Equitable compensation after dismissal: substantiate more than a figure

Equitable compensation after dismissal: substantiate more than a figure

Dutch equitable compensation is not a fixed extra number of months’ salary for everyone unhappy with dismissal. First a statutory ground must exist. Then the amount needs support from circumstances and relevant consequences. Prepare a checkable comparison between your actual position and the plausible situation without the culpable dismissal, while protecting the deadline for the correct petition.

Entitlement to compensation and its amount are separate questions.

There is no universal formula or automatic link to the transition payment.

New income and the likely course without dismissal belong in the assessment.

First connect the request to the dismissal route

Compensation can arise in different dismissal situations, but conditions are not identical. Invalid notice, judicial dissolution and a request following UWV are not the same case. In [summary dismissal](guide:ontslag-op-staande-voet), choosing annulment or financial relief can matter too. Have that choice assessed before merely claiming a sum.

The [general dismissal guide](guide:ontslag) helps identify the act. Bring the letter, order or permission and record end date and previous requests. Short forfeiture deadlines, often two months, apply to challenging dismissal; a transition-payment-only request has another framework. A demand for a fair amount does not automatically preserve the required court deadline.

Develop a plausible scenario without the wrongful dismissal

In New Hairstyle in 2017, the Supreme Court gave factors for equitable compensation following voidable notice. Consequences can matter insofar as attributable to the fault. The file must therefore explain how employment would likely have developed without that act. This requires more than adding all wages until retirement.

Record whether the contract was temporary, how work and the organisation developed and whether another termination route was possible. Long expected continuation may be disputed; state its basis and uncertainties. Have realistic scenarios compared. Litigation may last a long time, but that duration is not automatically the period fully compensated.

Map actual and reasonably expected income

Collect old payslips, new work information and relevant benefit decisions. Compare starting dates, hours and pay. New earnings can matter even where the new job feels less suitable. Distinguish money received from an opportunity not yet certain.

The Supreme Court also mentions income reasonably obtainable in future. Keep applications, specific offers and circumstances affecting prospects. This does not oblige accepting every employer prediction. Ask what supports an assumed new job or earning capacity and provide checkable information without inventing reintegration or application outcomes.

Specify alleged consequences and causation

Break the requested amount into relevant effects and explain their connection with dismissal. Consider earnings difference and, where appropriate, other demonstrable financial effects. Not every disadvantage in the same period is thereby caused. Medical, pension or other special effects may require specialist support; do not add one unchecked total of every concern.

Keep calculations with assumptions and dates. Do not compare gross wages with net benefit without explanation, and assess tax separately. A clear schedule distinguishes disputes about facts, causation and valuation. Ask which items have a separate legal basis outside this compensation. This avoids counting the same amount repeatedly as fresh loss.

Treat other awards and costs separately

[Transition payment](guide:transitievergoeding), compensation for irregular notice, unpaid wages and equitable compensation are separate entitlements. Their interaction requires assessment. The Supreme Court includes transition pay in the comparison, but that produces no universal subtraction formula. Use the [transition tool](tool:transitievergoeding) for that statutory calculation and request an explanation of the combined result.

Equitable compensation is not an unrestricted punitive fine rising with employer wealth. New Hairstyle rejects a specifically punitive measure; circumstances and attributable effects remain central. Your lawyer’s costs are also not automatically fully included in every award. Explicitly discuss instruction costs, litigation costs and any other legal basis to avoid duplicated or unsupported items.

Prepare the petition, negotiation and decision

Use the [case-file builder](tool:dossier-builder) for dismissal documents, scenarios, income and evidence. Ask what amount is requested under which legal ground and assumptions and identify key uncertainties. A lawyer is not mandatory in the subdistrict court, but substantiation can be complex. Do not adopt a large amount in another case as your expectation without comparison.

In settlement, specify gross payment and the wage and compensation components included. Check full release and withdrawal of proceedings. A settlement-agreement payment is not automatically court-awarded equitable compensation. After judgment, payment arrangements, benefit reporting and further action require separate assessment; an award guarantees no immediate collection.

Fictional example: two assumptions about employment duration

A dismissed employee assumes another five years of pay. The employer says the role would have disappeared within one year even without the disputed dismissal. The adviser requests organisation data, contract history and support for both assumptions and adds actual new earnings. This creates a comparison with visible uncertainties instead of one guaranteed figure. The example determines no compensation and does not endorse either duration. It shows why the counterfactual course, new income and other awards require consideration together.

Dismissal act, end date and correct court deadline.

Statutory basis and earlier petitions.

Supported scenario without disputed termination.

Actual and expected income with evidence and assumptions.

Other awards, wages and alleged effects.

Requested amount, uncertainty, costs and settlement wording.

Is there a fixed equitable-compensation formula?

No. Unlike statutory transition pay, no general formula exists. Legal basis, circumstances and relevant consequences govern assessment.

Do I always receive wages until retirement?

No. Expected continuation without the act must be made plausible. Other termination possibilities and future income can also matter.

Does finding a new job remove compensation?

There is no universal automatic rule. New earnings matter to comparison; actual effects and remaining circumstances still require assessment.

Can I add the same loss under different headings?

Not without assessing legal basis and interaction. Request separate calculations and overlap explanations to avoid double-compensated or unsupported claims.

Sources and editorial notes
Sources current as of: October 23, 2026
1. Dutch Supreme Court — New Hairstyle, ECLI:NL:HR:2017:1187
Publisher: Rechtspraak
https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:HR:2017:1187
2. Dutch judiciary — employee dismissal petitions
Publisher: Rechtspraak
https://www.rechtspraak.nl/onderwerpen/ontslag/verzoekschriftprocedure-werknemer
3. Dutch Civil Code 7:681 — annulment or equitable compensation
Publisher: Wettenbank · Overheid.nl
https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005290/#Boek7_Titeldeel10_Afdeling9_Artikel681
The source publications are in Dutch. All language editions cover Dutch law.