What is it?

An employment agreement cites the 'rules' that are applicible between an employer and employee. An employment agreement for indefinite term is used for permanent staff members. There is no end-date, which means that if the parties want to terminate the agreement, they have to do so in mutual agreement, or through a judge. In an employment agreement you include the 'rules' on:

• working hours;
• the employee's salary;
• paid sickness leave and holiday leave.

Why do I need it?

An employment agreement is important, because both employee and employer know what they can expect from each other and what is expected from them. This will reduce any chance of disputes between the employee and employer.

In addition, in Dutch law, you can only deviate from some rules of law in a written agreement. A good example of this is a non-compete clause.

To finish off the reasons why you need this contract is that in Dutch law an employer is obligated to make the renewal of a contract into an indefinite one, when:

• this is the third renewal (or: the fourth contract); or
• the employee is working in your company for over two years.