On the consequences of the new notice periods and the sense and nonsense of fixed-term contracts

The notice period for termination by the employer is reduced to one week during the first six months.

Does the employer need to adapt their evaluation system to this? (spoiler: pretty much)

Is it still worthwhile to work with fixed-term contracts of six months or less? (spoiler: that depends).

For contracts commencing from 1 August 2026, the notice period for dismissal during the first six months is reduced to one week for both employer and employee.

Some speak of a reintroduction of a probationary period, but that is incorrect. The legislative amendment simply lowers the general notice period to one week during the first six months of employment.

This yields the following charts (display up to 3 years of seniority):

In that respect, nothing changes. Article 37/4 of the WAO stipulates that when the employer terminates the contract, the previous period of employment as a temporary worker with the user is counted as seniority for the calculation of the notice period, up to a maximum of one year, provided that it concerns the same position and the hiring follows the period of temporary agency work.

3 Consequences

3.1 Termination of contracts of indefinite duration: six months as a turning point

Reaching six months of seniority marks a significant turning point: the employer's notice period jumps from 1 to 6 weeks.

A cautious employer will align their evaluation policy accordingly and thoroughly evaluate a new employee before the end of that six-month period.

When calculating the notice period for a former temporary agency worker, the period during which the employee worked as a temporary agency worker (with a maximum of one year) must also be taken into account, as stated.

Moreover, from six months of seniority, the employee may also request a justification for dismissal and may be eligible for compensation for manifestly unfair dismissal (Collective Labour Agreement 109).

3.2 And what about the termination of fixed-term contracts?

3.2.1 General

Many employers use fixed-term contracts in their recruitment system: a new employee is initially offered a fixed-term contract of three to six months. This period is then considered a kind of probationary period: the employer has the opportunity to judge whether the employee is the right person for the right job, and the employee can experience whether the position accepted was the right choice for them.

The regulations regarding the termination of a fixed-term contract remain unchanged.

Nevertheless, it is important to review that regulation. Here too, the six-month period constitutes a significant turning point.

3.2.2 Termination before or after the first half of the term of the contract

When the term expires, the contract automatically ends.**

If one of the parties wishes to terminate the contract beforehand, special rules apply: (Art. 40 §§1 and 2 WAO; those rules apply only to the first contract in the case of successive contracts.)

