Your employee fired? Get free legal advice!

Questioner

My employer wanted to fire me, but did not receive a dismissal permit from the UWV. So my permanent employment contract continues. However, I have incurred legal costs, but my employer does not want to pay them. Aren't they obliged to pay this, because I actually won.

Lawyer

No, your employer is - unfortunately for you - not obliged to reimburse these costs. In legal proceedings this is often the case. However, the UWV is not a judge, but simply a government agency with the task of granting dismissal permits (or not). Just like permits at the municipality, actually. If such an application is rejected, you are also not entitled to compensation for legal costs. That is only possible if you object to that decision, but you cannot object to a dismissal decision by the UWV. Whether this is all justified is certainly questionable, because a UWV dismissal procedure is quite similar to a legal procedure and therefore it is not wise for many employees to do this themselves. In fact: at the court you are much more 'protected' without a lawyer than at the UWV. So I understand your frustration all too well, because without your lawyer the dismissal permit might have been granted!