Covestro has asked employees in the US pay scales to forgo the regular individual salary increase (the merit increase) this year. Instead, the company is offering five extra vacation days that must be taken this year. For employees at the maximum of their scale, this amounts to two days.
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De Unie understands that Covestro is concerned about the company's financial situation. Covestro indicates that this measure is necessary due to the company's financial situation. At the same time, the company is asking employees to forgo a structural salary increase without concrete guarantees in return. For example, no commitments have been made regarding the cancellation of reorganizations or additional investments in the Netherlands.
At the same time, we believe that the way this is currently being proposed is not the right approach. After all, agreements regarding salary development are laid down in the collective labour agreement. Those agreements are binding and ought to be adhered to.
What does Covestro expect from the employees?
According to Covestro's communication, the merit will not be automatically applied this year for employees in the US scales. Instead, an alternative is offered in the form of extra vacation days. Employees who still wish to receive their merit must notify us no later than March 20, 2026, via a ticket to HR Service4you. This effectively reverses the basic principle.
Collective labor agreement provisions are the starting point
The merit increase is part of the existing agreements in the collective labor agreement. This means that, in principle, Covestro must simply implement these agreements.
If an individual employee voluntarily chooses to waive the merit, that is of course possible. However, the initiative for this must lie with the employee.
De Unie believes that it is not the correct order to have employees submit a ticket if they are precisely seeking compliance with the collective labor agreement provisions.
Possible financial consequences
For employees, the financial consequences of waiving merit can be significant. This depends on, among other things:
- Your salary scale
- Your position within the scale
- The number of years you still have working at Covestro
A structural salary increase has an impact on future wage development, pension accrual, and other wage-dependent schemes.
It is therefore important to carefully consider the long-term consequences.
Additional vacation days
Covestro proposes to grant five extra vacation days instead of merit, which must be taken this year. However, above-statutory vacation days normally have a longer validity period. This is another reason why this proposal raises questions.
What does this mean for you?
De Unie is of the opinion that the collective labor agreement provisions must remain the starting point.
According to the collective labor agreement, the merit increase should be awarded. An exception can only be made if an employee consciously chooses to waive it.
The way Covestro has currently set this up raises, according to De Unie to raise questions. The basic principle seems to be reversed in this regard, as employees are required to report precisely when they wish to have the existing agreements implemented.
That is why De Unie Unfortunately, at this moment we cannot advise anything other than the following:
- If you do not wish to voluntarily waive the merit increase, please inform Covestro in a timely manner according to the procedure indicated by the company. You are only exempt from doing so if you consciously choose to waive the merit yourself.
- Do you have questions or are you unsure about what this means for your situation? Please feel free to contact De Unie. We are happy to think along with you.
- De Unie therefore considers it important that employees are well informed and carefully consider the possible consequences before making a choice.
- Are you unsure what this means for your situation? Then feel free to contact De Unie. We are happy to think along with you.
De Unie will also formally inform Covestro of our position and once again call upon them to abandon the chosen method.
Questions?
Do you have any questions or comments about this message? Please let advocate Dirk van Gestel know via dirk.van.gestel@unie.nl.