• During the first half of the agreed duration, but with a maximum of six months: The agreement may be terminated by the employee in compliance with the ordinary termination rules.
  • Example 1: An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from January 1 to August 31. During the first half of the agreement, i.e., up to and including April 30, the agreement can be terminated with observance of the standard notice period, being one week. There may be debate regarding whether the notice period must fall entirely before April 30, but in my opinion, according to the text of the law, that is not the case. If the contract is not terminated but broken before April 30, a termination fee of one week will have to be paid.
  • Example 2: An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from January 1 to December 31. During the first half of the agreement, i.e., up to and including June 30, the agreement can be terminated subject to the standard notice periods. There may be debate regarding whether the notice period must fall entirely before June 30, but in my opinion, according to the text of the law, that is not the case. If the contract is not terminated but broken before June 30, a termination fee of one week must be paid.
  • Example 3An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from 1 January 2026 to 30 April 2028. The agreement can be terminated during the first half of the term, but the six-month maximum applies here. Even though the first half of the term runs until 31 August 2026, due to the statutory maximum of six months, termination is only valid until 30 June 2026. If the contract is not terminated but broken before 30 June, a termination fee of one week must be paid.Some considerations regarding this:
    • There can be debate as to whether the notice period must commence in that first half or have fully expired, but according to the text of the law (Art. 40 § 2 WAO), in my opinion, that is not the case. — Isn't it always according to the person writing it?
    • It is the commencement date of the notice period that counts, not the date on which notice was given. (Art. 37/4 WAO??) That notice period commences on the Monday following the week in which notice was given.
    • The employee's incapacity for work extends neither the fixed-term contract nor the duration of the first half.
    • If the agreement has been concluded for a fixed period of less than three months, the employer may, in the event of incapacity for work due to illness or accident lasting more than seven days, terminate the agreement without compensation during, if the notice period referred to in Article 40, § 2, first paragraph, has expired.]1
• After the first half of the agreed duration (or after six months in the case of a fixed-term contract of longer than one year): The agreement can no longer be terminated. The party terminating the contract will have to pay termination compensation to the other party. This compensation is equal to the salary due up to the expiration of that period, but a ceiling applies: if the salary up to the foreseen end date of the contract exceeds double the salary corresponding to the duration of the notice period that would apply if it had been an ordinary contract of indefinite duration, the compensation is limited to double that amount.
  • Example 4: An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from January 1 to August 31. The employer terminates the contract on June 22. The contract is therefore terminated after the first half has ended, meaning that notice of termination is not possible and the employer must pay severance pay. In principle, this is equal to the salary from June 22 to August 31 (10 weeks), but a ceiling applies. That ceiling is double the “normal notice period”. If the agreement had been for an indefinite period, a normal notice period for dismissal on June 22 would have been 1 week. Consequently, the ceiling is 2 weeks. The employer must pay compensation of 2 weeks' salary.
  • Example 5: An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from January 1 to August 31. The employer terminates the contract on July 6. The contract is therefore terminated after the first half has ended, meaning that notice of termination is not possible and the employer must pay severance pay. In principle, this is equal to the salary from July 6 to August 31 (8 weeks), but a ceiling applies. That ceiling is double the “normal notice period”. If the agreement had been for an indefinite period, a normal notice period for dismissal on July 6 would be 6 weeks. Consequently, the ceiling is 12 weeks. The employer must pay compensation of 8 weeks' salary.
  • Example 6: An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from January 1 to December 31. The employer terminates the contract on July 2. The contract is therefore terminated after the first half has ended, meaning that notice of termination is not possible and the employer must pay severance pay. In principle, this is equal to the salary from July 2 to December 31 (being 26 weeks), but a ceiling applies. That ceiling is double the “normal notice period”. If the agreement had been for an indefinite period, a normal notice period for dismissal on July 2 would be six weeks. Consequently, the ceiling is 12 weeks. The employer must pay compensation of 12 weeks' salary.
  • Example 7: An agreement is concluded for a fixed term from January 1 to December 31. The employer terminates the contract on November 5. The contract is therefore terminated after the first half has expired, meaning that notice of termination is not possible and the employer must pay severance pay. In principle, this is equal to the salary from November 5 to December 31 (being 8 weeks), but a ceiling applies. That ceiling is double the “normal notice period”. If the agreement had been for an indefinite period, a normal notice period for dismissal on November 5 would be 7 weeks. Consequently, the ceiling is 14 weeks. That ceiling is not reached, so the employer must pay compensation of 8 weeks' salary. Note: If the agreement is concluded for a fixed term of less than three months and the first half has expired, the employer may terminate the agreement without compensation in the event of incapacity for work due to illness or accident lasting more than seven days (Art. 37/9 WAO).

3.2.3 Conclusions

• For fixed-term contracts of longer than one year (i.e., when termination is only possible up to six months of seniority), the expiration of the six-month term becomes a major tipping point: in the event of dismissal one day before the expiration of six months, a severance payment of 1 week applies; in the event of dismissal one day after six months, a severance payment of (6 x 2 =) 12 weeks applies. + risk of manifestly unreasonable dismissal?
• For fixed-term contracts between six and 12 months, the end of the six-month term will also constitute a turning point, though less decisively. For termination up to the first half, a notice period/compensation of one week applies; for termination after that first half, termination is only possible with payment of severance pay, with a ceiling of double “a normal notice period”. This means that the ceiling is (1 x 2 =) 2 weeks for termination between the first half and six months; from six months onwards, that ceiling increases to (6 x 2 =) 12 weeks.
• With fixed-term contracts of less than six months, the question of the purpose of working with a fixed-term contract can be raised in particular: if the sole intention is to view that contract as a kind of probationary period, that is not a good choice. Whereas with an indefinite-term contract the employer can always proceed to dismissal during the first six months with a notice period/compensation of one week, with a fixed-term contract he can only do so during the first half of the contract's duration; during the second half, he can only terminate the contract and must pay compensation equivalent to two weeks' wages. Working with fixed-term contracts merely as a form of probationary period does not seem like a sensible idea. From other perspectives, for example from the view that the employer wishes to give the employee a signal of certainty regarding the end date of the agreement, a different judgment may be made.* We speak of 'fixed term', but what is said also applies to 'specific work'.** In some cases, a “right to renewal of a fixed-term contract” applies, for example if it turns out that the employee is pregnant. We will not go into that matter any further here.