Only for employees
Reorganization at Deloitte
Has Deloitte offered you a departure scheme, or is there a departure proposal or settlement agreement on the table?
Deloitte is one of the large accountancy, advisory and consulting organizations in the Netherlands and part of a global network. Under a cooled advisory market, a reshaping of its services and the rise of artificial intelligence, the work is changing rapidly. This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and internationals. At Deloitte, a departure often runs not through a classic round of dismissals but through a departure scheme or a review process. Even then: you decide for yourself whether to sign, and it pays to first know your position and whether the offer does justice to your situation.
Does this apply to you?
- You are offered a voluntary departure scheme
- A review process is steering towards departure
- You work in audit, tax & legal, consulting or risk advisory
- There is a settlement agreement with a non-compete or non-solicitation clause
- You work as an international on a highly skilled migrant permit
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 Deloitte
Deloitte is moving with an advisory and audit market that has cooled after years of growth, and with technology that is changing the work.
A departure scheme rather than a large round of dismissals
In October 2024, according to reporting, Deloitte Netherlands offered around one hundred and twenty consultants a voluntary departure scheme, stating that it would not carry out forced dismissals. The reason was declining demand for advice. A new, large round of forced dismissals for Deloitte Netherlands was not publicly announced afterwards. The adjustments therefore more often happen quietly, per unit or per individual, than through one visible reorganization.
Reshaping and artificial intelligence
Globally, Deloitte reduced its organization from five to four parts, and in the Netherlands too the legal and organizational structure has been revised. At the same time, artificial intelligence is automating part of the routine audit and advisory work. As a result, roles shift towards more specialist work, while other work disappears or is organized differently.
Developments at an employer can change. This page was last updated in July 2026; the information shown applies as far as known at that time.
In brief
- October 2024: around 120 consultants offered a voluntary departure scheme, according to reporting
- Deloitte stated it would not carry out forced dismissals
- Reason: declining demand for advice
- No new large round of forced dismissals for Deloitte Netherlands announced
- Adjustments often happen per unit or per individual
- Have a proposal assessed before you sign
What makes the reorganization at Deloitte distinctive?
At an organization like Deloitte, two things play a role that strongly determine your position and that you encounter less elsewhere.
A global network, a Dutch employer
Deloitte works together globally, but in the Netherlands Deloitte is an independent organization with its own Dutch companies. Your employment contract is with such a Dutch entity, and your rights on departure derive from that contract and from Dutch employment law. Announcements about reorganizations at Deloitte in, for example, the United States or the United Kingdom therefore do not automatically apply to you. What counts for you is what your own Dutch employer decides.
A voluntary departure is not always non-committal
A departure scheme or a review process can be presented as voluntary or as a matter of performance, while the underlying reason is a changed organization or cost pressure. That distinction matters, because a departure for business-economic reasons is governed by different rules, and often a stronger position, than a departure based on your performance. Moreover, you are never obliged to accept a voluntary scheme.
Not sure what your departure rests on? Have your situation assessed before you sign anything.
What to watch for
- That a foreign announcement does not automatically apply to you
- Which Dutch Deloitte entity your contract is with
- Whether a departure is really voluntary or in fact business-economic
- The consequences for your unemployment benefit if you sign voluntarily
- The terms of the scheme offered
How a departure at Deloitte unfolds
Whether your departure runs through a scheme or through a genuine reorganization, there are a number of moments at which something can be checked.
Through a voluntary scheme
If Deloitte offers a voluntary departure scheme, it usually records this in a settlement agreement. You are not obliged to sign, and the wording is important: it partly determines whether your unemployment benefit is preserved and whether you remain bound by a non-compete or non-solicitation clause. Take the time to assess the proposal before you sign. If you sign a settlement agreement, a statutory cooling-off period of 14 days applies in principle afterwards.
Through a business-economic reorganization
If your role is genuinely eliminated for business-economic reasons, the usual safeguards apply. The intended decision goes to the works council, and if it affects many people 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.
Selection and redeployment
In a business-economic dismissal, within interchangeable positions the reflection principle in principle determines the order, subject to the statutory exceptions. Before a departure comes into view, Deloitte must also investigate whether there is a suitable position for you, if necessary after retraining and within a reasonable period.
What you can steer on yourself
- Take the time to assess and do not sign under time pressure
- Ask on what ground the departure rests and have it checked
- If made redundant, have the reflection and the selection recalculated
- Do not sign any scheme without having it independently reviewed first
What does this mean for you?
If your departure runs through a genuine reorganization, the statutory rules for dismissal in a reorganization apply, supplemented by what is agreed in your contract and any scheme. On each of these points you have rights.
Objective selection
If it is a business-economic dismissal, Deloitte is bound by fixed rules on who becomes redundant. Within interchangeable positions, the reflection principle in principle determines the order, subject to the statutory exceptions. If the classification or the calculation is wrong, your position may be stronger than it 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. At an organization with several disciplines, that investigation can reach further than your own team. If it is skipped, a dismissal often does not hold up.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on Deloitte's initiative, 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. Check, or have it checked, whether the offer matches your years of service and your salary.
The settlement agreement
Almost every departure 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.
Clauses, bonus and internationals
In the advisory and accountancy world, besides the law, 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 and advisory. Your terms of employment are therefore set out in your individual employment contract and Deloitte's own arrangements. What applies to you on departure thus depends on your contract and any scheme; request these and have it explained what they concretely mean.
Non-compete, bonus and residence rights
A non-compete and non-solicitation clause is common at Deloitte and 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 it 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, your 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 scheme and which terms of employment apply 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 Deloitte offers you a departure scheme or you notice 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, the scheme offered and the proposal in writing
- Have it checked on what ground the departure rests
- In a reorganization, have the reflection and the selection checked
- 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 scheme or a settlement agreement from Deloitte? Have us review it before you decide.
When should you involve us?
- You have received a voluntary departure scheme or settlement agreement
- A departure is based on performance while the reason is organizational
- You want your non-compete or non-solicitation clause assessed
- You doubt whether the compensation and your unemployment position are correct
- Your response deadline is running and you want clarity fast
Frequently asked questions
These are questions that employees of advisory and accountancy organizations put to us in practice.
Do you have a departure scheme or settlement agreement from Deloitte in hand? Have us review it.
Deloitte offers me a voluntary departure scheme. Do I have to accept it?
No. You are not obliged to sign a voluntary scheme. Take the time to assess the proposal before you sign, among other things on the consequences for your unemployment benefit and on any non-compete or non-solicitation clause. If you sign a settlement agreement, a statutory cooling-off period of 14 days applies in principle afterwards. An offer is a starting point, not an obligation.
Do foreign Deloitte announcements apply to me too?
Not automatically. In the Netherlands, Deloitte is an independent organization and your employment contract is with a Dutch entity. Your rights derive from Dutch employment law and your contract, not from a reorganization elsewhere in the network.
What if my departure is presented as a matter of performance?
Then it is important to establish what is actually going on. If the underlying reason is a changed organization or cost pressure, it is in essence a business-economic departure, with different rules and often a stronger position than a dismissal on grounds of performance. Have your situation assessed.
Does my non-compete or non-solicitation clause still apply if I 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.
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