Only for employees
Reorganization at BDO
Is your role at BDO changing, or is there a departure proposal or settlement agreement on the table?
BDO is one of the large accountancy and advisory firms in the Netherlands. Under pressure on margins, a consolidating market and the rise of artificial intelligence, the firm is adjusting its organization. BDO itself prefers to call this a targeted adjustment rather than a reorganization, but for you as an employee the legal reality counts, not the word the employer chooses. This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and internationals. If your role disappears or changes, or there is a proposal to leave, it is wise to understand your own position before you sign anything.
Does this apply to you?
- Your role is being changed, merged or eliminated
- You work in audit, tax, advisory or the supporting functions
- A review process is steering towards departure ("up or out")
- You have received a departure proposal or scheme
- There is a settlement agreement with a non-compete or non-solicitation clause
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.
The situation at BDO
BDO is under financial pressure and is moving with a sector that is changing fast. That translates into adjustments that can affect your role.
Margin pressure and a changing sector
Accountancy is consolidating rapidly, with many acquisitions that are now largely financed by investors. At the same time, artificial intelligence is putting pressure on the routine audit and reporting tasks that used to be done by junior staff. For BDO this means that some roles shift towards advisory and specialist work, while other work disappears or is organized differently.
Adjusting without the word reorganization
BDO has not announced a large, public round of redundancies with concrete numbers and itself prefers to speak of targeted adjustments per unit. The fact that an employer avoids the word reorganization, however, changes nothing about your rights: if roles are in fact being eliminated or changed for business-economic reasons, the statutory safeguards simply apply.
Developments at an employer can change quickly. This page was last updated in July 2026; the information shown applies as far as known at that time.
In brief
- Financial pressure and a consolidating accountancy market
- Artificial intelligence is changing audit and reporting work
- No public round of redundancies with numbers announced
- BDO speaks of targeted adjustment, not a reorganization
- Your legal rights do not depend on that word
- Have your situation assessed before you sign
What makes the situation at BDO distinctive?
In an accountancy and advisory firm, two things play a role that you encounter less elsewhere and that strongly affect your position.
Partner or employee: a major difference
BDO has partners who are connected to the organization as co-owners, and employees who are on the payroll. If you are an employee, ordinary employment law applies to you, with all the protection that comes with it. The arrangements and risks that come with a partner role do not apply to your employment. It is important to keep that distinction sharp, because your rights on departure derive from your employment contract and the law.
When a review points towards the exit
In accountancy there is often a culture in which advancement is the norm and those who do not progress are sometimes asked to leave. If a departure is presented as a matter of performance, while the real reason is a changed organization or cost pressure, that is a fundamental difference. A departure for business-economic reasons is governed by different rules, and often a stronger position, than a dismissal based on your performance.
Not sure on what ground your departure rests? Have your situation assessed before you sign anything.
What to watch for
- Whether you are an employee or hold a partner role
- The ground on which a departure is based
- Whether "no match" is in reality a business-economic departure
- The role played by a performance or bonus scheme
- The terms of any departure scheme offered
How a business-economic departure at BDO unfolds
If your role disappears or changes for business-economic reasons, the process has a number of fixed moments at which something can be checked.
Advice from the works council
For a decision with consequences for staff, BDO usually submits an intended decision to the works council for advice. If the adjustment affects many employees at once, the rules on collective redundancy may come into play. These only require notification to UWV and consultation with the trade unions once the statutory conditions and threshold are met, including a certain number of intended dismissals within a working area and a period.
The selection: who becomes redundant
The employer does not freely choose who loses their role. Where positions are interchangeable, the reflection principle in principle determines the order, subject to statutory exceptions such as indispensable employees. Which units and locations the reflection is calculated across depends on how the organization is set up and on the application of the Dismissal Regulation; that can be per location, but it does not have to be.
Redeployment first, departure only after
Being made redundant is an interim step and not yet a dismissal. Before a departure comes into view, BDO must investigate whether there is a suitable position for you, if necessary after retraining and within a reasonable period. That redeployment obligation is not automatically limited to one location or unit. If no suitable position is available, a proposal for a settlement agreement usually follows, or the employer files a dismissal request with UWV.
What you can steer on yourself
- Request your employment contract, any scheme and your status in writing
- If made redundant, have the basis and scope of the reflection recalculated
- Assess any offered position on level, content and terms
- Do not sign any scheme without having it independently reviewed first
What does this mean for you?
As far as your role is concerned, an adjustment at BDO follows the statutory rules for dismissal in a reorganization, supplemented by what is agreed in your contract and any scheme. On each of these points you have rights.
