Your candidate’s notice: how long it lasts and how to shorten it.
If your candidate resigns, their notice lasts one to thirteen weeks, depending on their length of service. It starts on the Monday after the week in which they handed in their letter. It can be shortened by mutual agreement, by buying out the rest or with a counter-notice if they were dismissed themselves. Work it out in your first conversation, not only when the offer comes.
Gauthier Denis · 25 October 2026 · 8 min read
On Friday, your candidate signs. Your client calls straight away: “Great. So they start on the first of the month?” That evening, your candidate works it out. Nine years’ service: thirteen weeks’ notice. On the phone, your client goes quiet.
Let’s not be naive about it: you can’t change those thirteen weeks. Notice is a statutory period, and their boss can say no to any request to leave earlier. But you can know it before anyone gets caught out, and you can help your candidate ask for shorter notice, with a plan their boss gets something out of too. It matters for you as well: your fee only comes in when they start.
How long their notice lasts
If your candidate resigns, their notice depends on their length of service: how long they’ve worked for their employer, up to the day before their notice starts. That ranges from one week in their first months to thirteen weeks at most once they have eight years’ service. Since 28 October 2023, that maximum applies to everyone, including those already employed before 2014.
| Length of service | Notice |
|---|---|
| Less than 3 months | 1 week |
| 3 to 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 to 12 months | 3 weeks |
| 12 to 18 months | 4 weeks |
| 18 months to 2 years | 5 weeks |
| 2 to 4 years | 6 weeks |
| 4 to 5 years | 7 weeks |
| 5 to 6 years | 9 weeks |
| 6 to 7 years | 10 weeks |
| 7 to 8 years | 12 weeks |
| 8 years or more | 13 weeks |
If their contract started on or after 1 August 2026, their notice in their first six months is one week.
Their notice starts on the Monday after the week in which they handed in their letter. So a letter on a Friday or on the following Monday makes a whole week’s difference. And once it’s running, it keeps running: notice given by the employee isn’t extended by holidays or illness.
Three ways to shorten it
By mutual agreement. Your candidate and their boss can always agree a different end date between them. That’s the normal route, and the only one with no cost. Put the agreement in writing, with the new end date.
By buying out the rest. If they leave earlier without an agreement, they owe their employer a payment in lieu of notice: their current pay and benefits for the rest of their notice. A new employer can cover that payment, for example with a sign-on bonus.
With a counter-notice. If your candidate was dismissed themselves and still has to work their notice, they can give a counter-notice once they have a new job: their normal period, but four weeks at most.
The method: from first conversation to first day
Six steps, so that nobody gets caught out by their notice, and they start with your client as early as possible.
01Know their notice from the start
In your first conversation, ask how long they’ve been with their employer, and whether they’re resigning or were dismissed. In your intake with the client, ask about the deadline: when does the new person need to start, and what if it ends up later? That way you see straight away whether it fits.
02Work it out together
When the offer comes, you work it out together: their length of service, the number of weeks, the Monday it starts and the day it ends. You give that end date to your client, and you use it to plan their start together.
03Sign first, then resign
They can’t simply take back their notice, while an offer can still change. So they sign with your client first, and only then resign, on a day you agree together. After their talk with their boss, you call them.
04Prepare their letter
They tell their boss in person first, then hand over their letter. It states:
- the date, and that they’re terminating their employment contract;
- the start date and the length of their notice;
- the request to shorten the notice together;
- that they’ll ensure a good handover;
- the request to sign a copy for receipt.
The start date and the length are mandatory. If they’re missing, the notice is void, their contract ends immediately and they owe their employer a payment in lieu of notice. Where they’re going doesn’t need to be in it. If their boss won’t sign for receipt, the letter goes by registered post.
05Ask for shorter notice, with a plan
They don’t ask for it as a favour, but with a plan: which files they’ll wrap up, who they’ll train up and by what date. That way their boss hears what’s in it for them. If there’s an agreement, they put it in writing, with the new end date, and you pass that on to your client.
