Why you should never resign from your employment contract yourself (even if you already have another job)

No unemployment benefits, no transition allowance, no extended notice period, and you keep your non-compete clause. Moreover: is it really only your choice to leave? Or is there an underlying reason that can be attributed at least equally to both parties?

No unemployment benefits

If you resign from your employment contract yourself, you are basically considered culpably unemployed and are not entitled to unemployment benefits (WW). You might already have another job, so you may think you don’t need those benefits anyway. If you reason like that, you don’t know the phenomenon of the carry-over effect of culpable unemployment. For unemployment benefits, there is a weeks requirement: you must have worked at least 26 out of the 36 weeks before becoming unemployed. The Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) looks at the employment contract from which you became unemployed. It may be that your new job lasts less than 26 weeks: maybe you are dismissed during the probation period, or it is a fixed-term contract shorter than 26 weeks. In that case, the UWV will look at how the previous contract ended. And you resigned from that one yourself…

No transition allowance

When the Work and Security Act (Wet Werk en Zekerheid) was introduced, it was announced with much enthusiasm: there will be a compensation that applies to everyone. That is true, but not for someone who resigns voluntarily. You might well wonder if that is really fair. Even someone who resigns undergoes a transition. They lose seniority and often have to start with a fixed-term contract. So why wouldn’t this employee get a transition allowance, while an employee dismissed, for example, after a reorganization or two years of illness does?

No longer notice period

The statutory notice periods usually apply to termination. For employees, that is one month, and for employers, it is one month plus one month for every five years the employee has been employed, up to a maximum of four months. Often, these notice periods are simply paid out.

Non-compete clause

If you resign yourself, you immediately give up your negotiation room to still discuss a non-compete or non-solicitation clause. This can be very inconvenient, both when applying for new jobs and performing work for a new employer. Non-compete clauses are often broadly formulated and come with hefty penalties. It might be possible to challenge them in court, but that takes time and the outcome is uncertain.

What then?

If you should not resign yourself, what should you do? Simple: discuss and negotiate a mutual termination agreement with your employer. Businesslike and professional. You do this not alone, but together with your labor law attorney. Contact Van Dis for a no-obligation and confidential consultation: employment law.