Regretting your settlement agreement? Use the cooling-off period carefully

Identify the document you accepted

This guide concerns rescinding an agreement through which both parties end employment, under Article 7:670b of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own resignation letter is a different act. Written consent to notice given by the employer also has a separate statutory regime. Examine the document’s substance rather than a heading such as “acceptance” or “dismissal”. If unsure, seek assistance the same day.

Collect the final text and earlier drafts, emails, messages and correspondence between representatives. Mark exactly what you accepted and what, if anything, remained unresolved. The general settlement agreement guide covers departure terms; this page addresses the urgent question of whether a possible agreement can still be legally rescinded. An oral reassurance from HR does not answer that question.

Do not establish the starting date from the signature alone

The legislation links the period to the date the agreement was concluded. In an individual case, emails between representatives may already establish written agreement. In 2017, the Zeeland-West-Brabant District Court reached that conclusion on the correspondence before it; the absence of a later signature did not provide extra time. That does not mean every isolated email automatically constitutes a complete termination agreement.

Prepare a timeline showing receipt of the draft, amendments, acceptance messages, reservations and signatures. Keep messages with their dates, senders, recipients and attachments. Where several acceptance dates are possible, account for the risk of the earliest until the position has been assessed. Do not delay while requesting another signed copy if that wastes valuable days; send the available documents to your adviser first.

Check two or three weeks and the exceptions

Article 7:670b provides fourteen days; if the employer does not mention the rescission right in the agreement, the period is three weeks. A contractual clause cannot exclude or restrict the statutory right. The parties may agree a longer period. Have an unclear, incomplete or separately located clause assessed. Uncertainty about the correct period is no reason to let the shortest potentially applicable period expire unused.

A fresh cooling-off period does not always arise. The statutory provisions on rescission and information do not apply when the parties conclude another termination agreement within six months after an earlier statutory rescission or withdrawal of consent. There is also a specific exception for certain directors of legal entities whose employment cannot be restored under Book 2 of the Civil Code, and comparable foreign directors. A job title such as “director” alone is not decisive; have your legal position checked.

Make the declaration clear and arrange receipt

If you want to rescind, state unambiguously which termination agreement you are rescinding using the statutory cooling-off right. Give your name, the employer and an identifiable agreement or document. No reason is required when exercising the applicable right. Simply writing “I am unsure”, disputing one amount or asking to reopen negotiations may leave it unclear whether you genuinely intend to rescind the entire termination arrangement.

Address the written declaration to the employer using a demonstrably appropriate address, request confirmation of receipt and retain the complete sent message. Under the general receipt rule, the declaration must reach its addressee; merely posting a letter on the last day therefore offers no certainty. The law recognises exceptions for some receipt risks attributable to the addressee, but do not rely on those in advance. If time is short or receipt disputed, promptly seek advice about additional delivery methods and evidence.

Record what happens to work and pay afterwards

Valid rescission removes the termination agreement; it is neither your resignation nor an automatic replacement departure arrangement. Then make clear that you are available for your agreed work and ask how work should resume. If you were already released from duties, suspended or sick, have the existing position and further instructions assessed separately. Do not turn an agreed release from duties into unauthorised absence by acting without clarification.

The employer may investigate another dismissal route or negotiate again. The previous payment does not automatically remain independently claimable after rescission. If money has already been received, have its treatment assessed too. During illness, health and reintegration remain relevant; see a settlement agreement during sickness. Confirm practical work arrangements in writing and monitor any new proceedings separately; sending the declaration alone does not resolve a disputed wage claim.

If challenged or out of time, take your file to an adviser

If the employer says you are late, ask which acceptance date, clause and evidence of receipt support that position. Assemble original files and a short timeline for an employment lawyer. Questions may include whether a written agreement existed, which right applies and whether the declaration took effect on time. Writing to the employer again does not generally extend statutory deadlines.

If the period really has expired, regret alone gives no general right to withdraw. Other grounds for challenging an agreement require their own facts and assessment; pressure or disappointment does not automatically invalidate it. Use the cooling-off tool to organise information, rather than to decide a disputed acceptance date. Bring the settlement checklist and every version, explain the urgency and agree who monitors each deadline and any necessary proceedings.

Practical checklist

• Every draft, final text and acceptance message.
• Timeline of acceptance, signatures and information received.
• Cooling-off clause and any agreed longer period.
• Earlier rescission or withdrawal of consent in the previous six months.
• Written declaration, correct addressing and proof of receipt.
• Work, pay and any sickness arrangements following the declaration.