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Reorganization at Randstad
Has Randstad announced that your position is being eliminated, or is there a departure proposal or settlement agreement on the table?
Are you facing a reorganization at Randstad? The largest HR services provider in the Netherlands is scaling back its own organization: roles are disappearing and the number of branches has been sharply reduced, while the staffing market shrinks and more work runs through an online platform and digital matching. This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and internationals. At the very company that guides others from job to job, it is important to know your own position. Before you sign, it is wise to know your rights and whether the offer does justice to your situation.
Does this apply to you?
- Your position is being eliminated or your branch is closing or merging
- You have been declared redundant
- You work as a consultant, recruiter, in the back office or at head office
- You have received a departure proposal or arrangement
- You have received a settlement agreement
Why employees turn to ReorgLegal
ReorgLegal specialises in reorganizations and works solely 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 any proposal assessed before you agree to it.
The situation at Randstad
Randstad is cutting into its own organization because demand for temporary work is falling and the company is working increasingly digitally.
Fewer roles and fewer branches
According to reporting, Randstad has eliminated hundreds of roles in the Netherlands in the recent period and sharply reduced the number of branches. As the reason the company cites the declining demand for temporary staff and further digitalisation, with clients and candidates finding each other more through an online platform. An exact number of dismissals has not been confirmed as a hard figure by the company.
A market under pressure
The entire staffing sector is under pressure. As the largest player, Randstad moves with the labour market: if clients' demand for flexible work falls, that fairly directly affects its own revenue and its own workforce. That makes the reorganization tangible for you as a permanent employee.
The figures and arrangements around a reorganization can change. This page was last updated in July 2026; the facts shown apply as far as known at that time.
In short
- Hundreds of roles eliminated in the Netherlands, according to reporting
- The number of branches has been sharply reduced
- Reason: declining demand for temporary work and digitalisation
- No exact dismissal figure confirmed by the company
- As a permanent employee you fall under Randstad's own collective agreement
- Have your situation assessed before you sign
What makes the reorganization at Randstad distinctive?
Randstad guides others from job to job every day. Now that the reorganization affects its own staff, two things are at play that you should understand well.
Digitalisation affects the core work itself
Where at many companies technology affects the support functions, at Randstad digitalisation affects the heart of the work. An online platform and digital matching take over tasks that used to sit with the consultant or recruiter at the branch. As a result, precisely those roles disappear or change, and not only the back office.
Your own collective agreement is not the staffing agreement
As a permanent employee of Randstad you fall under the Randstad Groep Nederland collective agreement, and not under the collective agreement for agency workers. That difference matters: your rights in a reorganization derive from your own employment contract, from that collective agreement and from any social plan, and from the statutory rules for dismissal on business-economic grounds. The rules that apply to agency workers do not apply to your own employment.
Unsure which arrangements apply to you? Have your situation assessed before you sign anything.
What to watch for
- That you fall under the Randstad Groep Nederland agreement, not the staffing agreement
- Whether your role genuinely disappears or only changes
- Whether the reason for your redundancy holds up
- Whether an offered role is genuinely suitable
- The terms of a departure proposal
How a reorganization at Randstad unfolds
If your position disappears or your branch closes, the process has a number of fixed moments. At each of them there is something to check.
The works council first
Randstad maps out which branches and roles disappear and asks the works council to advise on the proposed decision. If the reorganization affects many employees at once, the rules on collective dismissal may come into play. They only require a notification to the UWV and consultation with the trade unions once the conditions of the law are met, in particular when the number of intended dismissals within a working area and a given period exceeds the statutory threshold. After that it becomes visible which positions are mutually interchangeable.
The selection: who becomes redundant
Randstad does not freely choose who loses their job. Where positions are mutually interchangeable, the reflection principle designates the order in principle, subject to the statutory exceptions such as indispensable employees. With a network of branches, it matters greatly which roles count as interchangeable and across which locations the reflection is calculated.
Reassignment across the branches
Being redundant is an intermediate step and not yet a dismissal. Before a departure comes into view, Randstad must check whether there is a suitable position for you, if necessary after retraining and within a reasonable period, possibly at another branch. If none is available, Randstad usually proposes a departure via a settlement agreement, or otherwise files a dismissal application with the UWV.
