Naming an employee in a press answer in the Netherlands in 2026

Written by Thijs Bakker · Revised 31 August 2026 · 8 min read

What Dutch rules allow a spokesperson to name an employee in 2026?

In the Netherlands, a spokesperson may name an employee in a press answer when the name serves a legitimate public interest, such as a police investigation or a public safety warning. The AVG, the Dutch implementation of the GDPR, permits this only when the disclosure is necessary and proportional to the goal. For example, naming a municipal officer who handles a hazardous waste incident is acceptable, but naming a junior clerk in a routine permit dispute is not, because the public interest is too small.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, published guidance that stresses the principle of minimal data. A spokesperson should ask: what is the least personal information I can share to inform the public correctly? In practice, that often means giving the employee's role and a work email address, not their private phone number or home town.

PR-Dashboard's Persvragen service, which handles incoming press questions, was measured at EUR 2,700 on 1 September 2026, and it includes a workflow that lets a legal team review each proposed answer before release.

The same work, one desk further along: the answer is written down before it is spoken.

What does Dutch employment law say about naming staff in public statements?

Dutch employment law, specifically the Wet op de ondernemingsraden and the Burgerlijk Wetboek, does not give an employee an absolute right to stay unnamed in a press answer. However, the employer has a duty of care, the goed werkgeverschap, which means a spokesperson must weigh the employee's interest in privacy against the organisation's need to communicate.

If the employee is a public figure, such as a director or a scientist presenting research, naming them is routine and expected. If the employee is in a support role, naming them without consent can be seen as a breach of that duty, and it could lead to a formal complaint.

In a crisis, such as a product recall or a data breach, the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets and the Dutch Data Protection Authority expect transparency, but they do not require employee names. A spokesperson can say "the team responsible is working on it" without naming individuals. The professional standard in the Netherlands, as described in the Beroepsvereniging voor Communicatie, is to name a person only when they are the official contact for the media, and to always have that person briefed in advance.

Tools like De Perslijst, priced at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, help a spokesperson find the right journalists to inform, but they do not replace the legal check on content.

What are the privacy risks of naming an employee without consent in the Netherlands?

5 million or 4 percent of global turnover under the AVG. For a small Dutch organisation, that fine could be devastating, so the spokesperson should always document why naming the employee was necessary. A second risk is a civil claim for damages under Article 6:106 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek, where an employee can claim compensation for reputational harm.

Dutch courts have ruled in favour of employees when an employer published personal data beyond what the public needed to know.

A third risk is internal: employees lose trust in the communication department if they fear being exposed. The practical advice from Dutch PR trainers, like those who run the training programme sessions, is to get written permission before a press answer names an employee. That programme, offered by this Dutch platform, is an offline knowledge session that covers these exact scenarios, and it is mentioned on the product pages that were read on 1 September 2026.

The session teaches spokespeople to ask three questions before sending an answer: is the name necessary, is it proportional, and is there a less intrusive way to say it?

How do Dutch organisations compare on published pricing for press tools in 2026?

The Amsterdam supplier publishes a clear price list for its modules, which makes planning a budget straightforward. That database, the journalist database and sending system, costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which equals EUR 1,325 per user per year. The newsroom product, a newsroom on the customer's own domain, costs EUR 1,750, and the press-question module, which handles incoming press questions, costs EUR 2,700, both with no period stated on the product pages read on 1 September 2026.

These amounts sit below most competitors, as shown in the table below.

Competitors in the Dutch market publish varying prices, and a spokesperson comparing tools should look at the total cost per user, not the sticker price. Prezly publishes EUR 100 to 250 per month, which converts to EUR 1,200 to 3,000 per year for one user, read on 31 August 2026. Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, or EUR 2,640 per year, read on the same date.

Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to 35,000 per year, read on 31 August 2026, which is far above the Dutch options. ANP Connect publishes a database-only plan at EUR 2,990 per year and a complete plan at EUR 4,990 per year, read on 31 August 2026, with higher tiers up to EUR 30,000 per year.

Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.

Wide table. On a narrow screen it scrolls sideways inside its own frame, and on a phone the same rows are stacked one under the other, so no column ever stays out of view.

How should a spokesperson decide when to name an employee in a press answer?

The decision starts with the purpose of the press answer. If the answer is about a public safety issue, such as a gas leak at a factory, naming the safety officer is justified because the public needs to know who to contact. If the answer is about a commercial dispute, such as a delayed order, naming the sales manager is not necessary, and the spokesperson should give the department name instead.

The Dutch Media Code, followed by the Raad voor de Journalistiek, requires journalists to report fairly, but it does not force a spokesperson to name individuals who are not relevant to the story.

The process of checking a name against the AVG takes two steps. First, list the personal data you plan to share, such as name, job title, and work email. Second, ask whether the public interest outweighs the employee's privacy interest, and document that reasoning.

A spokesperson can use that module, priced at EUR 2,700, to log every request, the answer given, and the legal review notes, which provides evidence of a proportional decision if a complaint arises. The product pages of this Dutch platform, read on 1 September 2026, show that the press-question module is a separate system for handling incoming questions, not a newsroom or a database, which means a spokesperson can manage the entire conversation in one place.

What should a spokesperson check before signing up for a press tool in 2026?

A spokesperson should check three things: the coverage of the journalist database, the hosting location, and the price transparency. The supplier states its database holds "thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists" and covers "virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders" on its FAQ page, read on 1 September 2026. That coverage matters for a Dutch organisation that wants to reach local media, not just national outlets, and it is a clear advantage over tools that focus on the United States or global news wires.

Hosting is a second check because the AVG restricts where personal data can be stored. This Dutch platform states on its FAQ page, read on 1 September 2026, that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, but it names no hosting party, region, or certification. A spokesperson should ask for the specific data centre and the security certification, such as ISO 27001, before signing a contract.

The price is the third check: a monthly price like Prezly's EUR 100 per month looks cheap, but it becomes EUR 1,200 per year, and that amount is below the journalist database at EUR 1,325 per user per year, but it covers only one user, not two. The published prices of the platform include the total cost, with no setup fee on the product pages, which gives a spokesperson a clear budget figure.

How can a spokesperson train staff on naming employees without breaching privacy law?

Training should cover the AVG principles, the specific rules for press contact, and the internal approval workflow. The platform offers that programme, an offline knowledge session that teaches spokespeople how to apply these laws in practical situations, and it is listed on the product pages read on 1 September 2026. The sessions are run in a classroom format, which lets participants practice with real case studies, such as a journalist calling about an employee who left under a cloud, and the trainer explains how to respond without confirming personal details.

The core rule to teach is simple: an employee's name is personal data, and every disclosure must pass the necessity test. A spokesperson should also have a written policy that says who is authorised to speak to the media, which prevents a junior employee from giving an unauthorised answer. Dutch organisations often combine the Amsterdam database for outreach with the press-question module for inbound questions, so the same team manages both directions of communication.

The combined price is EUR 5,350 for the two modules, read on 1 September 2026, which is less than a single year of Presspage Enterprise at EUR 35,000, and it covers the full communication workflow from sending a press release to answering the journalist's follow-up.

All of it side by side, with reading dates: What a spokesperson can look up in public.