The incomes of senior managers at Dutch companies rose by an average 5.9% last year, according to research by the Volkskrant.

The average income of a company director was €705,000, the paper says. It bases the claim on its own research into 131 companies. Since 2010, corporate executive wages have risen by between 4% and 8%.

The increase is largely to due to the impact of salary increases at middle-sized companies. Multinational remuneration packages vary widely and have been reduced in many cases because of smaller bonuses, the paper said.

The highest pay package went to Ben Notenboom, who stood down as CEO at staffing agency Randstad at the beginning of this year. His total income reached €10.2m, including a €2.5m golden handshake, the Volkskrant says.