If your employer goes bankrupt, it is an enormously disruptive situation. One of the first questions you will ask yourself is whether you are still entitled to a transition payment (transitievergoeding). The honest answer is that the law makes an exception here: in the event of an official bankruptcy, you are in principle not legally entitled to a transition payment. However, that does not mean you are left entirely empty-handed — there are indeed other claims you can make.
What the law says about bankruptcy and transition payments
Under normal circumstances, you are entitled to a Transition Payment when dismissed at your employer's initiative. In 2026, the statutory maximum is €102,000 gross, or one gross annual salary if your yearly income is higher. However, the law makes an explicit exception in Article 7:673c(1) of the Dutch Civil Code: in the event of bankruptcy, no transition payment is owed. This also applies in the case of a suspension of payments (surseance van betaling) — the situation before a company is officially declared bankrupt.
The reason is a practical one: the bankrupt estate generally contains insufficient funds to compensate both creditors and employees in full. The legislator has deliberately chosen not to burden the estate further with mandatory redundancy payments. That may sound unfair, but there are other avenues available to protect your financial position as best as possible.
The role of the insolvency practitioner in your dismissal
As soon as the court declares the bankruptcy, an insolvency practitioner (curator) is appointed to take over financial management and represent the interests of all creditors. The insolvency practitioner has the authority to terminate your employment contract without needing permission from the UWV. Nor does the insolvency practitioner need to observe dismissal prohibitions, such as those that apply during illness or pregnancy.
A maximum notice period of six weeks applies, regardless of your contractual or statutory notice period. Up to the end date of your employment, the insolvency practitioner is in principle obliged to continue paying your salary — although in practice that is not at all realistic when the estate is empty.
What you can claim through the UWV
Although the transition payment itself falls outside the scope of what is available, the UWV does offer protection for a number of other entitlements through the wage guarantee scheme (loongarantieregeling), which is based on the Unemployment Insurance Act (Werkloosheidswet). This is one of the most concrete steps you can take immediately.
The UWV's wage guarantee scheme covers:
- Arrears of wages for the last thirteen weeks before the bankruptcy.;
- Untaken holiday days and accrued holiday pay.;
- Pension accrual for a maximum of one year.
Important: the transition payment itself is explicitly not covered by this wage guarantee scheme. The UWV will therefore not take over that payment either. Submit your application to the UWV once your dismissal is formal — and do so no later than 26 weeks after the day on which you stop receiving wages, as the right lapses after that point.
Submitting your claim to the insolvency practitioner
If you have more arrears of wages than the thirteen weeks covered by the UWV, you can submit the remainder as a claim to the insolvency practitioner. Under insolvency law, wage claims are treated as preferential claims, meaning they take priority over ordinary creditors. The chance that this claim will be paid out (in part) from the bankrupt estate is therefore more realistic than for unsecured creditors.
Arrange a no-obligation chat and discover how we can help you.
Plan a conversationBear in mind, however, that the Tax Authority and other preferential creditors rank ahead of employees in the distribution. In practice, little often remains after the winding-up of a bankruptcy, particularly for those lower down the order of priority.
Special circumstances where entitlements may still exist
There are circumstances in which you may well be entitled to compensation, even in connection with a bankruptcy. Keep the following situations in mind:
- Business rescue (continuation of business) If a new party takes over (part of) the business following bankruptcy, the acquiring party is not obliged to take on all employees. However, if you are taken on, the successor employer is obliged to count your years of service prior to the bankruptcy when calculating any future redundancy payment.
- Abuse of insolvency proceedings: Employers sometimes attempt to avoid paying transition payments by engineering a strategic bankruptcy. If the bankruptcy is annulled by the court, a claim for a transition payment or fair compensation may still arise.
- Agreement signed before bankruptcy Did you already sign a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) that included an agreed payment? In the event of a subsequent bankruptcy, that payment becomes an unsecured claim against the estate. Payment is then highly uncertain.
Claiming unemployment benefit after dismissal due to bankruptcy
After the insolvency practitioner has terminated your contract and the notice period has expired, you can apply for unemployment benefit (WW) from the UWV. Do this no later than one week after the end of the notice period to avoid losing any entitlement. The standard conditions for unemployment benefit apply, but in the case of dismissal due to bankruptcy you are generally considered to have been dismissed through no fault of your own, which puts you in a strong position.
Practical steps if your employer goes bankrupt
Not sure where to start? These are the steps you can take immediately in any case:
- Contact the insolvency practitioner as soon as possible and ask for confirmation of your dismissal date;
- Submit a timely application to the UWV for the wage guarantee scheme (within 26 weeks);
- Claim unemployment benefit no later than one week after the end of the notice period.;
- Submit any arrears of wages exceeding the UWV coverage as a claim to the insolvency practitioner;
- Keep all correspondence, payslips and contracts carefully;
- Request a legal expert to assess whether there is an abuse of process or a special circumstance that nonetheless gives rise to an entitlement to compensation.
Why Labour Lawyer Eindhoven
Your employer going bankrupt can feel like the ground disappearing from under your feet. In Eindhoven and the wider Brabant region, we at Arbeidsjurist Eindhoven are ready to assess your situation concretely. We will look together at which claims are realistic, whether any special circumstances apply and what the best next steps are. Please feel free to contact us without obligation – an initial conversation costs you nothing, but can give you a great deal of clarity.
Frequently asked questions
Are you entitled to a redundancy payment if your employer goes bankrupt?
In principle, no. Article 7:673c(1) of the Dutch Civil Code explicitly states that no transition payment is owed in the event of bankruptcy. This applies regardless of how long you have been employed or how high your salary is.
What does the UWV cover if my employer goes bankrupt?
Through the wage guarantee scheme, the UWV takes over wage arrears for the thirteen weeks prior to bankruptcy, as well as untaken holiday days, holiday pay and pension accrual for a maximum of one year. The transition payment is explicitly excluded.
Can I submit the transition payment as a claim to the insolvency practitioner?
A transition payment can only be submitted as a claim in special circumstances, such as a previously signed settlement agreement. In this case, it is an unsecured claim, meaning other creditors are paid first. In practice, payment is therefore often uncertain.
What happens to my accrued years of service if the acquiring party takes me on after a business rescue?
If you are taken on by an acquiring party following a bankruptcy, that new employer is obliged, in the event of any later dismissal, to count the years of service prior to the bankruptcy when calculating your transition payment.
How quickly must I apply for unemployment benefit after being dismissed due to bankruptcy?
Apply for unemployment benefit no later than one week after the end of the notice period with your bankrupt employer. Applying late can result in the loss of benefit days. You submit the application via the UWV.
We're happy to help you brainstorm ideas. For advice tailored to your specific situation, we'd be happy to sit down with you. No rights can be derived from the content of this page and it may contain inaccuracies.
