Workers at Booking.com must be enrolled in the Dutch pension scheme for the travel industry, the Court of Appeal in the Hague ruled yesterday, 30 January.

In April 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Booking.com is a travel agent, albeit online, and therefore workers must be enrolled in Bpf Reisbranche, the travel industry pension scheme, now absorbed by Pensioenfonds PGB.

Booking.com appealed the earlier decision by the Supreme Court arguing that it is primarily an IT company. The Court of Appeal does not agree with this, however, instead ruling in favour of the Supreme Court that Booking.com is a travel agent and is obliged to participate in the industry’s pension scheme.

Commenting on the ruling, AF Advisors consultant and Utrecht University researcher, Jorik van Zanden, explained: "The judge ruled that Booking.com falls under the scope of a mandated pension funds, due to the fact that Booking.com is active in the travel industry. Booking.com however, argued that they should be considered an IT company due to the fact that they mainly manage the platform and not actually travel services.

"The judge ruled that this was not the case and that Booking.com, under sectoral rules, should have entered the travel industry pension scheme back in 1999 when the company was founded, resulting in an expected amount of around é400m in owed premia.

"What is remarkable is that Booking.com did in fact have a pension scheme for its employees in place, rendering the question what should happen with that already accrued capital at a different pension provider. Booking.com is considering its next moves, but the ruling shows that companies should pay close attention when hiring employees right from the beginning as Dutch judges often rule in favor of the pension funds, resulting in having to pay premia retroactively."

Following yesterday’s ruling the Federation of Dutch Pension Funds said it “is clear that companies must carefully assess whether they must join a pension fund and whether they must register workers”.

In response to the judgment, a spokesperson for Booking.com said: “We are currently working through the available options and next steps as a result of this ruling, but regardless of how our pension plan evolves, our commitment to providing a competitive overall total rewards package for our people remains our guiding principle and priority.

“As a global tech company, we believe that having the flexibility and autonomy to tailor our overall total rewards package, including our pension plan, to meet the needs of our diverse, international workforce is a key aspect of attracting and retaining the world’s top talent, which also ultimately benefits the broader tech and startup ecosystem in the country.”

In addition, Pensioenfonds PGB said: “We are pleased that there now seems to be clarity in this matter for all involved. We will study the judgment carefully and determine further next steps on the basis of it.”

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