Notice period in the Netherlands: what are the rules for employers?

What counts for the employer is how long the contract has lasted on the day notice is given. Dutch law uses four steps:

Less than 5 years of service: 1 month. 5 to 10 years: 2 months. 10 to 15 years: 3 months. 15 years or more: 4 months.

Once the employee has reached the Dutch state pension age, the employer's notice period is 1 month regardless of service. The employee's own statutory notice period is always 1 month.

Notice runs to the end of a calendar month unless another day has been agreed in writing or is customary in the sector. Give notice on 10 March with a 1-month period and the contract ends on 30 April, not on 10 April. Plan the date of your letter with that in mind.

The employer's period cannot simply be shortened in the contract: only a collective labour agreement, the cao, can do that. It can be extended in writing. If you agree a longer period for the employee, Dutch law fixes the ratio: the employee's period can be at most 6 months, and the employer's must then be at least twice as long. Give an employee 3 months' notice and you are bound to 6.

When the employee insurance agency UWV has given permission to dismiss, the time the procedure took may be deducted from the employer's notice period, as long as at least 1 month remains. Give too little notice and you owe the employee the wages for the period the contract should have continued.

There is no notice period during probation: either side can stop immediately. How long probation may last is covered in Probation period in the Netherlands: what are the rules for employers?

For the employer's notice period, nothing changed in 2026. The 1-to-4-month steps are in the version of article 7:672 in force on 4 November 2026, and no adopted amendment touches them.

One change is coming for a small group. The Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers, the Dutch act on more security for flexible workers, was published in the Staatsblad in July 2026 and amends the fifth paragraph of article 7:672 from 1 January 2028. That paragraph covers the employee's notice period on an on-call contract where the amount of work is not fixed: it becomes four days, or shorter if the cao says so, but never less than 24 hours. Permanent contracts with fixed hours are not affected.

If you read that notice periods changed in 2026, check whether the source is talking about a specific cao. A cao can shorten the employer's period and is renegotiated every few years.

A candidate who is employed elsewhere first has to work out their notice with their current employer. In the Netherlands that is 1 month by law, running to the end of a month, and that combination makes the wait longer than many employers expect. If a candidate signs on 10 November and resigns the same day, their contract runs until 31 December. The earliest start date is 1 January, more than seven weeks later.

Senior candidates can take longer. An employee may have agreed in writing to a notice period of up to 6 months. Ask about it in the first interview, not when you make the offer, or you will plan a start date that cannot be met. A question that often goes with it is whether the contract has a non-compete clause; see non-compete clauses in the Netherlands.

Build the notice period into your planning. The time to fill a role is the time to a yes from the candidate plus their notice period, and you only control the first part. How to shorten that part is covered in reduce time to hire. If someone on your team leaves with 1 month's notice, there is little room: start recruiting the moment the resignation arrives, or earlier if you see it coming. If your own team cannot carry that, recruitment process outsourcing is one way to add capacity.

Look at the contract you offer as well. A long notice period for the new hire may feel like security, but it binds you to twice as long, and a candidate who already has a long notice period is not always keen to sign up for another.

Is there a notice period on a fixed-term contract?

No. A fixed-term contract in the Netherlands ends automatically on the agreed date. It can only be ended early if the contract gives both parties that right in writing, and then the normal notice period applies. For a contract of 6 months or more, you must tell the employee in writing at least one month before the end whether you will renew it. If you do not, you owe them one month's wages.

Can I agree a shorter notice period with a new hire?

Not for yourself as the employer: a shorter period than the statutory one is only possible through a cao. For the employee you can deviate in writing, but a longer period for them obliges you to at least double. If in doubt, keep to the statutory periods and write them into the contract.

What happens if I give too little notice?

The contract still ends, but you owe the employee compensation equal to the wages for the period the contract should have continued. The subdistrict court can reduce that amount in some cases. It is safer to give notice a few weeks later than a day too early.

SocialFind wrote this article from the Dutch Civil Code, the Staatsblad and the guidance of Business.gov.nl and the Dutch government, checked on 4 November 2026. This is not legal advice; if in doubt, check the cao that applies to you. To get articles like this by email, sign up for our newsletter.