Companies should make greater use of the courts to try to stop staff claiming large golden handshakes promised in old employment contracts, finance minister Wouter Bos was quoted as saying on Monday.

Bos was speaking at the publication of a report on the corporate goverance code of conduct for stock exchange listed firms. The report shows that many firms break the limits set down in the code of conduct do so because of ‘old’ contracts.
But managers who think such golden handshakes cannot be justified to staff or the outside world should challenge them in the courts, Bos said. The code of conduct recommends severage packages be limited to one year’s salary.
The report said that while the total among paid to executives went down in 2008, companies ‘should pay more attention to justifying performance-related criteria’. And when it comes to pay packages ‘ companies still have a long way to go’, the report said.