Pagamento di transizione: eccezioni e situazioni particolari

You are owed a transition payment (transitievergoeding) when your employer ends your employment contract or does not renew it, from your first day of work. The main exceptions are resignation, dismissal for your own seriously culpable conduct and termination by mutual consent, where the statutory right does not arise.

Under Article 7:673 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) the payment is one third of a month’s salary for each year of service, with parts of a year calculated pro rata. It is capped at €102,000 gross in 2026, or one year’s salary if that is higher. Our guide to indennità di fine rapporto nei Paesi Bassi covers the basic entitlement; this article deals with the situations where the ordinary rule does not apply.

Quando non è dovuto alcun pagamento di transizione?

No payment is due if you resign, if you are dismissed for seriously culpable conduct, or if the contract ends because you reach state pension age (AOW age) or on your death. A termination by mutual consent also falls outside the statutory rule.

If you resign, your employer owes nothing, unless the resignation was caused by seriously culpable conduct of the employer. Then you can claim the transition payment and, on top of it, a fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) from the subdistrict court (kantonrechter).

If you are dismissed for your own seriously culpable conduct, the right lapses. That threshold is considerably higher than the reasonable ground needed for a dismissal. A court can still award the payment in whole or in part if withholding it entirely would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness.

E se rescindessimo il contratto di comune accordo?

Then the statutory right does not arise, and the amount is a matter of negotiation. In practice the transition payment under Article 7:673 BW is the floor from which that negotiation starts.

The termination is usually recorded in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). Under Article 7:670b BW the employee can dissolve it within fourteen days of signing. What is not in the agreement, you cannot claim later.

È dovuto un pagamento alla scadenza di un contratto a tempo determinato?

Yes. A fixed-term contract that expires and is not renewed at the employer’s initiative counts as an ending by the employer under Article 7:673 BW. The law does not require a dismissal; it is enough that the employer chose not to continue the contract.

Cosa succede dopo due anni di malattia?

An employee whose contract ends after two years of illness is entitled to the transition payment like any other employee. The employer can then apply to the UWV for compensation, because it has already paid wages during the two years of illness.

The application must be made no later than six months after the full transition payment was paid. Employers usually lose the compensation by applying late, not by failing to qualify. A separate scheme covers small employers, with an average of no more than 25 employees, who close their business because the owner retires or dies.

I sistemi di risarcimento rimarranno in vigore?

Not necessarily. The government has proposed abolishing both schemes. The original target of 1 January 2027 has been postponed; the government’s business portal (ondernemersplein.overheid.nl) now mentions 1 January 2028, and the proposal is not yet law. Until it is, the current schemes apply.

Che dire di un contratto di lavoro inattivo?

In linea di principio, il datore di lavoro deve collaborare con la richiesta del dipendente di rescindere un contratto di lavoro inattivo (slapend dienstverband) e corrispondere l'indennità di transizione. La Corte Suprema ha statuito in tal senso nella sentenza Xella dell'8 novembre 2019 (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:1734).

Some employers used to keep a contract alive after two years of illness, with no work and no pay, to avoid the payment. Under Xella that is in principle contrary to good employment practice, unless the employer has a legitimate interest, such as a realistic prospect of the employee returning to work.

Che cosa dovresti controllare come dipendente?

Check how the contract ends, because that decides whether the statutory right exists.

• Check who took the initiative: the employer’s notice, dissolution or non-renewal, or your own resignation.
• Calculate the amount on the basis of your full salary, including holiday pay and fixed allowances.
• In a settlement agreement, negotiate from the statutory amount as the floor.
• After two years of illness, propose ending a dormant contract in writing, citing Xella.
• Claim the payment within three months after the employment ends.

Che cosa dovresti verificare in qualità di datore di lavoro?

Most avoidable costs come from overlooked situations and missed deadlines.

• Remember that not renewing a fixed-term contract also triggers the payment.
• Do not rely on seriously culpable conduct unless the file clearly supports it.
• Apply to the UWV for compensation within six months after paying the full amount.
• Check the status of the abolition proposal before deciding when to end a long-term sick employee’s contract.
• Respond in writing to a request to end a dormant contract, stating any legitimate interest.

What can we do for you with the transition payment?

Our employment work is described on our avvocato del lavoro page; on the transition payment:

• We calculate the transition payment, including the salary components that count.
• We assess whether an exception, such as seriously culpable conduct, applies.
• We review the settlement agreement before you sign.
• We prepare the UWV compensation application within the six-month deadline.
• We file a claim with the subdistrict court within the three-month deadline.

Sintesi

• L'indennità di transizione è dovuta quando il datore di lavoro rescinde o non rinnova il contratto, a partire dal primo giorno di lavoro.
• Non è dovuto alcun pagamento previsto dalla legge in caso di dimissioni, licenziamento per grave colpa, raggiungimento dell'età pensionabile o risoluzione consensuale del rapporto di lavoro.
• Dopo due anni di malattia, il pagamento è dovuto; il datore di lavoro può richiedere un risarcimento all'UWV entro sei mesi dal pagamento, a condizione che il programma sia in vigore.
• In linea di principio, il datore di lavoro deve cooperare per porre fine a un contratto di lavoro inattivo (Xella, 2019).
• La richiesta di risarcimento deve essere presentata entro tre mesi dalla cessazione del rapporto di lavoro.

Domande frequenti