A permanent reduction in working hours following incapacity for work may, under certain circumstances, be regarded as a partial termination of the employment contract, giving rise to an independent entitlement to a (partial) transition payment. A recent ruling by the Subdistrict Court of Midden-Nederland on 17 December 2025 dealt with such a situation.

What was the situation in this case

The employee had been employed for 40 hours per week since 1985. Following a long-term period of incapacity for work, he was declared partially fit for work for 20 hours per week in 2017. Subsequently, the terms and conditions of employment were amended, based on a working week of 20 hours. The employee did not formally agree to this, but in practice continued to work 20 hours a week for years.

In 2025, the employee became fully incapacitated for work and the termination of the employment contract was discussed. The parties disagreed on the amount of the transition payment. The employee argued that the entire 40-hour employment period should be taken into account. The employer argued that a partial termination for 20 hours per week had already taken place in 2017 and that the employee should have claimed a (partial) transition payment at that time, to which, according to the employer, the limitation period under Section 7:686a(4) of the Dutch Civil Code applied. In addition, the employer invoked the limitation period for any claim for performance of the original working hours.

The subdistrict court’s assessment

The subdistrict court considered that the decisive factor is whether there has been a substantial and structural reduction in working hours. In line with the judgment of the Supreme Court of 14 September 2018, such a reduction must be regarded as a partial termination of the employment contract, regardless of how it came about and regardless of whether the employee consented to it.

It is established that, as of 9 January 2017, the employer amended the terms of employment from 40 to 20 hours per week and that, from that moment onwards, the employee effectively worked 20 hours per week on a structural basis. This constitutes a substantial and structural reduction in working hours and therefore a partial termination of the employment contract for 20 hours per week. The fact that the employee had not consented to a formal amendment does not alter this.

The employee subsequently did not claim this compensation in 2017. The employer’s reliance on the limitation period is rejected, with reference to the Supreme Court judgment of 14 December 2018, because the entitlement had not yet been established in case law at that time. The reliance on the statute of limitations is also unsuccessful.

The employee therefore retains his right to the partial transition allowance for the hours that lapsed in 2017.

Finally, the subdistrict court judge makes it clear that a distinction must be made between two payments: on the one hand, the partial transition payment covering the period up to 9 January 2017 for the 20 hours that lapsed, and on the other hand, the transition payment upon termination of the remaining employment, based on 20 hours per week.

The subdistrict court therefore ruled that the employee was entitled to two transition payments: a partial payment for the hours lost in 2017 and a final payment for the remaining employment of 20 hours per week.

Read the full judgment here..

What does this mean for employers and employees

This ruling shows that a substantial and structural reduction in working hours may constitute a partial termination of the employment contract, even without the employee’s formal consent. The consequence of this is that an independent entitlement to a (partial) transition payment may arise.

For employers, this means that in the event of such a reduction in hours, consideration must be given not only to the practical implementation of the employment contract, but also to its legal classification and the potential entitlements arising therefrom, possibly with retroactive effect.

For employees, this means that a claim to a partial transition payment need not be lost under certain circumstances, even if this was not raised immediately upon the reduction in hours. Naturally, expiry and limitation periods must be taken into account.

Do you, as an employer or employee, have any questions regarding long-term incapacity for work, (partial) termination of the employment contract, the calculation of the transition payment, or your rights and obligations in this context? Please feel free to contact the employment lawyers at SPEE advocaten & mediation. We would be happy to assist you.