In the case of a settlement agreement (vso) in The Netherlands, an employee always has 14 days to consider whether he wants to accept the agreement. Within those 14 days, the employee may decide not to accept the agreement, in which case the employment contract will be reinstated. This is simply stated in the law, Article 7:670b(2) of the Dutch Civil Code:
‘If the employment contract is terminated by means of a written agreement, the employee has the right to terminate this agreement without giving reasons, within fourteen days of the date on which the agreement was concluded, by means of a written statement addressed to the employer’.
Reflection period for a VSO (settlement agreement)
The purpose of the reflection period for a settlement agreement is to prevent the employee from agreeing under pressure from the employer, while he has not been able to sufficiently assess the consequences of the termination of the employment contract for him. It also gives the employee the opportunity to seek legal advice.
Written agreement has been reached
The important thing is when written agreement has been reached. Case law has already established that communications via WhatsApp and declarations of agreement by email can satisfy the written requirement.
Time at which the settlement agreement was concluded
The section: ‘when the settlement agreement was concluded’ sometimes leads to problems in practice. For example, what if the parties agree in writing on the most important parts on 1 November and sign later, on 10 November? Does the statutory cooling-off period only start on the 10th? Many people make this mistake.
Unambiguous agreement without reservation
Settlement agreements are often concluded by means of emails between the solicitors.
For example, the Rotterdam District Court ruled that an employee had invoked the statutory cooling-off period too late in such a case. In that case, the parties had negotiated the settlement agreement. According to the court, the employee’s representative had agreed to the text and content of that agreement unambiguously and without reservation on 20 February 2024. The subdistrict court ruled that on that day, 20 February 2024, the fourteen-day cooling-off period referred to in Section 670b(2) of the Civil Code had commenced.
On 6 March 2024, the employee invoked the cooling-off period and sought to terminate the settlement agreement. This was too late, as it was outside the fourteen-day period.
Older rulings: when the employee signs the agreement
Other rulings have been made on this subject, but they are no longer followed. Those older rulings stated that the statutory cooling-off period of fourteen days only commences when the employee signs the agreement. That case law is now obsolete.
Essential elements of the termination of the employment relationship
The important thing is that written agreement has been reached on “the essential elements of the termination of the employment relationship”. This may be the case with a
-
- draft termination agreement
- or when the most important agreements are laid down by email.
This satisfies the written requirement. If the agreements on the termination agreement are therefore clear and acceptable to the employee, the cooling-off period starts to run at that moment: the date on which the agreement was concluded.
Contact our employment law solicitor regarding the cooling-off period for a settlement agreement
For more information about the cooling-off period for a settlement agreement, please contact our employment law solicitor in Amsterdam, Mr Paul Snijders: 020-5221999.
