismissal. The main ones are the General Equal Treatment Act (Algemene wet gelijke behandeling), the Equal Treatment in Employment (Age Discrimination) Act and the Equal Treatment on the Grounds of Disability or Chronic Illness Act, together with the rules on equal pay for men and women in Book 7 BW.

An employee who suspects discrimination can ask the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) for an opinion, free of procedural costs. That opinion is not binding, but courts give it weight. A claim for damages or reinstatement is brought before the subdistrict court.

რა უნდა შეამოწმოთ, როგორც დამსაქმებელმა?

• Whether your contracts and handbook contain clauses that depart from mandatory Book 7 BW to the employee’s disadvantage.
• Whether a universally binding collective labour agreement applies to your sector.
• How many fixed-term contracts each employee has had and for how long (Article 7:668a BW).
• Whether the information under Article 7:655 BW was given to every employee.
• Whether you have a documented reasonable ground (Article 7:669 BW) before starting a dismissal.
• Whether working times stay within the Working Hours Act limits.

რა უნდა შეამოწმოთ, როგორც თანამშრომელმა?

• Whether your contract is in fact an employment contract under Article 7:610 BW, whatever its label.
• Whether your pay and holiday allowance meet the current statutory minimum.
• Whether a probation period or non-compete clause was agreed in writing and within the legal limits.
• Whether you have 14 days left to withdraw consent to a dismissal (Article 7:671(2) BW).
• Whether your transition payment was calculated correctly and claimed within three months.

რა შეგვიძლია გავაკეთოთ თქვენთვის ნიდერლანდების დასაქმების კანონმდებლობასთან დაკავშირებით?

ჩვენი დასაქმების იურისტები advise both employers and employees:

• We review your employment contract, handbook or non-compete clause against mandatory Dutch law.
• We check whether a universally binding collective labour agreement applies to you.
• We assess the chain of fixed-term contracts and the status of the current contract.
• We calculate the transition payment and the applicable notice period.
• We prepare a UWV application or a dissolution request to the subdistrict court, or the defence against one.
• We negotiate and draft a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst).

შემაჯამებელი

• Book 7, Title 10 BW is largely mandatory; clauses to the employee’s disadvantage are void.
• The chain rule converts fixed-term contracts into a permanent one after more than three contracts or more than 36 months.
• Dismissal requires consent, UWV permission or a court order, plus a reasonable ground under Article 7:669 BW.
• გარდამავალი ანაზღაურება ყოველთვიური ხელფასის ერთი მესამედია მომსახურების თითოეული წლისთვის, ხოლო 2026 წლისთვის მისი ლიმიტი 102 000 ევრო იქნება, ან ერთი წლიური ხელფასი, თუ ეს უფრო მაღალია.
• Deadlines are short: 14 days to withdraw consent, two or three months to go to court.

ხშირად დასმული შეკითხვები