A temporary employment contract ends automatically after the contract term has expired. Since the WWZ, a temporary contract (of 6 months or longer) must be ‘notified’ by the employer. This notification obligation means that the employer must inform the employee whether they wish to continue the employment relationship. And if the employer wishes to continue, they must also indicate which employment conditions apply.

But how does notification work in practice? Here are four tips!

1. Do it on time!
Notification must be given at the latest one month before the temporary employment contract expires. It may also be given at the very beginning of a temporary contract or shortly after concluding it. Are you late with notification? Then the employee can claim a penalty of up to one gross monthly salary.

2. Do it in writing
The law stipulates that notification must be done in writing. The court allows this to be done via email, LinkedIn or WhatsApp, but that is not my preference. What is important is that you as an employer can prove that the message reached the employee (on time). Therefore, some employers send a registered letter.

3. Do it clearly
It must be clearly evident from the written message that this concerns a notification. Therefore, it must at least state what the employer intends to do with the contract, extend it or not. And if the employer wishes to extend, the communication must also state under which conditions they wish to do so.

4. Always do it
Notification is required when the employer decides not to extend the temporary contract, but also when the employer decides to continue the employment relationship. The latter is sometimes forgotten, but is indeed mandatory. In practice, this fortunately does not often lead to problems, because parties continue together and the employee in that case usually does not decide to claim the penalty. But it is good to pay attention to this.

Do you have questions about notifying a contract? Please feel free to contact us.