Gift policy: 48% of large Dutch companies have a policy, 52% improvise. A policy prevents risk, inequality, and budget surprises. Cadeo automates with HRIS integration, starting at €15.
Creating a Gift Policy for Your Organization — From Policy to Reward [2026]
Most organizations give gifts, but few have documented why, when, and how much. A gift policy brings structure, prevents surprises, and ensures every recipient is treated equally. In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a workable policy in five steps — and how Cadeo automates execution.
A gift policy defines who gets a gift, when, and for what amount. Define target groups, moments, and budgets, choose an approval process, and set fiscal guidelines. Start simple: 80% of the value lies in the first three steps. Cadeo helps with HRIS integration, WKR-compliant invoicing, and a budget dashboard — from €15 per recipient.
Why you need a gift policy
Most organizations give a gift to employees or contacts at some point. For birthdays, at Christmas, for an anniversary, or as a thank-you after a busy project. But who decides what is given? What amount is appropriate? And does everyone get a turn?
Without a documented policy, small problems start to creep in. One manager gives €75 for a birthday, another gives €25 — or forgets it entirely. By the end of December, the budget is already gone, leaving the last departments empty-handed. And for client gifts, nobody knows exactly what the VAT threshold is or when approval is required.
Research shows that 48% of Dutch top-100 companies have a formal gift policy. That sounds like a majority, but it also means 52% improvise — and the percentage is considerably higher in SMEs. The consequences are concrete: forgotten birthdays that lead to disappointment, unequal amounts that create resentment, no WKR overview so the free space is unintentionally exceeded, and integrity risks with client gifts that reach too high a value.
A gift policy doesn’t have to be a lengthy document. It’s a practical set of agreements that defines who receives what and when, at what budget, and who is responsible for it. It prevents discussion, creates clarity, and ensures appreciation is distributed fairly. It also makes budgeting much easier: you know exactly what you spend each year on business gifts.
In short: without a gift policy, you give based on instinct. With a gift policy, you give based on structure — and that feels better for everyone.
The 7 building blocks of a gift policy
A good gift policy consists of seven fixed components. You don’t have to perfect them all on day one — but each component deserves a deliberate choice. Together they form the foundation of your gifting policy.
Target groups
Who receives gifts? Employees, contacts, prospects, partners? Define each group separately.
Moments
On which occasions do you give something? Think birthday, Christmas, anniversary, farewell, onboarding, illness.
Budget guidelines
What amount per target group and moment? Set a range so there is room without arbitrariness.
Approval process
Who decides? Does HR need to approve, or can a team lead order independently up to a certain amount?
Fiscal framework
WKR free space, VAT threshold €227 for contacts, max €25 personal token. Set the limits.
Platform & process
Who orders, and through which platform? Centralized via HR or decentralized via team leads? And how is it delivered?
Evaluation
When do you evaluate the policy? Adjust annually based on feedback, budget, and redemption data.
The first three building blocks — target groups, moments, and budget — deliver the most value right away. If those are clear, you already have a workable policy. You can refine the other four blocks over time based on real-world experience. Start small, build out, and adjust annually.
Important: involve both HR and finance when creating it. HR knows the moments and the culture, while finance safeguards the budget and fiscal rules. Together, they arrive at agreements that are workable and compliant. Cadeo supports this process with a dashboard that brings both perspectives together: budget overview per team and fiscal reporting per quarter.
Budget matrix: how much per moment and target group
Setting budgets is often the hardest part of a gift policy. Too low, and the gift feels cheap; too high, and the budget gets out of hand. A budget matrix creates structure: for each moment and target group, you set a guideline amount.
| Moment | Guideline amount | WKR? | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas / year-end | €25 – €75 | Yes, free space | Annually, all employees |
| Birthday | €15 – €35 | Yes, free space | Annually, per person |
| 5-year anniversary | €50 – €100 | Yes, free space | One-time |
| 10+ year anniversary | €100 – €200 | Yes, free space | One-time |
| Welcome / onboarding | €25 – €50 | Yes, free space | One-time at start |
| Farewell | €25 – €75 | Yes, free space | One-time on departure |
| Illness / setback | €15 – €35 | Yes, free space | Situational |
| Client relationship gift | €25 – €75 | No, VAT rules | 1–2x per year per client |
A common mistake is setting one fixed amount instead of a range. A range provides room to differentiate based on seniority, job level, or team size without feeling arbitrary. In your gift policy, state that the standard amount is the midpoint of the range — deviations must be justified.
