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I am currently employed at some programming job in The Netherlands. I have been working there for the past 1year and 10 months. My contract is due next month. The problem is that I haven't heard anything if I can continue to work here or that I should find other employment. I have no reason to believe that I have been doing a bad job. And no indication that they would want to get rid of me.

However the time is growing short (to my taste) and thus my options limited.

What is the best course of action I should take? What options are still at my disposal? Should I just wait it out? And what will happen if nothing happens?

UPDATE

At the last possible moment (so exactly a month before the end of contract) they gave me a letter I could stay. That was just before I was planning to go to the manager to clear things up.

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  • What does the current say regarding notice to continue or notice to non-renew? – mhoran_psprep Nov 7 '17 at 12:35
  • You do realise that your performance ultimately isn't that relevant if it's intended to be a fixed-term contract? Can you clarify mhoran's question? Do you get the impression from your manager or colleagues that they expect you to still be there a month from now? – Lilienthal♦ Nov 7 '17 at 12:36
  • Some information for the UK on the gov.uk website which may be relevant in other European countries. Generally, if it's a fixed-term contract, it's for a defined term; if it's for less than two years (eg it started on 28 Nov 2015 and runs to 27 Nov 2017) then redundancy does not apply. They don't have to say that they won't extend or renew the contract, but it's good practice to remove any uncertainty. Is the job you're doing likely to still need doing? – Andrew Leach Nov 7 '17 at 12:41
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    See also: How close to contract expiring should I expect notification? – Dukeling Nov 7 '17 at 12:48
  • @Lilienthal Well the communication in this firm isn't really clear usually. My current contract does not state anything about renewal. And my colleagues are often kept in the dark about decisions. So I do not suspect they know anything about this being a thing. – Totumus Maximus Nov 7 '17 at 12:53
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According to Dutch law, for a temporary contract or contract for fixed duration employment, the employer has to give an employee a written notice a month before the end date of the contract, to let said employee know whether or not they intend to keep them on or not. (Source: https://www.werk.nl/werk_nl/werkgever/contract-ontslag/contract-loon/tijdelijk-vast)

If you're worried about it before that, there's nothing stopping you from asking your boss for a meeting to discuss your performance. I've done this in the past: I honestly mentioned to my manager that with the end of my current contract slowly approaching, I was getting a little antsy, so I would like to ask to ask them if there's anything I was doing well and should continue doing, as well as anything I could change or improve upon. During this sort of meeting you should be able to get a feel for which way your manager is leaning.

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  • Even though I like the answer of Mister Positivo too. This gave me some more localized information fitting to my case. – Totumus Maximus Nov 9 '17 at 8:25
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What is the best course of action I should take? What options are still at my disposal? Should I just wait it out? And what will happen if nothing happens?

In this case, you need to ask your manager what the plan is for you. There is nothing wrong with you approaching them and asking "Hey, my contract is about to expire, do you intend to extend or re-sign me?".

Do not wait it out until the contract expires as this date may have simply been forgotten about by your employer/manager.

Once you have your answer to this, then you should be able to formulate a plan of action. You want and need to know what their intentions are as soon as possible so you can line up the next gig should they not extend you.

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