Ben Noteboom, the former chief executive of staffing agency Randstad, was sacked by the supervisory board, and did not leave voluntarily as the company implied, RTLZ reports on Friday.

Noteboom’s resignation was announced in October but the statement did not give a reason. Interviewed by RTLZ at the time, Noteboom said the company was stable and showing growth. ‘This is a good moment to say after 11.5 years that it is now time for someone else,’ he said.

However, Randstad confirmed on Friday that Noteboom had actually been sacked, and that is the reason why he was given a €2.5m pay-off. Noteboom had a one-year period of notice in his contract and this had to be fully paid out on top of other compensation and bonuses.

The Dutch shareholders’ association VEB reacted angrily to the revelations, saying it was a trick to get round the rules establishing one-year salary limits on golden handshakes.

‘The way Randstad has communicated this is no longer appropriate,’ said director Jan Maarten Slagter.