An employer has made several mistakes with an employee with a temporary contract, as a result of which he has to pay, among other things, a notice fee and a transition payment. This is evident from a recent ruling by the Rotterdam District Court.

Oral termination is not sufficient

The employee was employed from November 6, 2023 to November 5, 2024 on the basis of two fixed-term employment contracts. The employer had verbally indicated that the contract would not be extended, but had not confirmed this in writing. According to the law, an employer must indicate in writing that a temporary contract will not be extended. Because this did not happen, the employer must pay a notice fee of € 1,433.69, including interest from November 6, 2024.

Transition fee due

In addition, the employer must pay a transition compensation of €516.12. The employer stated that the employee no longer wanted to work, but this could not be proven. The subdistrict court judge therefore assumed that the employer did not want to continue the employment contract. The interest on the transition payment will be allocated from December 6, 2024.

Wages and holiday pay

The employer must also pay wages until the end date of the employment relationship, including holiday pay and the balance of outstanding holiday days. The employee was entitled to continued payment of her wages during illness, which the employer had not done. In addition, the employer had wrongly offset the wages against employer premiums for health insurance. This is not allowed by law, so the employer still has to pay these premiums without recovering them from the employee.

Final settlement and statutory increase

The employee demanded a proper final settlement, including all compensation awarded in the ruling. The subdistrict court judge gave the employer one month to prepare this final settlement. Because the employer has not paid the aforementioned items on time, the employee is entitled to a statutory increase and interest on these amounts.

Details of the case

The employee was employed from November 6, 2023 to November 5, 2024 on the basis of two fixed-term employment contracts. The employer had verbally indicated that the contract would not be extended, but had not confirmed this in writing. According to the law, an employer must indicate in writing that a temporary contract will not be extended. Because this did not happen, the employer must pay a notice fee of € 1,433.69, including interest from November 6, 2024.

In addition, the employer must pay a transition compensation of €516.12. The employer stated that the employee no longer wanted to work, but this could not be proven. The subdistrict court judge therefore assumed that the employer did not want to continue the employment contract. The interest on the transition payment will be allocated from December 6, 2024.

The employer must also pay wages until the end date of the employment relationship, including holiday pay and the balance of outstanding holiday days. The employee was entitled to continued payment of her wages during illness, which the employer had not done. In addition, the employer had wrongly offset the wages against employer premiums for health insurance. This is not allowed by law, so the employer still has to pay these premiums without recovering them from the employee.

The employee demanded a proper final settlement, including all compensation awarded in the ruling. The subdistrict court judge gave the employer one month to prepare this final settlement. Because the employer has not paid the aforementioned items on time, the employee is entitled to a statutory increase and interest on these amounts.

Source

This news item is based on an article by Salaris This Morning, published on March 26, 2025. For more information, see Salaris This Morning.