There has been a significant amount of back and forth within the Dutch government when it comes to agreeing to a bonus for Dutch healthcare workers, but supermarkets in the Netherlands have made a decision and agreed to pay out a bonus to their employees as a thank you for their work over the past year. 

Albert Heijn employees to receive a bonus, not a gift voucher

A number of Dutch supermarket chains, including Albert Heijn (AH) announced a December bonus for their employees. A spokesperson for AH said its workers would receive 15 percent of their periodic salary. 

Only a few months ago, AH came under fire for announcing that shareholders in the company would be receiving a bonus, but that shop employees would only receive a gift voucher worth 25 euros instead of the 500 euro bonus advised by the unions.

In addition to this bonus, the profit distribution that is paid out to employees in December is also expected to be considerably higher this year. Not only are company profits expected to be significantly higher, but employees will also receive 70 percent of their portion in December instead of the usual 45 percent. The remaining 30 percent will be paid out in April.  

Jumbo, Plus, and Dirk also want to thank their workers

Albert Heijn isn’t the only company planning bonuses for their employees. Jumbo has also announced plans for a bonus for their employees: “We are working on an arrangement to appropriately thank our employees for their tremendous commitment at this time," said Clarie Trügg, head of communications.

Plus are also looking into options for rewarding their employees, and while Dirk is planning to do things a little differently, they are also hoping to reward their employees this festive season: “All employees recently received a payment of 25 percent of the periodic wage. In addition to this, various other activities are taking place to thank the employees, including a Christmas bonus," says Fiona Wijnbergen, press officer for the group that owns Dirk supermarkets.