Where you can steer yourself
- Request the collective agreement, the social plan and your personal status in writing straight away
- If you become redundant, have it recalculated across which branches and roles the reflection was applied
- Assess a role at another location on level and travel distance
- Do not sign any arrangement without having it independently reviewed first
What does this mean for you?
A reorganization at Randstad follows the economic-dismissal rules, supplemented by the collective agreement and any social plan. You have rights at each of these points.
Objective selection
In deciding who becomes redundant, Randstad is bound by fixed rules. Within interchangeable positions the reflection principle designates the order in principle, subject to the statutory exceptions. If the role grouping or the calculation across the branches is flawed, your position may be stronger than it first appears.
A suitable position first
Randstad guides others from job to job, and you may expect the same care for yourself. 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. If that investigation is skipped, a dismissal often does not hold up.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on Randstad's initiative and reassignment does not succeed, you are usually entitled to the statutory transition payment. If a social plan provides an additional or different payment, it generally comes on top of that, unless the law makes an exception. Check, or have checked, whether the amount offered matches your years of service and your last-earned salary.
The settlement agreement
Almost every departure from Randstad ends in a settlement agreement. It sets out your end date, the compensation and the final discharge, and its wording partly determines whether your unemployment benefit rights survive. Have the document reviewed before you sign.
Collective agreement and social plan as your anchor
In a reorganization, the Randstad Groep Nederland collective agreement and any social plan are your most important anchor. They help determine what you receive if your position disappears.
What the social plan arranges
A social plan usually sets out how redundancy is cushioned, with arrangements on guidance, reassignment and compensation. The precise content and duration of the current social plan at Randstad are not fully public. It is therefore important for you to request the plan that applies to your situation in writing and to have it explained what it concretely offers.
Branch, back office or head office
The reorganization affects a wide range of roles, from consultants and recruiters at the branches to staff in the back office and at the head office in Diemen. If you work as an international, for example on a highly skilled migrant permit in a tech or support role, a departure also has consequences for your residence rights; there is separate information on dismissal as an international.
Not sure what the social plan offers you? Have your situation assessed before you agree.
What to watch for
- Which social plan applies to your situation
- The length of the support and the mediation towards other work
- The amount and the calculation of your compensation
- 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 the reorganization at Randstad also affects your position, map out your own situation first before you agree to anything. The earlier you know where you stand, the more choices you still have.
- Request the collective agreement, the social plan and your personal proposal in writing
- Have it checked whether the reflection principle and the selection have been applied correctly
- If many dismissals happen at once, check whether the rules on collective dismissal apply and have been followed
- Have the compensation recalculated against your years of service and salary
- Do not put your signature to a settlement agreement before it has been reviewed
Is there a departure proposal or a settlement agreement from Randstad on the table? Let us review it before you decide for good.
When should you involve us?
- You have received a departure proposal or settlement agreement
- Your branch is closing or being merged with another
- You doubt whether the compensation and the reassignment are correct
- You want the reflection across the branches recalculated
- Your response deadline is running and you want clarity quickly
Frequently asked questions
These are questions permanent Randstad employees bring to us in practice.
Do you have a departure proposal or settlement agreement from Randstad in hand? Let us review it.
As a Randstad employee, do I fall under the staffing collective agreement?
No. As a permanent employee you fall under the Randstad Groep Nederland collective agreement. The agreement for agency workers applies to the people who work at clients through Randstad, not to your own employment. Your rights in a reorganization derive from your own employment contract, that collective agreement and the law.
My work is moving to the online platform. What does that mean for me?
Even when technology takes over your tasks, it remains a dismissal on business-economic grounds with the usual safeguards: the reflection principle sets the order, Randstad must investigate reassignment, and an unavoidable departure comes with compensation. Have your position reviewed before you agree.
What does my compensation consist of if I have to leave?
If Randstad ends the employment, you are usually entitled to the statutory transition payment. If a social plan provides an additional or different payment, it generally comes on top of that, unless the law makes an exception. What you ultimately receive depends on that arrangement, your years of service and your salary.
Many colleagues are leaving at once. Does that change my position?
If many roles fall away in a short period, the rules on collective dismissal may apply. Whether they do depends on the statutory conditions, in particular whether the number of intended dismissals within a working area and a given period reaches the statutory threshold. If it does, and the requirements around the notification to the UWV and the consultation with the trade unions have not been followed carefully, that can strengthen your negotiating position. Have it checked for your own situation.
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