Immediate dismissal
Immediate dismissal means you let an employee go without notice. This is only allowed if you have an urgent reason. If you do not follow the rules, the district judge can reverse the dismissal.
On this page
- What is immediate dismissal?
- When can you dismiss an employee with immediate effect?
- What are urgent reasons for immediate dismissal?
- Which steps must you take first when dismissing an employee with immediate effect?
- Gather evidence
- What if an investigation is needed?
- What happens to the wages in case of immediate dismissal?
- What happens if the judge reverses the dismissal?
- FAQ
What is immediate dismissal?
- With immediate dismissal, you terminate the contract between you and your employee with immediate effect.
- You must have an urgent reason for dismissal.
- You do not have to go to court first to check whether the dismissal is permissible.
- And you do not need to check whether your employee can start work in another workplace within the business.
- Your employee stops working immediately.
When can you dismiss an employee with immediate effect?
You may only dismiss your employee with immediate effect if you have a valid reason. For example, serious misconduct in the workplace, such as stealing.
What are urgent reasons for immediate dismissal?
Examples of an urgent reason are:
- deceit during a job application
- theft or fraud
- going to work while drunk
- abuse, serious insults, or threats
- endangering colleagues
- refusing to work without a valid reason
not having the knowledge or experience to do the job
Are you not sure about immediate dismissal?
Do you doubt if there is sufficient reason for immediate dismissal? And does your employee not agree (on paper) to the dismissal? Then you can ask the subdistrict court to terminate the contract. During the trial period you do not need an urgent reason for dismissal.
Which steps must you take first when dismissing an employee with immediate effect?
- You need to inform your employee instantly.
- You must have a valid reason, and you must inform the employee of the reason for dismissal.
You can do this in a meeting, but have a letter of dismissal ready afterwards. You can give the letter of dismissal during the meeting. Or you send the letter of dismissal after the meeting as a registered letter. Or via email with a confirmation of receipt.
Consult a legal adviser
A legal adviser can help you create the letter of dismissal. He can also give you advice. For example, in case of theft. You can hire a legal adviser through legal expenses insurance or through the Dutch Bar Association (Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten, NOvA, in Dutch).
Gather evidence
You have to prove that there is an urgent reason for dismissal. Gather as much objective evidence as possible. What that evidence is exactly depends on the situation. Think of:
- video recordings
- emails
- complaints from colleagues
Make sure the evidence shows what happened and that it is not your opinion.
What if an investigation is needed?
If you know that immediate dismissal is inevitable, you can tell your employee they have to stop working temporarily. This is called suspension. You can suspend your employee until you have enough evidence. Sometimes an investigation is needed first. For example, to hear your employee's side of things, or if you want legal advice. This takes time. You need to continue paying your employee during the suspension.
What happens if you dismiss the employee too late?
Do you wait too long to investigate and only then terminate the contract? Then you are not complying with the rules for immediate dismissal.
What happens to the wages in case of immediate dismissal?
You no longer have to pay your employee their wages if you have a valid reason for immediate dismissal. You can stop paying their wages on the date of dismissal.
You must also arrange the final settlement. That is paying out any days off or holiday pay you employee still gets. You can wait to pay out. Sometimes, your employee has to pay you compensation in case of summary dismissal. If so, you can deduct the final settlement from that.
You do not have to pay a transition payment if the dismissal is because your employee has done something serious. Or because your employee did not do something. Does your employee not agree? Then they can go to the subdistrict court. The judge may rule differently. If they do, you may have to make the transition payment, or part of it.
You can claim compensation from your employee if they have caused the reason for dismissal. Does your employee have a fixed or temporary contract that can be ended in the meantime? Then the compensation you get is equal to the salary you would pay over the notice period. Is it a temporary contract that cannot be ended in the meantime? Then the compensation is equal to the wages you would pay until the end of the contract.
What happens if the judge reverses the dismissal?
If the district judge rules that the immediate dismissal is invalid, there is a good chance that you must pay the employee compensation. And maybe you will even have to rehire the employee. The compensation is always at least 3 months’ salary.
How does the judge assess immediate dismissal?
The district judge will look at these points in an immediate dismissal:
- Is there really an urgent reason for the dismissal?
- Have you fired your employee immediately after you noticed that there was an urgent reason for it? Or after you gathered enough evidence for the urgent reason?
- Is there evidence that your employee knew about the immediate dismissal and the reason for it?
- Have you clearly explained the reason for immediate dismissal in the letter of dismissal?
- Did the dismissal take effect immediately?
When is an immediate dismissal not valid?
If you wait too long to start the investigation and only dismiss the employee afterwards, you do not comply with the rules for immediate dismissal.
FAQ
You must inform your employee of the immediate dismissal straightaway.
You can also dismiss your employee with immediate effect if they are ill. This is only possible if there is a valid reason for immediate dismissal. For example, in case of fraud or theft. You may not dismiss your employee because they are ill.
If the subdistrict judge rules that you do not have a valid reason for the immediate dismissal, it is likely that you will have to pay your employee compensation.
Your employee must know that you are dismissing them with immediate effect, and why. Only then is the dismissal valid.