Doing Business in the Netherlands 2012 - American Chamber of ...

is explicit and unambiguous. It is therefore recommended that the
employer enables the employee to seek legal advice in this respect,
before accepting any offer for a termination of the employment
contract.
14.3.5 Immediate Termination for Urgent Cause
Either party to an employment contract (employer or employee) may
be faced with circumstances in which one cannot be reasonably
expected to continue the employment relationship any longer. If the
employee’s conduct raises such a so-called ‘urgent cause’, the
employer can – under circumstances – terminate the employment
contract effective immediately (i.e., summarily dismiss the employee).
The employee has a similar right if the employer’s conduct raises an
‘urgent cause’.
Dutch law sets forth a number of examples of ‘urgent causes’, such as
gross negligence in the performance of duties, disclosure of trade or
professional secrets, theft, fraud, embezzlement, or crimes involving
breach of trust. However, ultimately only the competent court can
assess whether the circumstances of a case at hand actually constitute
an urgent cause, justifying an immediate termination.
The employee can dispute a summary dismissal – amongst others - by
claiming that there was no urgent cause for termination. If the
employee’s claim succeeds, the summary dismissal would become
void, resulting in the employee being entitled to continue work and the
employer having to continue payment of wages. As an alternative, the
employee can acquiesce to the summary dismissal and claim damages
in manifestly unreasonable dismissal proceedings, including
compensation for not observing the notice period.
14.3.6 Termination by the Court
Either the employer or the employee may at any time file a request
with the Cantonal Division of the competent court to dissolve the
employment contract. The court operates independently from the
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