Can an employer apply a notice period of 3 months?

Questioner

This concerns termination within the term of an annual contract that would end on 31-12-2023 and which would be converted into a permanent contract on 1-01-2024 under the same conditions of the annual contract, as briefly confirmed in an email. After insisting because the annual contract was about to expire, it was confirmed by email that the fixed-term contract would be extended to a permanent contract as of 1-1-2024 under the same conditions. The annual contract ended on 31-12-2023. Now the case is that before 31-12-23 on 27-12-2023 it was terminated due to a new job. The employer now says that legally there is a notice period of 3 months and this applies to all universities. Is this correct? In addition, you have nothing to do with the new contract since it was terminated within the annual contract? I would like to hear your response.

Lawyer

Specific rules apply to the termination of a fixed-term employment contract (such as a one-year contract). In general, a fixed-term contract cannot be terminated unless this is explicitly stated in the contract. According to the Civil Code, the notice period for an employment contract of one year or less can indeed be one month, but it is important to emphasize that this period is often determined in the contract itself. In addition, in your specific situation, if the contract was terminated on 27-12-2023, this still falls within the term of the original annual contract, and not within the extension to a permanent employment contract that would take effect from 1-1-2024. In your case, because according to your information you terminated within the annual contract, the notice period of the annual contract should be observed. Depending on what is stipulated therein, it can vary. But still, it is complex because this case gets entangled with other factors such as collective labor agreements. Since your employer indicates that there are specific rules for universities, I suspect that he could refer to rules from the collective labor agreement for universities. Unfortunately, without clear factual details, it is impossible to give precise advice. Therefore, I would advise you to discuss this matter with a lawyer or employment lawyer. They can help assess what the specific situation is, look at the details of the contract and advise possible follow-up. --------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.