Inspection: former HBO driver Bonhof was wrongly reimbursed for the course
The Education Inspectorate finds it 'highly undesirable' that the then chairman of the board, Geri Bonhof of the Hogeschool Utrecht, was reimbursed for an education worth twelve thousand euros shortly before her departure in 2015. The course served its own interests. The supervisory board, which gave permission, should therefore have acted differently.
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This is evident from one Inspection report about the allowances Bonhof received in the year in which she took leave. Her third term of office came to an end in September 2015 and she stepped down as chair of Hogeschool Utrecht after twelve years. She received an annual salary of 182.900 euros, significantly more than the maximum severance pay of 75 euros that has been permitted since 2013 under the Standards of Top Income Act (WNT).
But because the severance scheme was laid down in 2011, before the law came into effect, it falls under a tolerable transitional scheme. Bonhof could contractually claim a farewell bonus of one and a half years' salary (275 thousand euros), but she decided not to pay half a year.
Business interest
The training that the supervisory board gave Bonhof shortly before her departure is also not formally against the rules. From January to the end of June 2015, the HU chairman attended a training course at Nyenrode Business University focused on the functioning of supervisors and supervisory directors. The costs of 12.093,95 euros (incl. VAT) were borne by the university college.
That was 'highly undesirable', the Inspectorate ruled. Because Bonhof took the course so shortly before her retirement, there was no business interest for the university - contrary to what the Supervisory Board claimed.
Question marks
Posted last year AObDistrict manager Jan Dijkstra already has questions about the course allowance of twelve grand: “This amount should at least be deducted from the severance pay.”
The supervisory board has a different opinion about this, according to a response from a HU spokesperson from a HU spokesperson, Trajectum: 'The Supervisory Board has taken note of the report. HU will not reclaim money from former chairman of the board Bonhof or take any other steps. '
