--- title: Wage Claims and Full and Final Discharge | Dutch Law description: Learn how full and final discharge may affect salary arrears, overtime, bonuses and other wage claims omitted from a Dutch settlement agreement. author: Edwin van Jaarsveld url: https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/en/wage-claim-settlement-agreement --- ![Wage claim omitted from a settlement agreement](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/17/shutterstock_499576012-1-gespiegeld-177f0f5e.jpeg) ## A practical example: salary arrears lost through full and final discharge A settlement agreement will usually contain full and final discharge: once the agreed terms have been performed, the employer and employee can in principle no longer bring further claims against each other. An omitted wage claim may therefore become irrecoverable. ### What happened? After his employment ended, an employee claimed outstanding salary. He argued that the agreement reached had settled only part of the dispute. The employer maintained that the parties had concluded a comprehensive settlement containing full and final discharge. The judgment is published as [ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2016:6927](https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2016:6927). ### What did the court decide? The wording and the circumstances in which the agreement had been concluded showed that the entire dispute had been settled. The wage claim was therefore covered by the full and final discharge. In this case, the risk that the employee may have assumed otherwise fell on the employee. **Practical lesson** Before signing, identify every pay component and expressly include each outstanding item, or clearly exclude it from the full and final discharge. [Free settlement agreement review](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2418) ## Do not sign until every pay item has been checked An omitted amount may become permanently irrecoverable after full and final discharge. [Request a free review](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2418) ## Which amounts should you check before granting full and final discharge? Open the items that may apply to your employment relationship. Salary arrears Check every pay period and record the amount, payment date and any statutory increase or interest. Overtime and additional hours Check time records, collective labour agreement provisions and any time-off-in-lieu balance. Holiday allowance and unused holiday Record accrued holiday allowance and unused holiday separately in the final settlement. Bonus, commission and other variable pay Determine what variable pay has already been earned and how an ongoing assessment period will be settled. Allowances and expenses Consider shift allowance, on-call allowance, travel expenses and expense claims that have not yet been reimbursed. Sickness and salary corrections Check deductions, waiting days and any dispute concerning continued payment of salary. Pension contributions Expressly address any arrears or corrections in pension contributions. Legal costs Record a separate employer contribution towards the costs of legal assistance. Full and final discharge Expressly list known exceptions and check whether unknown claims are being waived knowingly. ## How to prevent a wage claim from disappearing ### 1. Gather your pay documents Compare the employment contract, collective labour agreement, payslips, time records, bonus schemes and expense claims. ### 2. Prepare a complete final settlement Record the amount, calculation, payment deadline and any dispute for each pay item. ### 3. Limit the full and final discharge Include every item in the settlement agreement or expressly exclude a disputed or unknown claim. ![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/a8/vaststellingsovereenkomst_controleren-a89edd16.jpeg) ### Template settlement agreement An editable template helps you record arrangements concerning salary, the final settlement, severance pay and full and final discharge carefully. --- € 24,50 --- ![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/54/vaststellingsovereenkomst_weigeren_te_ondertekenen-540d485e.jpeg) ### Sample letter: employee’s initial response This letter allows you to remain available for work, preserve your salary entitlement and request time to have the termination proposal reviewed. --- € 19,50 --- ## More about severance payments [Severance pay overview](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2432) [Transition payment in a settlement agreement](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2433) [Entitlement to a transition payment](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2765) [Settlement agreement and severance pay](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2793) [Bonus and full and final discharge](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2770) [Transition payment shortly before state pension age](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2771) ![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/df/edwinportret-gigapixel-low_res-scale-4_00x-df0dd30f.jpeg) About the author ### Mr. Edwin van Jaarsveld Edwin van Jaarsveld has over 20 years of experience with dismissal cases and regularly publishes about them. **Edwin’s expertise can also be found on:** [![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/c9/linkedin-logo-c9bd4b88.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwin-van-jaarsveld-4746691b/?originalSubdomain=nl) [![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/85/paroo2l-85019151.png)](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/images/bekend_van/artikelen/Stel_bij_ontslag_alles_ter_discussie__Het_Parool1.pdf) [![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/2e/ad-2eae40c9.jpeg)](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/images/bekend_van/artikelen/Drugs_op_zak_maar_niet_gebruikt_Ontslag_op_staande_voet_is_wellicht_te_zwaar.pdf) [![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/75/brisk1-75fa8d97.jpeg)](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/images/bekend_van/artikelen/BC_-_Tien_tips_voor_werkgevers_bij_ontslag_wegens_disfunctioneren.pdf) [![](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/templates/yootheme/cache/47/mtsprout-4785aa81.png)](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/images/bekend_van/artikelen/Persbericht__Ontslag_op_staande_voet_een_weg_vol_risicos__MT_Sprout.pdf) ## Does your settlement agreement include every pay item? Have the final settlement and full and final discharge reviewed before signing. [Free settlement agreement review](https://vaststellingsovereenkomst.org/index.php?Itemid=2418)