The entry into force of the new Work and Security Act (Wet werk en zekerheid (WWZ)) also entails less known changes of employment law.

There are statutory time limits within which a certain right must be enforced. Also within employment law, there are expiry periods. Since the amendment of the law, a large number of amendments have been made to the time limits within which certain requests must be submitted.

Say that you are dismissed with immediate effect, it is of the utmost importance to act quickly. In the past, it was possible to invoke the nullity of an unjustified instant dismissal by letter. Subsequently, there was sufficient time to dispute the dismissal in court. Now, the employee has to submit an application to the subdistrict court within a period of two months.

The new severance payment, the transitional payment, is generally payable after dismissal of an employee with an employment relationship of at least two years. If, however, an employee fails to act within the specified time (proceedings must be initiated by the employee within three months after the dismissal), he can forget about the severance.

The compensation payable by an employer in case of late written notice of termination of an employment agreement with a minimum duration of six months must be requested from the court within two months.

These deadlines are in principle strict deadlines. This means that after this period, the employee can no longer enforce his right, and will thus be left empty handed. Employers will probably use this knowledge to their advantage.