Everything about the takeover of Diversey by Solenis

In recent years, costs have risen enormously and sales volumes are decreasing year after year. That means looking at controlling costs. You can think about merging or closing offices and factories, making processes more efficient, and centralizing departments worldwide.

Solenis is structured in a different way than Diversey. Therefore, in the coming months we will move step by step from a local (per country) matrix organization, to a global structure like Solenis. This is efficient and cost-saving.

In addition to reducing costs, investing in innovation and sustainability in particular is essential. We need to develop products and services that can cope with rapidly changing market demand. This is necessary to achieve the growth we so desperately need.

To ensure the future of our company, we need to find a healthy balance between income and expenses. We have been working very hard on plans to achieve growth, develop innovation and cut costs.

When a company in the Netherlands declares 20 or more jobs redundant in a short period of time, we call it collective dismissal. Special legal rules apply to this.

The process of collective dismissal is handled very carefully. We ensure that the right steps are taken in accordance with Dutch laws and regulations, and in proper consultation with the works council (OR) and trade unions.

Below you can read more about the steps in this process:

1. 1. Diversey notifies the works council, unions and the UWV of the proposed collective dismissal. This was done on October 17.

   2. Diversey will discuss a social plan in consultation with the unions and Works Council. A social plan can be compared to a collective labor agreement. It describes how Diversey takes care of the departing employees. For example, by helping them find a new job through outplacement. The unions will share data for member consultation very soon.

   3. In the Netherlands, the works council has the right to give its opinion when there is a collective dismissal. Therefore, in first instance Diversey will present the proposed changes to the works council with the request to give advice for these changes.

   4. The works council examines the impact of the changes and the consequences for staff. There may be questions that need to be answered. Diversey and the works council will remain in constant contact about this.

   5. After an agreement with the works council and unions, Diversey can start implementation of the proposed changes, taking into account any agreements made, including in the social plan.

   6. First, we look at reducing the number of forced layoffs. This means looking at not renewing temporary contracts (because we may be able to place internal employees with permanent contracts in that position) or saying goodbye to external employees (temporary workers, self-employed workers/contractors etc.) in order to retain permanent jobs. This has already been implemented in a number of places. It will then become clear how many positions and jobs will become redundant.

   7. Then the principle of social selection (afspiegelingsbeginsel) is applied. This means that the employees in the same or interchangeable positions where jobs are lost are divided into age groups and job categories. It is then determined within each age group and job category which employees are eligible for dismissal based on employment history. Within each age group, employees with the shortest employment history are declared redundant first. There are exceptions to this, such as when an employee is indispensable for a specific position. The redundant employees in the age groups with the most employees are the first proposed for dismissal. For the clarity; the layoff principle does not apply to employees in unique positions.

   8. Redundant employees who cannot be reassigned to another suitable position, will be proposed for dismissal. They are expected to receive a termination proposal in line with the social plan to be drawn up. Diversey may apply for dismissal from the UWV in parallel.

   9. After the UWV has approved the dismissal request, the employees in question will be notified and the employment contract will be dissolved with due observance of the notice period. If the employee accepts the termination proposal, a dismissal procedure through the UWV is not necessary.

   10. The employees concerned will receive compensation and counseling as agreed in the social plan.

Diversey is consulting with the works council and unions to draw up a social plan. This includes looking at arrangements to arrange the departure of employees in the best possible way. You can think about outplacement (guidance to new work) and the amount of severance pay. The Social Plan can be seen as a collective agreement in which the arrangements are laid down.

The social selection (afspiegelingsbeginsel) is a method used in selecting employees eligible for dismissal in a reorganization or corporate restructuring. The purpose of this principle is to make layoffs as fair as possible. The social selection (afspiegelingsbeginsel) means that employees who are similar in terms of position, age and years of service in the organization are evenly distributed among the group that may be laid off. In other words, if a particular position is reduced or eliminated, employees with similar characteristics, such as age and length of service, should be selected approximately proportionately for layoff. The social selection (afspiegelingsbeginsel) is designed to ensure that the process is fair to all employees in similar situations. It helps prevent age discrimination or favoring certain groups of employees in layoff decisions.

Good to know

By applying the social selection, Diversey cannot decide which employees must leave. The job category in which the position is classified is leading. So it may be that a support role in one department, for example, is interchangeable (and thus placed in the same category) with a support role in an entirely different department. So it can happen that even though no jobs are lost in your department, you are declared redundant, because within that category you were the last colleague to come in.

Effective immediately, all vacancies have been frozen. In the first place, we want to offer colleagues who have to leave the company the opportunity to apply for any available positions.

If you would like support in finding another job, Diversey will offer you the opportunity to do so. If you wish, you can take advantage of an outplacement program at the outplacement agency offered by Diversey. You can read all information about this extensive outplacement process in this document.

Participation in the outplacement process has no consequences for the amount of the termination compensation. The outplacement budget (ex VAT) cannot be converted into a supplement to the termination payment.