The sky-high inflation rate in the Netherlands has left PostNL in a bind. As a result, we can expect to wave goodbye to free and cheap deliveries. 😭

Up until this point, Nederlanders have been a pretty spoiled bunch when it comes to having packages delivered for free or at a low cost by PostNL. 

However, this is all bound to change as the company has had to deal with a whole lot of soaring expenses, including:

It was necessary to keep moving

According to the financial chief of PostNL, Pim Berendsen, the operating costs at PostNL are twice as high as normal. This has left the company in quite the pickle — and upping their parcel delivery costs is necessary to keep them afloat. 

READ MORE | Good news! PostNL recruits students to start delivering mail in the evenings

“Despite all our austerity measures, €50 million remains. We cannot compensate for this ourselves by cutting back or improving our productivity. That is such a large amount, for which we have to pass our prices on to business customers”, Berendsen tells AD.

Parcel drop-off points might become the new normal

An e-marketing professor at Erasmus University, Cor Molenaar, believes that, if expenses continue to rise, other parcel delivery services will soon follow — leaving us with fewer possibilities to get our packages delivered for free. 

He also predicts that we’ll be seeing slimmer chances of our packages being delivered to our doors.

READ MORE | Inflation in the Netherlands jumps to almost 12%: here’s what you’ll pay more for

“We are moving towards a model in which parcels are delivered to a central point in the district and where the customer picks them up there or has them delivered to their home at an extra cost”, Molenaar tells AD.

However, PostNL shares that they will continue to persevere and work towards being the favourite deliverer for consumers across the Netherlands. 

The company believes that it will soon see structural growth in the number of e-commerce customers in the coming years.

What do you think about PostNL increasing its parcel delivery prices? Tell us in the comments below! 👇

An employee of a Dutch construction company faces suspension after lifting the leg of a female colleague and making a “licking motion” at a company party. Sorry, what? 🤨

The man, who had just received a permanent contract at the company, demanded that he be allowed to work again because the suspension would give him a bad reputation. 

The situation was then taken to court, where the judge ruled in favour of the company, deeming the suspension justified.

A suspension with pay

The Subdistrict Court of The Hague felt it unnecessary for the construction worker to return to work since he’s still getting his regular paycheck from the company, reports RTL Nieuws.

READ MORE | Dutch fraternity calls women “cum buckets” in a speech

He’ll also only miss 14 days of work due to the suspension — so essentially just like a mini-vacation away from work. Some punishment! 🙄

“It was just a joke”

The incident occurred at a company party, where the man crossed a line and violated the company’s internal rules. How? Well, it all started with a glass that had fallen to the ground.

The man bent down to inspect the shoes of his female colleague — presumably for any of the spilt drink. Then, when he emerged from under the table, he apparently came across a “floating leg” and thought it was a good idea to lift the leg and make a licking motion.

READ MORE | How men can step up against sexual misconduct in the Netherlands

Of course, as all men do in a ridiculous plea of defence, he apologised to the woman claiming that it was “just a joke”. To no dismay, the woman later filed a lawsuit for transgressive behaviour.

In the end, the construction worker faces legal fees set by his employer at €747. He’s also not allowed to set foot near the woman.

Do you think this worker’s punishment is justified? Tell us in the comments below! 👇