Netherlands: widespread use of wage cuts and demotions by HR departments and company leaders

An annual survey of 700 Dutch company leaders and HR departments covering HR policies, conducted by Berenschot in cooperation with the payroll services provider ADP, shows that employers continue to cut wages (over 1 in 10 employers). Although there are signs that the economy is recovering, employees still accept these changes to their working conditions. The survey also reveals that the practice of demotion is popular amongst HR departments.
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In 2013, almost a quarter of the respondents had asked their staff to accept lower salaries or less attractive working conditions. Several methods for lowering wages included: non-application of entitled pay increases (7%), a lowering of the applicable wage scale (3%), a reduction of the agreed working time (2%), and the cut back of the ‘13th month’ one off payment (1%). The source of a significant percentage (9%) of the cuts was not identified. The survey reveals that reductions in benefits,

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