Calculate the total annual budget before finalizing the gift policy. Take the number of employees, multiply by the moments and guideline amounts, and add client gifts on top. That way, you avoid a surprisingly high total halfway through the year. You can read more about budget calculations in Corporate Gifting Budget (AH-13) and etiquette rules in Business Gift Etiquette (AH-90).
Fiscal framework in your gift policy
A gift policy without a fiscal section is like a budget without a funding plan: you know what you give, but not what it really costs. The Dutch Work-Related Costs Scheme (WKR) largely determines how you handle business gifts fiscally. Your policy should clearly state which gifts fall within the free space and which do not.
WKR free space 2026
The free space is 2% of the first €400,000 in taxable payroll and 1.18% of the amount above that. For a company with 50 employees and €2.5 million in payroll, that comes to roughly €32,780. Gifts to employees usually fall under this — provided they are designated as final levy wages.
Example: 50 employees × average €120 per year on gifts = €6,000 total. That comfortably fits within the free space, but be sure to include other benefits too (think Christmas drinks, staff parties, company fitness).
Different rules apply to client gifts. If a gift is worth more than €227 (including VAT) per client per year, the VAT is not deductible. Below that threshold, you may deduct VAT as input tax, provided the gift serves a business purpose. In your gift policy, state that client gifts are always registered so you can monitor the annual threshold per client.
There is also the category of a ‘personal token’: gifts of up to €25 for illness, birthdays, or similar personal circumstances. These fall outside the WKR free space and therefore cost you nothing extra — as long as you stay below the limit.
Include an overview table in your gift policy that shows, for each gift type, whether it falls under free space, personal token, or VAT client gift. That prevents uncertainty for whoever places the order. Read more about WKR rules in WKR Tax Guide (AH-10), about legislation in Gift Legislation & Compliance (AH-86), and about using remaining budget in WKR Q4 Remaining Budget (AH-88).
The approval process: who decides?
What the approval process looks like depends on the size of your organization. There is no universal solution, but there are three proven models you can use based on company size.
Small organization (up to 50 employees)
The owner or HR lead decides directly. Short lines, little bureaucracy. The risk here is that everything depends on one person — and if that person forgets, nothing happens. So at minimum, record the moments and amounts in a shared document or calendar so a colleague can step in.
Medium-sized organization (50–250 employees)
An HR manager or People & Culture team manages the gift budget centrally. Team leads can submit a request, but HR approves it and keeps oversight. This model combines local knowledge (the team lead knows when someone has a birthday) with central budget management (HR sees the big picture). Set a maximum per order above which approval is needed, for example €75.
Large organization (250+ employees)
Here, a decentralized model works best: team leads or department managers receive a quarterly budget and order independently within the defined guidelines. HR monitors at the total level and intervenes if limits are exceeded. This prevents bottlenecks and keeps turnaround times short.
Automate with an HRIS integration
Cadeo integrates with BambooHR, Personio, and HiBob. Birthdays and anniversaries are pulled automatically, so no moment is ever missed. The team lead or HR manager receives a notification and only needs to confirm it. No manual lists, no forgotten colleagues. Read more in Automating the Token Policy (AH-04) and Scaling Gifting for Large Teams (AH-48).
Whatever model you choose: make sure every order is logged. Who ordered what, when, for whom, and for what amount? Cadeo provides a dashboard with complete order history per team and per department. That turns the year-end review into a matter of minutes instead of hours.
Template: how to build your gift policy in 5 steps
You don’t need to spend weeks setting up a gifting policy. With five concrete steps, you can have a workable gift policy in place in one afternoon. The secret: start with what you already do and build from there.
Inventory
Map out what you already give now. Ask HR, finance, and team leads about recent orders and amounts.
Define
Set target groups and moments. Use the building blocks from section 2 as a checklist.
Budget
Determine guideline amounts per category. Calculate the total annual budget and test it against the WKR free space.
Choose platform
Select an execution platform that fits your organization. Look for HRIS integration, invoicing, and assortment.
Communicate
Share the policy with the team. Publish it on the intranet, discuss it in team meetings, and include it in onboarding.
