Aanzegverplichting
Notification obligation
The notification obligation is the statutory duty of an employer to inform an employee engaged under a fixed-term contract, in writing and no later than one month before expiry, whether the employment contract will be continued and, if so, on what terms.
The obligation to notify derives from Article 7:668 of the Dutch Civil Code and applies to fixed-term employment contracts with a duration of six months or more. The employer is required to inform the employee in good time of any extension or termination, preferably in writing.
Failure to comply with this obligation, or compliance after the prescribed deadline, renders the employer liable to pay compensation equal to one month’s remuneration. This sanction is intended to protect the employee against uncertainty as to the continuation of the employment relationship.
In practice, the notification obligation is particularly relevant in the case of temporary contracts in sectors characterised by extensive use of flexible labour, where timely communication prevents employees from being left in unnecessary uncertainty.
“Because the employer had not fulfilled the notification obligation in a timely manner, it was required to pay the employee compensation equal to one month’s salary.”
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