Individual dismissal - Ernst & Young - NW

Individual dismissal

I would like to dismiss an employee. What are the options?
It might seem attractive to dismiss a person at the lowest possible costs, but negative publicity does not do any good either. It is therefore important to deal very carefully with dismissal procedures. If there is no urgent cause (instant dismissal) and the employment contract cannot be terminated by mutual consent, there are two options to terminate the employment contract.

1. You can apply for a permit to terminate an employment contract from the Centre for Work and Income (CWI) and if the permit is granted you can give notice of termination of the employment contract with due observance of the notice period.
   
2. You can also request that the subdistrict court set aside the contract. You do not need permission for this within the meaning of a permit to terminate an employment contract. There are two dissolution procedures, namely dissolution for serious cause and dissolution for breach of contract.

The choice between the CWI and the subdistrict court depends on various factors. The CWI does not award compensation, the subdistrict court on the other hand will always determine whether compensation must be awarded and if so to which amount. Do take into account that if you have given notice of termination of the employment contract the employee can still claim compensation from the subdistrict court by means of manifestly unreasonable dismissal proceedings.

My employee demands a severance payment (golden handshake); what is a realistic amount? 
A severance payment serves to compensate for the employee's loss of income during the period between the termination of his current employment and a future job. The amount is usually determined based on the subdistrict court formula.

Do you want to dismiss a person with immediate effect?
Always consult a lawyer first if there seems to be an urgent reason to dismiss an employee with immediate effect, in order to prevent that you dismiss an employee and that it turns out afterwards that there was no reason for it, in which case you might be confronted with a claim. Situations that might, but not necessarily will, constitute a valid urgent cause are: refusal to do a particular job, misrepresentation during job application, theft and fraud.