Limburg District Court, 18 December 2024, ECLI:NL:RBLIM:2024:9758
On 18 December 2024, Limburg District Court rejected an employee’s wage claim for nine months of outstanding wages, on the ground of failing to complain in good time within the meaning of Section 6:89 of the Dutch Civil Code (the duty to complain).
Facts
The employee started working for the employer in November 2021, with contracted hours of 35 per week. About one and a half years later, in June 2023, the employee signed a letter from the employer stating that her contracted hours would be reduced by ten hours per week. From then on, the employer paid ten hours per week less. Although the employee agreed to the reduction in hours by signing the document, she now argued she had understood the content of the letter differently. Several months later, the employee claimed, by letter, outstanding wages from March 2024 onwards. The employer disputed the content of the letter, and legal proceedings followed.
Ruling
The court rejected the employee’s claim. The court ruled that the employee had not claimed the outstanding wages in good time and had therefore not met her duty to complain. According to the court, the employee had not objected within a reasonable period to what she considered incomplete payment of wages, while she could periodically see on her payslip how many hours were being paid. These circumstances led the court to conclude that the employee could and should have complained within a reasonable period about the non-payment. The employer’s reliance on the duty to complain succeeded, and the employee’s claim regarding the outstanding wages was rejected.
Conclusion
Although a wage claim only becomes time-barred after five years under Section 3:307 of the Dutch Civil Code, this ruling underlines that employees must object in good time, that is, within a reasonable period, to receiving insufficient pay. Employees therefore bear their own responsibility to check payslips in good time and to take action in the event of irregularities.
Does your employee have questions about outstanding wages, and are you wondering whether the duty to complain offers a solution? Please contact one of our employment lawyers.
