Bankruptcy

• Your employer must first formally terminate your employment. In principle, your employment contract ends when the notice period that applies to the employer has expired.
• Your notice period starts on the day that you receive written notice from your employer (an employer may only cancel after receiving permission from the UWV for economic reasons) and ends at the end of a month. Example with a 1-month notice period: if your employer cancels on September 15, you will leave the company on November 1;
• If you sign a settlement agreement, there is no cancellation. However, the notice period is important before the start of your unemployment benefit. The date of signing the settlement agreement applies as the start date of your notice period. So with the example above, you have to sign the settlement agreement in September and agree that you will leave the company on 1 November. As of 1 November you will then be entitled to unemployment benefits (provided you meet all the conditions). So make sure that you do not make or sign a commitment until you know how this will affect you.

In case of bankruptcy, the UWV will pay your wages until the end of your notice period. A bankruptcy payment is only applicable in the event of bankruptcy or inability to pay of the employer.