The former head of Dutch railway company NS, who was forced out earlier this month, may get a golden handshake after all because of mistakes made in the way he was let go.

Senior employment lawyer Maarten van Gelderen told broadcaster Nos that the supervisory board was wrong not to inform Timo Huges in writing that he was being sacked.

‘It shows incredible amateurism from the supervisory board if they thought they could get rid of him with a phone call,’ Van Gelderen said. A briefing about the scandal from finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem indicates Huges was only told by phone that he was out of a job.

Huges was forced out after it emerged he had lied about his involvement in passing on confidential information to an NS subsidiary during the tender process in Limburg.

At the time, the NS said Huges, who had worked for the state-owned railway company since October 2013, would not be given a golden handshake.

However,  because Huges is now disputing his sacking and procedural errors were made, he may now take the issue to court. This means he may eventually be entitled to a pay-out, the broadcaster says.

In March, Huges was given a €75,000 bonus by the company’s supervisory board because the NS met targets on punctuality and customer satisfaction in 2014.