Redundancy during a reorganisation in Eindhoven: what are your rights?

Are you facing dismissal during a reorganisation in Eindhoven or the Brabant region? Then you'll want to know your legal standing. The rules surrounding business-economic dismissal are laid down by law and offer you, as an employee, more protection than you might think.

Dismissal for economic reasons occurs when a company dismisses an employee due to financial difficulties or restructuring.

An employer cannot simply dismiss you because the company is reorganising. There must be a valid, substantiated reason. Consider demonstrable financial problems, a structural reduction in work, or an organisational change that leads to job redundancies. Only if the job redundancies are structural and redeployment proves impossible, can an employer initiate the dismissal procedure.

Most business-related dismissal procedures go through the UWV. Sometimes an employer opts for a settlement agreement to bypass the formal UWV route. In both cases, the same legal safeguards apply to you as an employee. You can read more about the background of this procedure on the page about Reorganisation and Redundancy in Eindhoven.

The reflection principle determines who leaves

Your employer may not arbitrarily decide who has to leave during a reorganisation. The law stipulates the reflection principle: a mandatory calculation method used to determine which employees are redundant.

In practice, this means that employees with interchangeable roles will be divided into five age groups. Subsequently, redundancies must be distributed in such a way that the age structure of the workforce after the reorganisation remains as consistent as possible with the situation beforehand. Within each age group, the 'last in, first out' principle applies: the employee with the shortest period of service is the first to be considered for redundancy.

Always check if your employer has correctly applied the mirror principle. An error in the calculation may mean that the dismissal cannot be upheld by the UWV or the court.

Your employer's duty to redeploy

Before your employer is allowed to dismiss you, they are obliged to actively investigate whether a suitable position is available for you within their own organisation or the company group. This is called the duty to redeploy. It concerns a duty of endeavour: the employer does not have to guarantee redeployment, but must have made demonstrably serious attempts.

A suitable position is one that aligns with your education, work experience, and abilities. The period within which your employer must seek re-placement opportunities is equal to the statutory notice period and ranges from a minimum of one to a maximum of four months. If your employer fails to meet this obligation, the UWV or the sub-district court will, in principle, not approve the dismissal.

Your right to a transition payment during a reorganisation

If you are dismissed via the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) or sign a settlement agreement during a reorganisation, you are in almost all cases entitled to a transition payment. You accrue this right from your first day of employment. The payment amounts to one-third of a month's salary per full year worked.

In 2026, the statutory maximum transition payment will be set at €102,000 gross. If you earn more than €102,000 per year, your gross annual salary will apply as the maximum. Please note: a collective labour agreement may sometimes stipulate an alternative provision instead of the transition payment in the case of business-related dismissal, provided that it aims to prevent or shorten unemployment and includes a reasonable financial component.

Practical steps if you are declared redundant

Are you being told your job is being made redundant? If so, take the time to assess your position carefully. Here are the best steps to take:

• Please provide the full reasoning for the decision of redundancy in writing.
• Check if the mirroring principle has been correctly applied to your functional group and establishment.
• Check whether your employer has actively investigated redeployment opportunities, including within other divisions of the company.
• Never sign a settlement agreement directly without having it checked first; you typically have fourteen days to reconsider after signing.
• Calculate whether the offered transition payment is correct based on your years of service and full salary (including holiday pay and fixed allowances).
• Investigate whether, in addition to the statutory transition payment, you can also claim supplementary agreements from a social plan or collective labour agreement.
• Seek legal advice in good time; in dismissal proceedings through the UWV, you have the right to defend yourself.

What you can do if you disagree with the dismissal

Do you suspect that the dismissal procedure did not follow the rules? Then there are several options. In a UWV procedure, you can lodge a defence as soon as you receive your employer's dismissal application. In the case of dismissal via the sub-district court judge, you can ask the judge to award a reasonable compensation if it transpires that your employer has acted in a seriously culpable manner. If you have signed a settlement agreement, there is a statutory reflection period of fourteen days within which you can withdraw your signature without giving a reason.

Assistance with dismissal in a reorganisation in Eindhoven

A reorganisation has a lot at stake: your income, your career, and your future. At Arbeidsjurist Eindhoven, we know the local labour market and how reorganisation processes unfold in Brabant. We quickly and concretely assess your situation: is the redundancy declaration correct, has the transition payment been calculated properly, and are there opportunities to negotiate more? Please contact us without obligation for an initial consultation. We are here to help.

Frequently asked questions

Am I always entitled to a transition payment if I am dismissed due to a reorganisation?

In virtually all cases, yes. As soon as your employment contract ends on the initiative of the employer, you are entitled to a transitional payment. You build up this entitlement from your first working day. In 2026, the maximum will be set at €102,000 gross, or your full gross annual salary if that is higher. This entitlement can only lapse in the event of serious culpable conduct on your part.

The reflection principle is a legal term that refers to the legal theory that a court will reconsider previous decisions if the facts or circumstances of a case have changed significantly. This principle is important for you because it means that if you have a legal case before a court, and there are new developments or changes in your situation, you may be able to ask the court to review its previous decision. This could be beneficial if the court's original decision was not in your favour, or if you believe that the new circumstances warrant a different outcome.

The mirroring principle is the legally mandated method your employer must use to determine who becomes redundant during a reorganisation. Employees with interchangeable roles are allocated into five age groups, after which those with the shortest length of service within each group are the first to be considered for dismissal. If your employer incorrectly applies this principle, the dismissal can be blocked by the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) or the court.

Ja, u mag verweer voeren als uw werkgever een ontslagvergunning aanvraagt bij het UWV.

Yes, absolutely. As soon as you, the employee, receive your employer's redundancy request via the UWV, you have the right to submit a written defence. The UWV will take your response into consideration when making its decision. This is an important moment to highlight any errors in the procedure or the misrepresentation.

What exactly does my employer's redeployment obligation entail?

Your employer is legally obliged to actively investigate whether a suitable alternative position is available for you before dismissal, including within other parts of the company or group. Only when redeployment within a reasonable period – equivalent to the statutory notice period – is demonstrably not possible, may the dismissal proceed.

Can I negotiate a higher compensation than the statutory transition payment?

Yes. The statutory transition payment is a minimum. With a settlement agreement, there is often room to negotiate a higher severance payment, a longer notice period, a better outplacement scheme, or other benefits. Always have the agreement checked by a specialist before signing.

We are happy to think along with you. For advice tailored to your situation, we would be glad to talk. No rights can be derived from the content of this page and it may contain inaccuracies.