Changes to Dutch bonus cap

Today, 27 January 2026, the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) has approved a legislative proposal concerning important changes to the Dutch bonus cap. Currently, the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het Financieel Toezicht, DFSA) includes a strict bonus cap for all persons working under the responsibility of certain financial institutions (Article 1:121 DFSA). The approved legislative proposal includes significant amendments to the current legislative framework, including the applicability of the bonus cap. Most importantly, the proposal changes the scope of the Dutch bonus cap to only apply to identified staff working for financial institutions, rather than all personnel. 

The main changes to the current legislation are as follows:

1. The bonus cap (which is generally 20% of the fixed remuneration for all personnel working in the Netherlands) will only apply to persons whose activities materially affect the risk profile of the financial institution. This group is also referred to as “identified staff”. As the bonus cap may no longer apply to a large part of the workforce in the future, the proposal enhances flexibility for financial institutions to grant employees other than identified staff additional variable remuneration.
2. The “CLA-exception” (cao-uitzondering) to the bonus cap will only be relevant for identified staff going forward. Under this CLA-exception, financial institutions may currently deviate - in exceptional cases - from the 20% bonus cap, provided that the average ratio between the variable and fixed remuneration of all (non-CLA-)personnel in the Netherlands does not exceed 20 percent (Article 1:121 (2) DFSA). Additional criteria apply. Because this proposal amends the CLA-exception to only apply to identified staff, it will have an effect on how this ratio is determined. Currently, the average ratio is calculated among the group of all personnel working in the Netherlands whose remuneration does not derive from a CLA. This will be changed to the average ratio between the variable and fixed remuneration of all non-CLA personnel who also qualify as identified staff.
3. The proposal also narrows the scope of other remuneration rules in the DFSA to only apply to identified staff. These include (i) the requirement to base variable remuneration for at least 50% on non-financial criteria (Article 1:118 (3) DFSA); (ii) the obligation to report on the total annual amount of variable remuneration paid (Article 1:120 (2) (b) DFSA); (iii) the requirements relating to granting a retention bonus in excess of the 20% bonus cap (Article 1:122 DFSA); and (iv) the obligation to apply the statutory retention period of five years for shares and related financial instruments forming part of the fixed remuneration (Article 1:130 DFSA).

The proposal brings the Dutch framework for remuneration in the financial sector more in line with the European standard, which already limits the applicability of bonus caps to identified staff only. The Dutch bonus cap rules still apply to a wider array of businesses than the European rules prescribe. For instance, insurance companies are also covered. 

The proposal has been adopted by the House of Representatives. It was linked to a wider bill that will be voted on next week. If passed, it will go to the Dutch Senate (Eerste Kamer) for review and approval. If approved, the Bill will be published in the Official Gazette of the Netherlands (Staatsblad).