As an employee, you can also terminate your employment contract yourself. You then resign yourself. Dutch employment law has no right to revoke a termination. Once you have resigned, you cannot simply go back on your resignation. In this article, our Amsterdam employment lawyer Paul Snijders discusses a case in which an employee seems to go back on her resignation.
Healthcare apprentice resigns, claimed that she had revoked this termination
The case discussed by our Dutch employment law specialist concerns a case in which an employee was working as a healthcare apprentice. She had sent an email herself stating that she was resigning and wanted to take her remaining vacation days until the end of the notice period.
The employee then went to court because she felt that she would have been dismissed by her employer, however, and requested transitional and equitable compensation.
Notice or dismissal received?
The Dutch subdistrict court ruled that the employee’s e-mail clearly and unambiguously showed that she had terminated the employment contract herself. The employee herself acknowledged this, however, she claimed that she had revoked this termination. According to our Amsterdam employment lawyer, a termination is a so-called unilateral legal act. This means that without the employer’s consent, the employee could not go back on her decision. The law has no right to revoke a termination.
Notice period when resigning
The employee was subject to a two-month notice period. Our employment law specialist will be happy to point out that the notice period must also be observed when an employee resigns.
Severance pay and fair compensation in case of termination
The employee requested the subdistrict court to annul the dismissal, as discussed above. Her argument was that the employer, in response to her email, had terminated the employment contract. Here the judge disagreed. It was clear from the mails that the employer was merely responding to the mail and indicating by her notice that the employment contract was being terminated. Therefore, there was no dismissal by the employer, which meant that a transition allowance or fair compensation could not be promised.
Contact employment lawyer Amsterdam about termination
Are you looking for commitment and direct, personal contact with an experienced employment law specialist in Amsterdam? Call our specialized attorney labor and dismissal law for questions and legal advice on labor law, dismissal, suspension and termination (resignation).