SECTION 1. THE (EXTRA-)CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY OF THE EMPLOYEE VIS-A-VIS THE EMPLOYER

CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY

Article 18 Employment Contract Act states in its first and second paragraphs that the employee is liable to the employer and a third party for gross errors, deceit and minor errors occurring frequently rather than occasionally. In the third paragraph of the same provision the principle is upheld that deviations from the legal liability rule are invalid except when these occur by means of a generally binding collective agreement. However, this kind of deviation may only relate to the employee-employer relationship.

The last paragraph of Article 18 Employment Contract Act states that the compensations and damages to be paid by the employee to the employer as a result of an agreement with the employer or as a result of a judicial decision may only be deducted from the wages by the employer in accordance with the terms of the Wage Protection Act.

The first requirement for the application of the liability restriction is that this concerns employees. So the rule only relates to the liability of the employee in respect of the employer, and not the other way round.

The employee's liability is only limited when he/she commits an error in the implementation of the employment contract, i.e. insofar as he/she finds himself/ herself under the authority of the employer. Article 18 Employment Contract Act cannot be applied when the court holds that the facts show that the employee did not find himself/herself under the authority of an employer at the time the mistake was made. In the latter case the liability is judged on the basis of the principles of ordinary law.

Gross error, deceit, frequently occurring minor error: the legislator has limited the employee's liability to gross error, deceit or intentional error and the frequently occurring minor error.

Intentional error is usually defined as a fault committed to cause damage. According to a different view an intentional error is the conscious and intentional non-observance of a contractual obligation or a non-contractual generally applicable norm. Common to both views is the presence of an intentional element.