06Stay close until their first working day
Call them during their notice, and your client too. The longer the notice, the more time their boss has for a counteroffer: how to cover that is in Close the counteroffer in your first conversation. On their first working day, you send them a quick message.
What to say when it gets tricky
“I’ll hand in my notice first, then I’ll sign.”
“Do it the other way round. You can’t simply take back your notice, and as long as you haven’t signed, the offer can still change. Sign first, then hand in your letter a day later.”
“They have to resign first, then we’ll sign.”
“No good candidate quits their job without a contract. Let them sign, then they’ll hand in their letter that same week and I’ll let you know when their notice starts.”
“Thirteen weeks? We can’t wait that long.”
“Every good candidate has a job, and so a notice period. We’ll ask for a shorter one together, and in the meantime you can already involve them: a team lunch, a site visit, their schedule. If you really want them sooner, you can cover the payment for the rest of their notice.”
“My boss won’t let me go a day early.”
“Then we’ll plan your start for the end of your notice, and I’ll stay in touch. If you still have holiday days left, ask whether you can take them during your notice. Your notice just keeps running.”
“I’ve been dismissed and still have to work four months.”
“Then you can leave sooner. With a new job, you give a counter-notice, and that lasts four weeks at most.”
An example
Let’s say Tom is a site manager, six years with the same contractor. You ask about it in your first conversation: six years, so ten weeks’ notice. Your client would ideally like him on 4 January, after the Christmas holidays.
Tom signs on Tuesday 3 November and hands in his letter on Thursday. His notice starts on Monday 9 November and runs up to and including Sunday 17 January. In his letter he asks to shorten it, and he comes with a plan: he’ll hand over his two sites to a colleague before Christmas.
His boss agrees to 31 December as his last day, and they put it in writing. You pass the date on to your client, and Tom starts on Monday 4 January.
Checklist
- You know your candidate’s length of service and your client’s deadline.
- When the offer comes, you work out their notice together: start date, length and end date.
- They sign with your client first, then hand in their letter.
- Their letter states the start date and the length, and the request to shorten it.
- Their boss signs a copy for receipt, or the letter goes by registered post.
- They ask for shorter notice with a plan, and any agreement is in writing.
- You plan their start with your client, and you stay in touch until their first working day.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the notice when an employee resigns?
One to thirteen weeks, depending on their length of service. From eight years it’s thirteen weeks, and since 28 October 2023 that maximum also applies to anyone already employed before 2014.
Is their notice extended by holidays or illness?
No. Notice given by the employee simply keeps running, even during holidays or illness. They can take their holiday days during their notice, in consultation with their boss.
What if their boss won’t sign the letter?
Then they send it by registered post. A registered letter takes effect from the third working day after it’s sent. If they send it by Wednesday at the latest and there’s no public holiday in between, their notice starts the following Monday.
Can their new employer buy out the notice?
Your candidate can stop earlier if they compensate their employer with a payment in lieu of notice for the rest of their notice. Their new employer can cover it, for example with a sign-on bonus. Have your client’s social secretariat (payroll provider) work out what that means gross and net.
Does this apply to your own notice too?
Yes, the rules are the same. What comes on top when you leave yourself, such as a non-compete clause, is covered in Non-compete clause and notice.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- FPS Employment, Notice periods: resignation by the employee: the periods, including for contracts from 1 August 2026.
- FPS Employment, Termination with notice (in Dutch): the form, the mandatory details, the registered letter and the Monday start.
- FPS Employment, Termination with payment in lieu of notice, Special rules (in Dutch) (the counter-notice) and Termination by mutual agreement (in Dutch).
- Securex, Resignation by the employee: notice period capped at 13 weeks (in Dutch), October 2023, and suspensions during notice (in Dutch).
- Unizo, Dismissal, notice and termination (in Dutch): the signature for receipt, and that notice is irrevocable.