Start simple, then expand
80% of the value lies in the first three steps: inventory, define, and budget. Steps 4 and 5 can be tackled in the following weeks. An imperfect gift policy that is actually used is more valuable than a perfect document that ends up in a drawer.
Step 1 is crucial because otherwise you are writing policy in a vacuum. Ask team leads what they gave over the past year, check with finance which invoices came in for gifts or flowers, and ask employees what they received. You’ll be surprised by the differences between departments — and that is exactly why you need a gift policy.
In step 4, choose a platform that takes the administration out of your hands. Cadeo offers one ordering environment for all moments, with invoicing per quarter or month, WKR-compliant reporting, and a choice gift model where the recipient selects from 1,200+ products. No stock, no storage, no returns.
For step 5, the more concrete your communication, the greater the adoption. Don’t just send an email with the policy; discuss it in the next team meeting. Show how the platform works, give an example of the ordering process, and clearly state who to contact with questions. A gift policy that nobody knows about is not a gift policy.
Cadeo as the execution platform for your gift policy
A gift policy is only effective if execution is arranged as well as the policy itself. This is where success is made or broken: is ordering gifts made easy enough for the people who need to do it? Or does it stall in Excel lists and forgotten orders?
Cadeo is designed as the execution layer for business gifting policy. The platform combines five core functions that directly match the building blocks of your gift policy:
HRIS integration
Automatic import of birthdays, anniversaries, and employment data from BambooHR, Personio, or HiBob. Moments are never forgotten again — the system sends a reminder before the date.
Budget dashboard
Real-time overview of spent versus available budget per team, department, and period. Finance sees the big picture, team leads see their own budget. No surprises at the end of the quarter.
WKR-compliant invoicing
Every invoice includes the correct WKR codes and references. Finance doesn’t have to categorize anything manually. The free space is tracked automatically.
Impact reports
After each redemption period, you receive a report with redemption rate, popular product choices, and thank-you messages from recipients. Concrete proof that your gift policy is working.
Choice for recipients
More than 1,200 products in the assortment. The recipient chooses what suits them best — from sustainable design products to experiences. Redemption rate: 95%. No unwanted gifts that end up in a cupboard.
The entry point is low: from €15 per recipient, no long-term contract, and setup in 15 minutes. You only pay when a recipient actually redeems. That makes Cadeo suitable for organizations introducing a gift policy for the first time as well as companies that want to professionalize their existing approach.
Read more about how Cadeo works as a choice gift platform in Choice Gift & Selection Portal (AH-02).
Frequently asked questions about gift policy
At least once a year, preferably in Q1 when the WKR percentages for the new year are known. Then evaluate which moments worked well, whether the budgets were realistic, and whether any new target groups have been added. You can make interim adjustments if there are major changes such as a merger, reorganization, or strong growth.
Not legally required, but strongly recommended from 25+ employees. In smaller teams, verbal agreements are often enough, but once multiple managers start giving gifts independently, inequality arises. A one-page policy document prevents more problems than you might expect.
Share the gift policy during onboarding for new employees and managers. Publish the document on your intranet or in a shared HR folder. Discuss the main points in a team meeting so everyone knows the agreements. Send an annual update email with any changes. The goal is that any manager who wants to order a gift can find the guidelines within 30 seconds.
Prevent the issue by centralizing the ordering process. Use a platform like Cadeo where budget caps per team can be set — that way a manager cannot spend more than allowed. If deviations happen repeatedly: address it in a one-on-one and explain the rationale behind the gift policy. An escalation process through HR is the backstop, but in practice a well-designed system solves most of it.
The gift policy itself only costs time — allow 4 to 8 hours to draft it, spread over two weeks. Execution costs depend on your chosen budget per recipient. With Cadeo, you start from €15 per gift, with no setup costs or subscription. The total annual budget depends on the number of employees and the moments you define in your gift policy.
Yes, Cadeo integrates with BambooHR, Personio, and HiBob. Employee data such as birthdays, start dates, and anniversaries are synchronized automatically. You don’t need to keep manual lists. The platform sends reminders based on the data from your HR system, so every moment is noticed on time and no employee is missed.
Set down: a budget limit per client per year (for example, a maximum of €75 per client), an approval process (who may order and whether a manager must approve), a registration requirement so you can monitor the VAT threshold of €227 per client, and a list of allowed moments (for example, only at Christmas and contract renewal). This prevents integrity risks and makes VAT administration easier.
