Taxed at payment.

Taxable amount is amount of the cash payment.

Generally yes, provided subsidiary bears the cost of award.

Written agreement recommended.

Income Tax:
Withholding and reporting required.

Social Insurance Contributions:
Yes, employee and employer contributions due to the extent applicable wage ceiling not met.

If applicable, employer must withhold employee's portion of social insurance contributions.

None.

None.

Awards paid in cash through local payroll generally have increased plan entitlement risks, as well as other increased labor law risks such as the need to include amount in termination indemnities, obligation to consult works council, etc.

Employee should be required to sign/accept an agreement acknowledging the discretionary nature of the award.

It is advisable to get works council to agree in writing that award is not an employment condition; otherwise, works council approval may be required to implement or terminate award/cash program and courts may consider award benefits in calculating severance award.

Exclusion of part-time employees may be deemed discriminatory.

The EU Council Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits age discrimination. Most countries, including the Netherlands, have adopted local rules implementing this Directive, which may have an impact on design of equity and other incentive plans in the EU, particularly on age or age and service provisions which give different treatment (e.g., accelerated or continued vesting) for those meeting the criteria.

A valid basis is required to collect, process and transfer personal data.

The EU Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") became effective in all EU/EEA countries on 25 May 2018. It introduces new requirements and increases the powers of data protection authorities, rights of data subjects and potential penalties for non-compliance.

Accordingly, companies should review their approach to data privacy compliance in the context of equity plan administration and consider on which basis they may be able to rely to collect, process and transfer data.

Registration and notification requirements with local data privacy authorities may also apply.