Objective selection
On the question of who becomes redundant, BDO is bound by fixed rules. Within interchangeable positions, the reflection principle in principle determines the order, subject to the statutory exceptions. If the role classification or the calculation is wrong, your position may be stronger than it first appears.
A suitable position first
Dismissal may only come into view after it has been investigated whether there is a suitable position for you, if necessary after retraining and within a reasonable period. In an organization with several disciplines and locations, that investigation often reaches further than your own team. If it is skipped, a dismissal often does not hold up.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on BDO's initiative, you are in principle entitled to the statutory transition payment, unless a statutory exception applies. If a social plan or scheme provides an additional or different payment, that is generally on top of it. Check, or have it checked, whether the offer matches your years of service and your salary.
The settlement agreement
A departure almost always ends in a settlement agreement. It sets out your end date, the compensation, the final discharge and often a non-compete or non-solicitation clause. The wording partly determines whether your unemployment benefit is preserved. Have the document checked before you sign.
Collective agreement, clauses and bonus in accountancy
In accountancy, not only the law but also your contract and a few industry customs determine what you receive and what you remain bound to after you leave.
No generally binding collective agreement
There is no generally binding collective labour agreement for accountancy. Many firms do follow a model collective agreement for accountancy and administration firms, or set the terms in individual contracts and schemes. Which arrangements apply to you depends on your employer and your role. Ask which scheme applies to you and have it explained what it concretely offers on departure.
Non-compete, non-solicitation and bonus
A non-compete and non-solicitation clause is common in accountancy. Such a clause in principle remains in force after departure, but in a business-economic departure you can often argue that it unfairly restricts you; the court can moderate, suspend or annul a clause, and in the agreement its scope is a point of negotiation. Whether a bonus must be paid in full or in part at the end of the employment depends on the applicable bonus scheme, the employment contract and the circumstances of the case. Have it checked whether the final settlement is correct. If you work as an international on a highly skilled migrant permit, a departure also affects your residence rights; separate information is available on dismissal as an international.
Not sure whether your clause or bonus is correct? Have your situation assessed before you agree.
What to watch for
- Which collective agreement or scheme applies to you
- The scope and duration of your non-compete or non-solicitation clause
- Whether an accrued bonus is included in the final settlement
- For internationals: your residence rights and the search period
- The end date and the final discharge in the agreement
What you can do now
If you notice that your role at BDO is changing or that a departure is being steered towards, first map out your own position before you agree to anything. The sooner you know where you stand, the more choices you still have.
- Request your contract, any scheme and the proposal in writing
- Have it checked whether the reflection and the selection are correctly applied
- If many people leave at once, check whether the rules on collective redundancy apply and have been followed
- Have the compensation recalculated against your years of service and salary
- Do not sign a settlement agreement before it has been reviewed
Is there a departure proposal or a settlement agreement from BDO? Have us review it before you decide.
When should you involve us?
- You have received a departure proposal or settlement agreement
- Your role is being changed, merged or eliminated
- A departure is based on performance while the reason is organizational
- You want your non-compete or non-solicitation clause assessed
- Your response deadline is running and you want clarity fast
Frequently asked questions
These are questions that employees of accountancy and advisory firms put to us in practice.
Do you have a departure proposal or settlement agreement from BDO in hand? Have us review it.
BDO does not call it a reorganization, but an adjustment. Does that make a difference to my rights?
No. What matters is not the word the employer chooses, but what actually happens. If your role is eliminated or changed for business-economic reasons, the usual safeguards apply: an objective selection, a redeployment investigation and, on an unavoidable departure, a payment.
I am an employee, not a partner. What does that mean for my position?
As an employee on the payroll, ordinary employment law applies to you, with the protection on dismissal that comes with it. The arrangements and risks that come with a partner role do not apply to your employment. Your rights on departure derive from your employment contract and the law.
Does my non-compete or non-solicitation clause still apply if I have to leave?
Such a clause in principle remains in force, but in a business-economic departure it can often be argued that it unfairly restricts you. The court can moderate, suspend or annul a clause, and in the settlement agreement its scope is a point of negotiation. Have your clause assessed before you sign.
Am I entitled to a payment and does my bonus count?
If BDO ends the employment, you are in principle entitled to the statutory transition payment, unless a statutory exception applies. If a scheme provides an additional or different payment, that is generally on top of it. Whether a bonus must be paid in full or in part depends on the applicable bonus scheme, your employment contract and the circumstances of the case; have it checked whether the final settlement is correct.
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.
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