frequently asked questions.

The SPP is operated and funded independently from Randstad by Stichting Randstad Optiefonds (SRO), a Dutch foundation incorporated by our founder Frits Goldschmeding with the purpose of stimulating and increasing the financial wellbeing of Randstad employees.

All corporate employees of the Randstad Group can participate in the plan with a minimum requirement of being employed by Randstad for at least 6 months in those countries and legal entities where the plan is implemented (Please note that not in all countries the SPP has yet been implemented).

No, it is not. The SPP is funded and operated by SRO independently from Randstad and its labor conditions.

An employee can start participating at the start of the savings period (1 May or 1 November) which follows at least 6 months after the date of your employment. Every May and November the savings are transferred to the administrator after a six-month savings period. The first opportunity to purchase shares with the savings amount is therefore at the beginning of May and November following the completed savings period. The SRO Top-Up is granted as soon as the savings are received and registered by Administrator in tOption and is blocked for six months.

The amount you have chosen to save is fixed for six months. Any changes you want to make will apply to the next savings period. It is not possible to stop halfway through a six-month savings cycle. If you wish to stop saving, the amount saved can only be returned at the end of the savings period by making a withdrawal of the savings via tOption. You will receive an email from the SPP Helpdesk informing you your savings have been added to your tOption account, including instructions on how to make a withdrawal when desired.

Once the savings of your first completed savings period have been received by SRO, we will set up your personal account in tOption. Setting up your account will take about one week, after which you will receive your login details. So ultimately 6 months after you start saving you will have access to your personal account.

You can purchase shares twice a year after a six-month savings period. A new savings period begins on 1 May and 1 November of every year.

Although SRO wishes to facilitate the investment in Randstad, there is no obligation to purchase shares in order to receive the SRO Top-Up. When your savings have been deposited in your account you will receive an email informing you of the deposit. As of that moment you have one week to opt-out of the purchase of shares. You need to opt-out via tOption. The email you receive will hold clear instructions how to do so.

This is a cash amount that SRO grants you after you have completed a savings period and your savings have been received by SRO. The cash amount is calculated as a percentage of your savings. In principle the target of the SRO Top-Up is set at 100% but it may vary depending on the future income of SRO.

The SRO Top-Up is granted as soon as your savings have been received by SRO. The Top-Up will be blocked for a period of 6 months following the grant and will be unblocked after 6 months provided you are still employed by Randstad on the last day of the 6 month blocking period.

After the grant of the SRO Top-Up the amount will be registered in your tOption Money account and will be blocked for a period of 6 months. It will be unblocked after 6 months provided you are still employed by Randstad on the last day of that 6 month blocked period.

Your savings are withheld from your net salary, so income tax doesn’t apply. There are also no fiscal consequences when buying shares. However, you will have to pay tax on the SRO Top-Up in the month of this amount being deblocked and made available to you, as this is seen as income, in most cases as income from employment, but sometimes as other income. When seen as other income, you will have to pay the tax yourself by filing this specific income item in your personal income tax return.

In various jurisdictions you also have to pay capital gains tax on any profit realized on your share portfolio. An annual statement of the value of your portfolio is provided to you per January/February of each year.

How to sell your shares is described in the manual. Chapter 9 describes the process step by step.

You can sell your shares any moment after you have purchased them.

When you sell shares, the share price will be determined on the day your order is received. The shares sold are purchased by Randstad Option Fund at a price as established in the SPP regulation. This price is determined as the average price of the opening and closing price of the Randstad nv share on Euronext Amsterdam on the day of the sale. Obviously this price is only available at the end of a trading day. If Euronext is closed on the day of your order then the order will be handled with the prices of the first next trading day that Euronext is open. The sales transaction is not settled through Euronext, therefore there are no costs involved in selling shares.

Payment to: AT, BE, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FR, GR, HU, LU, NL, PL, PT, SE, UK

The sales proceeds will be paid via a direct deposit on your registered bank account:

• If you sold the shares before the 16th of the month, you will receive the payment around the 25th of the same month.
• If you sold the shares on the 16th of the month or later, you will receive the payment around the 10th of the following month.

Payment to: AU, CA, CH, CN, HK, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NO, NZ, SG, US

Whether you're currently employed with us or not, the sales proceeds will NOT be paid directly to your registered bank account but will be paid to the local Randstad head office of your country:

• If you sold the shares before the 16th of the month, your local Randstad head office will receive the payment around the 25th of the same month.
• If you sold the shares on the 16th of the month or later, your local Randstad head office will receive the payment around the 10th of the following month.

If you have any questions about the local handling and payment, please contact your local HR/benefits department.

No, it is not possible to transfer your shares to a private securities account. The shares entitle you to the actual value of the shares and the fractional shares which value will be transferred to you if and when you decide to sell (part of) your share portfolio.

"SRO will hold the shares on your behalf. The voting rights attached to the shares remain with SRO. You are only entitled to the economic benefit of the shares. It is, however, possible to request SRO for a power of attorney based on which you can vote on behalf of SRO. It is at the discretion of SRO whether or not such a power of attorney will be granted."

Randstad N.V. regularly distributes a dividend on its shares. From the moment you purchase shares (and keep them) you are entitled to such dividend payments on each following possible dividend date. After the appropriate Dutch dividend withholding tax has been deducted, you are entitled to a cash amount of net dividend and you will be asked what you want to do with such cash dividend. For employees the following options are available:

(i) use the amount received to purchase shares to add to your share account in tOption;
(ii) transfer the amount received to your personal bank account;
(iii) leave the amount received in your money account in tOption for a maximum period of 12 months 

In the event you choose for option (i) any amount not used to purchase an integer  number of shares (as there will likely not be an exact match between the money available and an exact number of rounded shares) will remain in your money account (see option (iii)) and can be used to purchase shares at the next dividend payment date. 

Former employees can make a choice between option (ii) and option (iii).

You will not receive any interest, neither over your savings during the six months savings period nor over the cash balance of your money account in tOption.

There are no share price risks during the savings period. Once you have purchased shares there is obviously a chance that the shares fluctuate in value. Please note that the choice to purchase shares with your savings and/or SRO Top-Up is yours to make. In case you choose to participate in the plan and only choose the cash options, you do not benefit nor encounter negative effects of share price developments.

If you leave the company during the savings period, your savings will be paid back to you upon departure by your employer.

Should you leave in the 6 month period following the grant date of the SRO Top-Up you will no longer be eligible for deblocking and your entitlement to the SRO Top-Up will lapse.

The purchased shares can be sold at any time. All shares should be sold via tOption within 2 years after the end of your employment.
If you do not sell your shares in time any shares not sold within 2 years after the end of your employment, are sold automatically by SRO 3 years after the end of that 2 years period and the subsequent entitlement to the proceeds will lapse.

Any cash balance on the Money Account that SRO administers on behalf of the Participant will be paid out immediately upon termination of employment, or otherwise be automatically converted into (fractional) Shares.

When the Administrator administers a cash dividend in the name of a Former Participant, the amount will be converted into (Fractional) Shares.

At all times you have to keep the SPP administration fully informed on bank account details, address and email address.