Nearly 13.000 Signatures Collected to Save Employee Discounts
13 October 2026A petition opposing the abolition of the employee discount scheme has now collected nearly 13,000 signatures. An alliance of trade associations is opposing the government’s plan to abolish this employment benefit from 2027. According to the organizers, the petition is gaining hundreds of signatures every day. A total of 25 trade and sector organizations have joined the campaign. They want to prevent the current tax arrangement for employee discounts from being scrapped. Under the current rules, employees can receive a discount of up to 20% on products from their own industry, subject to certain conditions, with a maximum annual benefit of €500. The government intends to abolish this scheme in 2027 as part of the 2027 Tax Plan.
Trade Associations Reject Alternative Proposal
According to the organizations involved, employee discounts are a valued employment benefit. Employers pay for the discounts themselves and use them, among other things, to familiarize employees with the products and services they work with on a daily basis.
The government proposes incorporating employee discounts into the tax-free allowance under the Work-Related Costs Scheme (werkkostenregeling, or WKR). The trade associations consider this an impractical alternative because, in their view, this allowance is already being used for other employee benefits, such as Christmas hampers, birthday gifts, and staff outings.
They also fear that abolishing the scheme will have consequences for recruiting and retaining staff.
“In a tight labor market, where investing in the recruitment and retention of employees is extremely important, abolishing the employee discount scheme is yet another step in the wrong direction,” the organizations state.
Broad Support from the Retail and Fashion Industries
The campaign is supported by organizations from various sectors, including retail, textiles, travel, culture, hospitality, and services.
Participating organizations include Koninklijke INretail, MODINT, Thuiswinkel.org, MKB-Nederland, the Dutch Retail Council (Raad Nederlandse Detailhandel, RND), Vakcentrum, and Tuinbranche Nederland. Trade associations representing sectors such as food retail, hairdressing, and hospitality are also supporting the campaign.
The organizers are calling on employers, employees, and other interested parties to sign the petition via personeelskorting.petities.nl .
The collected signatures will be presented to the Dutch House of Representatives on November 10.
Source: VakbladTred.nl
