A job downgrade may occur for various reasons:

  • reorganisation or a review of the job grading system;
  • performance: it may emerge in your annual performance or appraisal interview that you do not or no longer perform your job satisfactorily. Your employer may in this case offer you another equivalent job, if possible. If this is not feasible, your employer will seek placement in a lower job;
  • at your own request: you may yourself request to be placed in a job with a lower salary scale. In this case, your job salary will be classified in that lower salary scale.

The principle is that the employee’s capacities should be optimally used. The employer will continue to strive to ensure that employees who are classified in a lower position other than due to their own request can return to working at their original level.


Here we distinguish the following situations:

  • if you have been employed for less than three years, or you have been promoted to a higher job less than three years ago, you receive the job salary belonging to your new and lower job. If you are returned to your original job after promotion you will not be graded lower than the classification you had before being promoted. The years of experience in the new position shall count for classification in the lower salary scale;
  • if you are placed in a job with a lower salary scale, you will be classified in the applicable lower salary scale, if you have been performing your current job for three years or more. You will receive a personal allowance for as long as your current job salary exceeds the maximum of the lower salary scale. This allowance is the difference between your current salary and the new individual job salary and will be scaled down over three years. More details about the individual allowance are provided in Article 9.5.


Additionally applies:

  • if you will reach the age of entitlement to Dutch state old-age pension (AOW) pension in seven years or less at the time of transfer to a new lower job, you will continue to accrue pension on 100% of your current individual job salary with the same division of pension contribution between the employer and the employee.

In the event of a reorganisation by means of a Social Plan to be negotiated with the trade unions and in the event of maintenance or revision of the job evaluation system in consultation with the employee representation, further agreements at each employer may be made for the entire workforce, or one or more groups, or in individual cases that deviate positively from the Social Plan.