Only for employees
Reorganization at ASN Bank
Is your work changing through the integration within the banking group, or is there a departure proposal on the table?
This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and international staff. ASN Bank is known as the sustainable and ethical bank, but it is one of the brands of the banking group de Volksbank, together with SNS, RegioBank and BLG Wonen. The group is owned by the State through NLFI, but you simply have an employment contract there; there is no question of civil-service law. In recent years the group has been working to simplify and merge its brands, systems and back office, partly through the digitalisation of banking. Such moves mainly affect support, back-office and IT roles. What makes your position distinctive is that you may feel above all like an ASN employee, but your formal employer is the group. That determines who reorganizes and how far reassignment reaches.
Does this apply to you?
- Your role is changing through the integration of brands and systems
- Your back-office or IT task is being merged or outsourced
- You are being reassigned, including to another brand within the group
- You are redundant, or you are taking it into account
- You have received a departure arrangement or settlement agreement
Why employees come to ReorgLegal
ReorgLegal specializes in reorganizations and works exclusively for employees, never for employers. We assess your proposal and stand beside you.
Do not wait too long. Reorganizations often come with short response deadlines. Have a proposal assessed before you agree to it.
The situation at ASN Bank
At ASN this is not a bank in trouble, but a brand within a group that is simplifying and merging its organisation.
One group, several brands
ASN, SNS, RegioBank and BLG Wonen are brands of the same banking group. The group is working to run one organisation, one system and one back office behind those brands as far as possible. That makes banking more efficient, but it also means that duplicate or overlapping roles can merge. Such changes are different from the disappearance of the ASN brand, which as the sustainable face keeps a central role.
What that means for you
For you it is therefore often not about the end of ASN, but about whether your role returns in the shared organisation or changes, and what rights you have if it does not. Because you work in a group with several brands, reassignment can reach further than your own unit.
An integration within a banking group proceeds in steps. This page sets out the picture in July 2026.
In brief
- ASN Bank is a brand of the banking group de Volksbank
- Other brands of the group are SNS, RegioBank and BLG Wonen
- The group is owned by the State through NLFI, but you are not a civil servant
- You have an employment contract under the de Volksbank collective agreement
- The group is simplifying and integrating its brands and systems
- Mainly back-office, IT and support roles are affected
You work for the group, not only for ASN
Many staff feel above all like ASN employees, with the sustainable mission that goes with it. Legally, however, your employer is the banking group, and in a reorganization that determines more than you might think.
The brand and the employer are not the same
ASN is the brand under which you appear to the outside world, but your employment contract is with the group. If the group reorganizes, that affects the roles behind all the brands, not only those of ASN. So check your employment contract to see which entity is your employer, because that determines which collective agreement, which social plan and which rules apply to you.
Reassignment can reach across the brands
Because you work within a group with several brands, the duty to examine reassignment can reach further than your own unit. If your role at ASN is eliminated, a suitable role at another brand or elsewhere in the group may come into view. For you that is an opportunity rather than a limitation, provided you know which roles are open.
Not sure who your employer is and how far reassignment reaches? Have it clarified.
Watch these points about your position
- Which entity your employment contract names
- That the de Volksbank collective agreement and any social plan apply
- Whether your role returns in the shared organisation
- Whether reassignment to another brand is in view for you
- Whether an offered role is genuinely suitable
How a reorganization at ASN unfolds
A dismissal on economic grounds goes through fixed statutory steps. At each step you can have your position checked.
Justification and advice
The group must make it plausible that your role is disappearing and put a reorganization to the works council for advice. If a reorganization affects many roles in a short period, the rules on collective redundancy may come into play; they only require notification to the UWV and consultation with the unions once the statutory conditions and threshold are met.
Selection and the reflection principle
The choice of who becomes redundant does not lie freely with the employer. Where roles are interchangeable, the reflection principle essentially determines the order, subject to the statutory exceptions. Which group counts as the unit follows from the structure of the organization and the Dismissal Regulation. In an integration where roles from different brands merge, that very structure is often the point of debate.
Reassignment within the group
Before dismissal is at issue, it must be examined whether there is a suitable role for you, if necessary after training and within a reasonable period. What matters is whether those other positions belong to the company or group for which your employer has a reassignment obligation under Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code and the Dismissal Regulation. At a banking group with several brands, that scope can be wider than ASN alone.
At each step there is something to do
- Ask whether your role is eliminated, changed or returns in the new organisation
- Keep your employment contract, job description, payslips and the proposal
- Have someone check which group the reflection was applied to
- Ask which roles at other brands of the group are open
- Do not take a final decision before your position is assessed
What does this mean for you?
A reorganization at ASN follows the statutory rules for economic dismissal, supplemented by the de Volksbank collective agreement and any social plan. On each of those points there is more for you to arrange than it seems.
Integration, not demise
At ASN the work changes mainly because brands and systems are being merged. Often your role merges with another or changes shape, rather than the brand disappearing. That raises different questions than a classic contraction.
A selection that can be checked
Within interchangeable roles, the reflection principle essentially determines who becomes redundant, subject to the statutory exceptions. Which unit counts depends on how the group is structured and on the Dismissal Regulation.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on the group's initiative and reassignment is not possible, there is in principle a right to the statutory transition payment, unless a statutory exception applies. If a social plan offers an additional provision, that is generally on top of it.
The settlement agreement
If you agree on a departure, it is set down in a settlement agreement, stating among other things your end date and the compensation. How those terms are worded is partly decisive for your unemployment benefit, so have the document assessed before you sign.
What you can do now
If the integration within the group affects your work, map out your position before you agree to another role or a departure. Those who have an overview early stand stronger.
- Check your employment contract for which entity is your employer
- Keep your employment contract, job description and recent payslips
- Have the reflection recalculated if you may become redundant
- Ask which roles are open at ASN and the other brands of the group
- Ask what any social plan offers you
- With many roles affected, see whether collective redundancy is at issue
- Have a settlement agreement reviewed before you sign
Is there a proposal for another role or a settlement agreement? Let us look at it before you sign.
When should you involve us?
- Your role merges with that of another brand or unit
- Your back-office or IT task is being merged or outsourced
- You are reassigned or offered another role
- You doubt whether an offered role is suitable
- Your response deadline is running and you want to know where you stand
Frequently asked questions
These are questions ASN employees put to us in practice.
Have you received a proposal for a role at another brand, or a settlement agreement? Have us review it.
Who is actually my employer, ASN or de Volksbank?
ASN is the brand under which you work, but your employment contract is with the banking group. That determines which collective agreement and which social plan apply and who carries out a reorganization. Check your contract for the entity it names, and have it assessed if that is unclear.
The ASN brand stays, but my role changes. How can that be?
In an integration the brand often remains while the organisation behind it is merged. Your role can therefore merge with another or change shape. A change of role is not an automatic dismissal, but it can affect your tasks and position. Have it assessed what the change involves.
I work in the back office or IT. Do I stand weaker?
When systems are merged and tasks outsourced, support, back-office and IT roles are often affected first. That does not mean you have no rights: the ordinary rules on reflection and reassignment apply, and reassignment can reach further than your own unit. Have your situation assessed once the plans affect your role.
Can I be reassigned to SNS, RegioBank or BLG Wonen?
You can. Because you work within one group, the reassignment obligation can reach further than ASN alone. Whether a suitable role at another brand is available depends on the vacancies and on what counts as suitable. Have it clarified which roles within the group are open to you.
Received a settlement agreement? Get a free review.
Upload your agreement and we will assess your situation, free and without obligation. On business days we respond within 1 hour. Your legal fees are usually covered by your employer.
Start free review