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Reorganization at Schiphol
Is your work transferring to another employer, or has Schiphol announced that your position is being eliminated and have you received a dismissal proposal?
Are you facing a reorganization at Schiphol? This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and international staff. At the airport the reorganization largely works differently from other employers: through tenders, work such as security and ground handling moves to fewer and different companies, while Schiphol Nederland is also changing its own organization. Your employer may change while your work remains, or your role may be eliminated. In both cases it is wise to know your rights before you sign anything.
Does this apply to you?
- Your work is transferring to another employer through a tender
- You are in a mobility pool and have to make a choice
- Your position is being eliminated or you have been declared redundant
- You work in security, ground handling, IT or an office role
- You have received a dismissal proposal or 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. A transfer or reorganization often comes with short response deadlines. Have any proposal assessed before you agree to it.
The situation at Schiphol
The changes at Schiphol are running on two tracks at the same time, and the track you are on determines which rules apply to you.
Tenders: the work moves to other companies
A large part of the work at the airport, such as security and ground handling, is put out to tender by Schiphol. In security the number of companies has been reduced and over five thousand security staff have transferred to the selected employers. In ground handling the number of handlers is going from six to three; employees can move to a new employer through a mobility pool.
Schiphol Nederland is changing its own organization
In addition, Schiphol Nederland, the airport operator itself, is reorganizing parts of its own organization, including IT and Data. Schiphol is financially healthy, so these changes usually stem from strategic choices rather than direct financial distress. The State acts as the main shareholder of Schiphol, together with the municipalities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
The plans 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
- Two tracks: tendering of services and internal reorganization
- Security: fewer companies, over 5,000 staff transferred
- Ground handling: from six to three, with a mobility pool
- Schiphol Nederland itself: including IT and Data
- A financially healthy, partly state-owned company
- Have your situation assessed before you sign
Is your work transferring to another employer?
What makes the situation at Schiphol distinctive is that in a tender your work can transfer to another company. Your employer then changes, while your work continues to exist.
Transfer of undertaking and takeover of staff
If a service moves to a new party, there may be a transfer of undertaking. If you transfer with it, your employment terms in principle move with you. In tenders at Schiphol, arrangements about this are often also made in the collective agreement and in a covenant between the companies and the trade unions. Whether you transfer, to which employer and on what terms depends on the precise situation. Whether there is genuinely a transfer of undertaking is ultimately assessed on the basis of the statutory criteria and the circumstances of the case.
The mobility pool in ground handling
In ground handling, employees are guided through a mobility pool to one of the remaining handlers or an airline. You state a preference and can receive one or more offers. It is wise to have such an offer assessed before you choose, because your terms and position can differ from employer to employer.
Not sure your terms transfer properly? Have your situation assessed before you agree.
What to watch for
- Whether there is a transfer of undertaking
- Whether your employment terms are genuinely retained
- Which employer you transfer to and on what terms
- What an offer from the mobility pool actually involves
- Your years of service, roster, salary and other rights
How does a reorganization at Schiphol work?
If Schiphol Nederland changes its own organization and your role is eliminated, the reorganization runs through a fixed set of phases. Each phase has its own rules, and at each one you can check whether Schiphol is applying the law and its own arrangements correctly.
Which positions are eliminated and who becomes redundant
Schiphol first maps out which positions are disappearing and which positions are mutually interchangeable. Within such an interchangeable group the order of dismissal is not free: in principle the reflection principle applies, subject to the statutory exceptions to it. If the grouping of positions or the reference date does not match the law, that can work in your favour.
Reassignment first, departure only after
Redundancy may only lead to dismissal after Schiphol has examined whether there is a suitable position for you, within a reasonable period and, if necessary, after retraining. Alongside this statutory reassignment obligation, the social plan provides job-to-job support. Only if a suitable position is lacking does your departure genuinely come into view.
