Aanzegvergoeding: late or missing renewal notification

Which contracts carry the notification duty?

Check whether your temporary contract lasts six months or longer and whether its end is set by a calendar date. Exceptions apply to a contract with an agency termination clause and certain agreements without a specified calendar end. Do not merely add up your total time with the employer: the duration and nature of the particular expiring contract also matter. Compare each contract with its renewal letter so you are not assessing an old contract or earlier arrangement.

What must the employer communicate in writing?

At least one month before expiry, it must be clear whether the employer wants to continue. Renewal must include its conditions. A statement at the beginning that no subsequent contract will follow can already satisfy the duty. Read the original contract carefully. A sentence that a temporary contract “ends automatically” is not, without assessment, necessarily a sufficiently clear notification. Exact wording and documents together determine what was communicated.

Receipt and evidence can make the difference

Keep emails, letters, messages and attachments in full. Record receipt dates and exactly what was said. A conversation announcing non-renewal may provide practical clarity, but the law requires writing. In a dispute about digital notification, content, origin and receipt matter. Do not delete messages when employment ends. A screenshot can help, but where possible also retain the original message and context.

How is proportional compensation calculated?

Where notification is entirely absent, compensation is generally capped at one gross monthly salary. Late notification produces a proportional amount. Pay basis and method need attention with variable hours or remuneration. Use a calculator as an indication and request the employer’s calculation. Check that net pay or an arbitrary payslip has not been used. A correct calculation begins with the applicable definition of pay and the specific delay.

The issue can arise even with renewal

Suppose your annual contract ends on 31 December and clear written renewal arrives only in mid-December. Being pleased about the new contract does not automatically remove possible compensation for late notification. Notification concerns timely certainty; successive-contract rules concern the nature of the next contract. Check these separately. Before signing a new agreement unchecked, read it for a final discharge or settlement of earlier entitlements.

Protect the subdistrict-court deadline

An application for aanzegvergoeding generally expires two months after the end of the temporary contract to which the notification duty related. This is shorter than the transition-payment application deadline. An email requesting payment does not preserve the court deadline. Even during negotiations, an adviser must determine in time whether an application is needed. Have the final date established using the precise contract end and applicable time-limit rules. When obtaining legal help, expressly ask who will prepare and file the court application and by what final date. An agreement merely to write a payment demand does not automatically include that court step.

Request payment and substantiation specifically

Send a businesslike letter identifying contract dates, the required notification date, the notification received and your provisional calculation. Request payment and an itemised response within a specific reasonable period. Retain transmission evidence. Do not let an undisputed final account disappear into the compensation dispute: list salary, holiday allowance and holiday hours separately. Bankruptcy, suspension of payments and statutory debt restructuring have special exceptions and routes. If payment problems arise, establish where to lodge your entitlement.

Example: a full month’s salary is not always due

Your contract ends on 30 November and notification was due at least one month beforehand. Written notification received a few days late can lead to proportional compensation, not automatically a full month. With no timely written notification, the maximum matters. This example is not an exact date or salary calculation. Use the actual contract and calendar, and resolve uncertainty before the application deadline expires.

Practical checklist

• Check contract duration, calendar end and exceptions.
• Keep the complete written notification and receipt date.
• Calculate compensation with the correct gross pay basis.
• Schedule the court deadline separately from payment requests.