Termination by mutual agreement: model agreement

If you want to leave sooner than your notice period allows, or you and your employer agree it is time to part ways, you can end the contract together. This model puts the arrangement on paper, so there is no discussion later about the end date or what is still paid.

When do you use this model?

Use this model when you and your employer agree on an end date, with or without compensation. It is an agreement: both parties sign. Without agreement, only ordinary notice remains.

Form requirements

• Employer and employee can end the contract by mutual agreement, freely and at any time, and set the conditions themselves, with or without compensation.
• This way of ending the contract requires no special formalities. The FPS does recommend putting the arrangement in writing, so you can prove it if it is disputed later.

The model

Fill in the fields in square brackets and delete what does not apply.

AGREEMENT TO END THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Between:
[Employer's name], [address], company number [number], represented by [name and position], hereinafter the employer,

and:
[Employee's first name and surname], [address], hereinafter the employee,

the following is agreed.

First point. The employer and the employee end by mutual agreement the employment contract that started on [start date].

Second point. The employment contract ends on [end date]. No notice period is worked and no compensation in lieu of notice is paid, unless provided otherwise below.

Third point. [Choose what applies: No compensation is paid. OR: The employer pays the employee compensation of [amount] euros gross, no later than [date].]

Fourth point. Pay up to the end date, holiday pay and [other amounts, such as an end-of-year premium] are settled as the legal and collective rules require. [Arrangements on outstanding leave, the company car, the laptop or other benefits.]

Fifth point. [Any other arrangements, for example on the handover of work or a reference.]

Drawn up in [place] on [date], in two copies. Each party declares it has received one copy.

For the employer:
[Name and position]
[Signature]

The employee:
[First name and surname]
[Signature]

Tips

• Put everything you agree in the text: the end date, any compensation and what happens to outstanding leave and bonuses. What is not in it is hard to prove later.
• Do not sign under pressure and take the text home if you have doubts. Your union or a lawyer can review it before you sign.
• If you wonder what a mutual agreement means for unemployment benefits, ask your payment body before you sign.

Which language is required?

Which language is mandatory depends on where the operating site you work at is located. In the Dutch language area it is Dutch (Flemish language decree of 19 July 1973), in the French language area it is French (decree of the French Community of 30 June 1982). Both govern the language of social relations between employer and employee.

In Brussels-Capital and in the Flemish municipalities with language facilities, the federal law on the use of languages in administrative matters applies. In Brussels, documents for staff are drawn up in Dutch or in French depending on the employee's language; in the municipalities with facilities, in Dutch.

Both decrees provide that documents contrary to the language rules are void and that the court establishes that nullity of its own motion. The Flemish decree adds that the annulment may not harm the employee. In Brussels, documents in the wrong language must be replaced.

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This is a model, not legal advice. Adapt it to your own situation; your contract, your collective agreement and your payroll provider, union or lawyer remain decisive.