An offer or a procedure
If reassignment does not materialise, Schiphol often offers a departure through a settlement agreement; if you do not agree, the UWV may be asked for permission to dismiss you. Whichever route is chosen, have the documents reviewed calmly before you commit.
Room to steer the outcome
- At the announcement: request the social plan and your personal status in writing
- If redundant: have the grouping of positions and the reflection principle recalculated
- On reassignment: check whether an offered position is genuinely suitable
- On a proposal: commit to nothing before the content has been assessed
What does this mean for you?
Your rights at Schiphol follow partly from the rules on transfer of undertaking and partly from the economic-dismissal rules, supplemented by the collective agreement and the social plan. You have rights at each of these points.
Retention on transfer
If your work transfers to another employer, your employment terms can in principle be retained in a transfer of undertaking. Check that this genuinely happens in your case.
Who becomes redundant
If your position disappears at Schiphol itself, who has to leave is not free. Within interchangeable positions the reflection principle in principle applies, subject to the statutory exceptions. That order can be recalculated.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on the employer's initiative, there is usually a right to the statutory transition payment, unless the social plan provides a different or additional arrangement. What applies in your case deserves its own assessment.
The settlement agreement
A departure by mutual consent is recorded in a settlement agreement. Only sign once the terms and the consequences, including your unemployment-benefit rights, have been checked.
Schiphol Nederland's new social plan
For employees of Schiphol Nederland a new social plan has been agreed. That makes it all the more important to know which arrangements apply to your reorganization.
Duration and application
The social plan applies to reorganizations announced within Schiphol Nederland in the period from mid-2026 to mid-2029, and is being incorporated as a fixed arrangement in the collective agreement. One of the first applications is the reorganization of IT and Data. The trade unions FNV, CNV and VPS have agreed to the plan.
What it arranges
The plan contains arrangements about guidance, job security and support for changes in the workplace. What that means in your case depends on your role and on how the plan is applied to your reorganization. That is precisely why an independent assessment of your own situation is valuable.
Not sure what the social plan offers you? Have your situation assessed before you agree.
What to watch for
- Whether the social plan applies to your reorganization
- Which arrangements on reassignment and job security apply
- The amount and the calculation of your compensation
- The length of the guidance and the support
- The end date and the final discharge in the agreement
What you can do now
If you are affected at Schiphol by a transfer or a reorganization, take the steps below before you sign anything. The sooner you know where you stand, the more time you have to respond.
- Request the collective agreement, the social plan or the covenant and your own proposal in writing
- On a transfer, check whether your employment terms are genuinely retained
- Have every offer from the mobility pool checked before you make a choice
- If redundant, have the reflection principle and your compensation recalculated
- Do not sign a settlement agreement before it has been assessed
Is there an offer, a dismissal proposal or a settlement agreement from Schiphol or another airport employer? Put it to us before you make an irreversible choice.
When is it time to involve us?
- A settlement agreement is waiting for your signature
- Your work is moving to another employer through a tender
- You have to give a preference or choice in a mobility pool
- You doubt whether the compensation or the reassignment is correct
- The deadline to respond is short
Frequently asked questions
Questions that airport staff put to us in practice.
Is there an offer, dismissal proposal or settlement agreement? Put it to us for review.
My work is transferring to another company, what happens to my terms?
In a transfer of undertaking your employment terms in principle move with you. Whether that is the case and whether it works out well in practice differs per situation. Have your position assessed before you sign a new contract.
What is that mobility pool?
In ground handling, employees are guided through a mobility pool to a remaining employer. You state a preference and can receive an offer. Because the terms can differ per employer, it is wise to have an offer reviewed.
Will I receive compensation?
If your employment ends on the employer's initiative, there is usually a right to the statutory transition payment, unless the social plan provides a different or additional payment. What applies in your situation depends on the applicable arrangement and on your years of service and salary, and deserves its own assessment.
What if I am declared redundant?
Redundancy is an intermediate step, not a final dismissal. If the reflection principle is incorrect or the reassignment has not been sufficiently examined, that can strengthen your position.
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