UWV permits dismissal: what should you check now?

UWV permits dismissal: what should you check now?

UWV permission is not the same as your employer giving notice to end employment. Check whether the employer uses the permission, how notice was given and which termination date is stated. If you disagree with termination, a fresh objection to UWV is not the ordinary route: a petition to the subdistrict court may be needed. Keep the decision, notice letter and timeline together and promptly establish which deadline and request fit your objective.

UWV permission, employer’s notice and termination are three different events.

For the court route, the starting point is generally termination, not receipt of permission.

Negotiations or a letter to UWV do not replace a timely court petition.

Read what UWV actually decided

Keep the full decision, conditions and attachments. Record the employer, dismissal ground and employee named. Does it concern economic reasons or long-term incapacity? An HR summary may omit precisely the reasoning needed for a targeted response. Obtain the complete application and defence file underlying the decision too.

Separately identify arguments UWV considered and facts you believe are missing or wrong. Merely saying “I disagree” does not substantively challenge an adverse decision. Connect each objection to evidence or a specific event. The [reorganisation guide](guide:reorganisatie-en-ontslag) addresses selection and redeployment; during illness have the relevant [dismissal protections and exceptions](guide:ontslag-bij-ziekte) assessed separately.

Check whether and when the employer gives notice

UWV states that, following permission, the employer must give written notice within four weeks. Permission itself therefore does not end the contract. Compare the decision date, written notice and receipt. If validity, late use or absent notice is uncertain, have the consequences for employment and pay assessed. Do not resign merely to finish the paperwork.

Check the end date and notice period too. Procedural time may be deducted subject to conditions; this does not validate every date selected by HR. Use the [notice-period tool](tool:opzegtermijn) to organise contract information, not to establish a disputed termination date without reviewing the file. Keep the collective agreement, contract and date calculation based on UWV permission. The last working day may differ from the last day employed.

Choose the correct court action

When disputing notice after UWV permission, an ordinary objection to that notice at UWV is not the route. Discuss a subdistrict-court petition, for example restoration of employment or, under the applicable statutory ground, equitable compensation. Conditions differ. Wanting a different dismissal outcome does not automatically make every compensation award available.

Tell your adviser whether you want to return, primarily need income or wish to explore financial resolution. Restoration is different from declaring that dismissal never existed. Identify the legal defect in the permission and notice. A wage dispute, correction of final pay and restoration of employment can involve different components and deadlines.

Monitor the deadline independently of discussions

The judiciary generally identifies two months after employment ends for this route. A petition must be filed with the court in time. Do not confuse this with the earlier UWV reply deadline, the employer’s four-week period for using permission or a social-plan deadline. Set an earlier internal date for deciding and filing.

Do not await new vacancies, the employer’s answer or a complaint about UWV while time runs. Agree in writing who calculates the final deadline and actually files. A different or disputed termination act may change the assessment, so provide every document and receipt date. Merely sending a file to an insurer does not prove a court deadline is protected.

Prepare a defined factual file for the petition

Create a short timeline of application, your defence, decision, notice and end date. Add contract, collective agreement and relevant role, redeployment or sickness documents. Use the [case-file builder](tool:dossier-builder) and number evidence. For each disputed point identify the assumption, your correction and its source. Give your own adviser adverse evidence too, so real litigation risks can be assessed.

A lawyer is not mandatory in the subdistrict court, but selecting the request and statutory basis can be complex. Ask about costs, possible legal assistance cover and the exact scope of work. Court proceedings do not simply repeat your original UWV defence: requests and supporting arguments must fit the legal position after notice. Identify new facts without presenting unverified suspicions as established facts.

Plan wages, benefits and settlement consequences

Remain clear about work and availability until termination, unless valid alternative arrangements or illness apply. Check salary, final pay and compensation separately. Promptly ask about unemployment benefit or another suitable benefit; awaiting court can needlessly complicate the interim period. Report later judgments and wage payments to the administering body so periods are correctly processed.

If restoration includes back pay, unemployment benefit already paid for the same period may need repayment. Do not assume you can retain wages and all benefits definitively. Any settlement must clearly address end date, wages, compensation, costs and withdrawal of proceedings. Permission, a new agreement and UWV benefits remain separate assessments. After each decision, promptly ask what further action remains.

Fictional example: permission arrives before the notice letter

An employee receives UWV permission on Monday and only later receives the employer’s letter with a future termination date. Believing the two months began on Monday, the employee considers hastily accepting a settlement. An adviser separates the three events and reviews notice, time limit and possible restoration petition. The employee also preserves the benefit route and redeployment arguments. The example guarantees no restoration: the court ground needs substantive support. It shows why receipt of permission differs from completed termination and why all dates matter.

Complete UWV decision, application and defence.

Written notice, receipt details and termination date.

Contract, collective agreement and notice-period calculation.

Specific disputed assumptions and supporting documents.

Desired result and monitored court filing date.

Plan for wages, benefits, costs and possible back pay.

Am I dismissed as soon as UWV gives permission?

Permission does not itself terminate the contract. The employer must take the next step. Check written notice and the stated end date.

Can I object to UWV again?

An ordinary UWV objection is not the route against notice after permission. Have a timely subdistrict-court petition assessed. A complaint does not replace proceedings.

Do I automatically receive compensation if selection was wrong?

No. Restoration and equitable compensation have separate statutory conditions and requests. Examine grounds, desired outcome and ancillary entitlements together.

Must I await judgment before claiming unemployment benefit?

Not automatically. Establish promptly which benefit and application are appropriate. Report the dispute and later pay correctly; court proceedings and benefit assessment are separate.

Sources and editorial notes
Sources current as of: October 23, 2026
1. UWV — after the dismissal application
Publisher: UWV
https://www.uwv.nl/nl/ontslag/na-ontslagaanvraag
2. Dutch judiciary — dismissal through UWV and court
Publisher: Rechtspraak
https://www.rechtspraak.nl/onderwerpen/ontslag
3. Dutch judiciary — employee petition proceedings
Publisher: Rechtspraak
https://www.rechtspraak.nl/onderwerpen/ontslag/verzoekschriftprocedure-werknemer
The source publications are in Dutch. All language editions cover Dutch law.