When an employee leaves, most small business owners just want a clean break. Final invoice, final payslip, done. But a recent ruling from the Rechtbank Midden-Nederland shows how quickly that last payslip can turn into a costly lesson. In this case, an employer deducted so-called “minuren” hours the employee had not worked, from the final settlement. The court ordered repayment of over €6,000 in wages and allowances, plus the maximum statutory increase and costs . For a micro-entrepreneur, that is not an accounting detail. That is cash flow.
The core issue sounds technical, but it is very practical. The employee had a fixed number of contracted hours per week. In reality, she was structurally scheduled for fewer hours. At the end of the contract, the employer treated the shortfall as her responsibility and deducted the “missing” hours. The court disagreed. Under Dutch law (article 7:628 BW), an employee keeps the right to salary if the work was not performed for a reason that should reasonably be borne by the employer . In plain terms: if you control the roster, you carry the risk of underplanning.
This matters especially for businesses working with annual hour systems or flexible rosters. Many owners assume that if someone works less than their contractual hours over the year, the balance can simply be corrected in the final payslip. The court made clear that this only works if the employee was genuinely given a fair opportunity to work those hours. Open shifts in a system are not enough if you never actively ensure the contracted hours are scheduled . The responsibility does not quietly shift to the employee just because flexibility exists on paper.
There was more. The employer also had to pay irregular hours allowance (onregelmatigheidstoeslag), because compensation in time instead of money is only allowed if the employee requests it . Add to that the statutory increase for late wage payment, up to 50% and legal interest . What started as a few hundred “missing” hours turned into a layered financial risk: back pay, penalties, interest, legal fees. For a small company, that stack effect is the real danger.
For business owners, the lesson is not to avoid flexible planning. It is to tighten the basics. If you offer 24 hours, make sure your scheduling structure supports 24 hours. If there are minuren building up, address them during the employment, in writing, with realistic planning, not at the exit. And if allowances are governed by a CAO, follow the text strictly. Courts do.
Most small entrepreneurs act in good faith. But employment law is not about intentions; it is about risk allocation. In the Netherlands, that risk often sits with the employer. A final payslip should close a chapter, not open a lawsuit. The calm adjustment is simple: plan what you promise, document what you discuss, and never treat wage deductions as an easy correction. They rarely are.
