This week another interesting case at the Overijssel court:
An employee received a one-year contract from his employer on December 1, 2014. This contract includes: “If functioning well, this contract will be converted into a permanent contract.”
On November 30, 2015, the employer informs the employee that his fixed-term employment contract will not be converted into a permanent contract due to inadequate performance. On December 1, 2015, the employee resumes his regular work. There is talk of a continuation of his contract for a period of three months. The employer states that he also presented the employee with a three-month contract for signature before December 1, 2015, but this is disputed by the employee. A dispute arises between the parties about the duration for which the contract was extended.
The law stipulates that an employer must inform the employee about the continuation of the contract and the possible conditions under which the contract will be continued no later than one month before the end of the fixed-term employment contract. If this does not happen, the employer owes a fine of up to one month’s salary. However, the rule that tacit continuation leads to an extension under the same conditions still applies. In this case, the employee continued working, so as of December 1, 2015, there was a continuation for one year.
The employer has, as a precaution, also (conditionally) requested dissolution. This is granted based on the circumstance that the employment relationship has by now become disrupted. Although this is initially attributable to the employer, the employee initially took the position that he was now even employed for an indefinite period and reported sick twice, which was deemed by the company doctor to be unjustified.
The court then terminates the contract with due observance of a notice period of one month as of June 1, 2016. Because the employee has been employed for less than 2 years, he is not entitled to a transition payment.
Always give notice on time as an employer! And if you are late: do not let the employee resume their work. After all, there can then be no question of continuation.
