Old VUT rights: What are your options?

Questioner

This concerns old accrued early retirement rights. As follows, we have built up a credit within our company via a so-called pre-retirement 'savings' scheme, which would allow us to stop working a maximum of two years earlier. (intended to be used as paid time off prior to your retirement / 'pre / vut' retirement). Now, due to changes in the VUT legislation as of 1 January 2013, VUT schemes may no longer be implemented if you were born after 31 December 1950. And this put this extra 'savings' scheme in a difficult position. The employer is now offering to buy out this arrangement in one go. This offer was partly made possible because a small part of the company was outsourced last year, and the designated employees who automatically moved to the new employer appealed to take this (savings) scheme with them. . And this group of employees (who automatically transferred their work to the new employer and simply remained permanently employed by the external company) received 100% of the accrued entitlement paid out (obviously taking into account the rules of the scheme itself on a pro rata basis and the payment of statutory payroll tax). After some questions about this payment by those remaining behind and the request whether this could apply to others, the employer now offers a one-off offer that they are also willing to buy out this payment option to the remaining employees 'who are still entitled to this savings/early retirement scheme' by means of a scheme. Only now they only offer a payment of 50% of the gross accrued right as a one-off buyout. The reason they give for this is: Because unlike our above-mentioned and now departed employees, we (in theory) can still remain employed by our current employer until the age stated in the original scheme has been reached. But that is actually an incorrect argument, because for both the departed employees and the remaining employees it simply applies that if you do not use the direct 'one-off buyout' payment now, then the original arrangement would simply remain in force. The agreement was made that this arrangement could also be taken over 1:1 to the new employer for the departed employees. But is an employer allowed to unilaterally make such a large distinction in this case 'of 50% gross' between the buyout offered to departed employees and to those who remain?

Lawyer

Based on your story, the employer may not make this distinction in my opinion, assuming that the scheme expires. If the scheme simply remains in force, then I think the employer can make a different offer.