Appealing a Dismissal: Is It Worth It?

Last updated: October 2026

The subdistrict court has ruled. Is it worth pursuing the case further? Both the employer whose request for termination was denied and the employee whose employment contract was terminated are asking this same question. We analyzed 1,050 published final decisions by the courts of appeals in termination cases (July 2015 through July 2026) and broke down the results by the objective of the proceedings: termination retroactive to a later date, reinstatement of the employment contract, or another financial outcome.

What are the benefits of filing an appeal?

We are examining the 563 cases in which an employer’s request (Art. 7:671b of the Dutch Civil Code) was central and the termination itself is still under review on appeal. These cases fall into two categories.

Option 1: The subdistrict court denied the request to terminate the employment contract (185 cases). The court of appeals subsequently ruled to terminate the employment contract in 88 cases (48%); in 84 cases, the denial was upheld (45%). Among these cases, termination was ultimately ordered about as often as the rejection was upheld.

Scenario Two: The subdistrict court ordered the termination, and the employee is challenging it (376 cases). The court of appeals ruled in 97 cases that the termination was unjustified (26%); in 262 cases, the decision was upheld (70%). Reversing a termination is therefore considerably more difficult than securing one in the first place.

The remaining cases in both tracks have mixed outcomes or outcomes that cannot be clearly classified. These cases remain included in the total count but are not classified as confirmed successes or confirmed failures.

What happens if the appeal is successful?

The legal framework set forth in Article 7:683 of the Dutch Civil Code specifies the consequences of a successful appeal, which therefore vary depending on the type of appeal. If the court of appeals finds that the subdistrict court judge wrongfully rejected the request for termination, it will itself determine the date on which the employment contract will ultimately terminate (paragraph 5). If the court of appeals finds that the subdistrict court wrongly terminated the employment contract, that termination is not automatically reversed: the court of appeals may order the reinstatement of the employment contract or award the employee fair compensation (paragraph 3). Reinstatement may be ordered with retroactive effect; this occurred in 32 cases.

Furthermore, the points of review vary depending on the question. The court of appeals assesses whether the subdistrict court judge was correct in dissolving the contract based on the facts as they existed at that time (ex tunc). As to whether the employment relationship must still be terminated following a rejection, and the choice between reinstatement and compensation, the court of appeals generally assesses the situation as of the time of its own decision (ex nunc). By that time, more than half a year—or even longer—has often passed since the first instance, and that lapse of time can work against reinstatement.

This study cannot determine whether this pattern fully explains the difference between 48% and 26%. After all, which cases are brought to the appellate court is a decision made by the parties themselves, and that selection may vary depending on the legal route taken. The figures describe the outcomes, not the cause.

When does reinstatement under the employment contract take place?

An employee who wants to return to their job after termination files a motion for reinstatement with the court of appeals. This occurred in 321 of the 376 cases in route two; the motion was granted in 40 cases (12%), 32 of which were granted retroactively. There is a clear reason for this low rate: of the 281 requests for reinstatement that were denied, 81% were rejected at the preliminary stage because the court upheld the termination.

Those who do win that preliminary hearing have a serious chance of being reinstated. Of the 97 cases involving a revised dismissal ruling, reinstatement was requested in 79; it was granted in 40 of those, well over half. On balance, of those 97 employees, 40 received reinstatement and 57 received fair compensation in lieu of reinstatement, with a median of €24,500 in the latter group.

If it’s just a matter of settlement

Then there’s the largest overlooked category. In 425 of the 1,050 final decisions—four out of ten—the termination itself is no longer in dispute, and the appeal centers on the settlement, which is almost always financial: fair compensation, a transition payment, or some other amount. When people hear “appeal in a dismissal case,” they think of a fight to keep their job, but in most cases, it’s actually about money.

In that route as well, the contested decision is usually upheld: in 315 cases (74%). In 60 cases (14%), a change in compensation was recorded. When the court sets an amount in such cases, the median is €22,500.

Taking all final decisions together, the court awarded fair compensation in 290 cases, with a median of €30,000. That is double the median we previously found across all courts and (also) including other types of equitable compensation in our study on equitable compensation.

What does this mean for your business?

Back to the deciding question, for each procedural objective. For employers whose requests have been denied, published case law points to a realistic path forward: in nearly half of the cases, the court of appeals ultimately decides the outcome.

For an employee who wants his job back, the situation is twofold. The first hurdle (unjustified termination) is high: in only a quarter of cases does the court overturn the termination ruling. However, those who manage to clear that first hurdle and have requested reinstatement are granted it in well over half of the cases. At the same time, keep in mind that even then, the outcome may be a settlement rather than reinstatement.

For the party contesting only the settlement, a change in the compensation amount occurs in one out of every seven cases. In all proceedings, time is a factor: from the filing of the appeal to the court’s decision, there is a median of 179 days—nearly half a year on top of the first-instance proceedings. And a historical success rate does not equate to an individual’s chances of success in litigation: these figures help to inform a reasoned discussion about what pursuing the case further can realistically achieve—no more and no less.