In the ‘Kolom’ judgment that we wrote about earlier (see here) the Supreme Court has ruled that in the event of a partial termination of the employment contract (this also includes a reduction in working hours forced by circumstances) the right to a transition payment arises. A transition payment must, however, be applied for within 3 months after the (partial) end of the employment contract.
An employee of GVB had joined GVB Exploitatie B.V. in 1977. In 2014 he became partially incapacitated for work and received a WIA benefit. As of 1 June 2016 his working hours were reduced accordingly from 36 to 20 hours per week. In September 2018 the employee requested that GVB grant a (partial) transition payment. GVB rejected this request. The employee then attempted to obtain a partial transition payment from the court with reference to the Kolomarrest.
The judge considers that a change in working hours, compelled by circumstances, must also be regarded as a (partial) termination of the employment contract. As a result, a claim to a (partial) transition payment can indeed arise. However, the forfeiture period of 3 months within which the request for the transition payment must be submitted also applies in this situation. The employee in question therefore submitted his request too late and can no longer claim a transition payment.
