Minimum Wage
In general, workers and employers are free to agree upon their wages in an employment contract. However, they do need to take into account the provisions of the Minimum Wages and Minimum Holiday Allowances Act, as well as the applicable collective bargaining agreement .
How high is the minimum wage in the Netherlands?
Workers cannot be paid less than the statutory minimum wage specified for a particular age group. Legislation provides for different pay scales: the adult minimum wage for workers aged 21 and the minimum youth wage (for workers aged 15-20).
The adult minimum wage is set at EUR 14,40 (per 1 July 2025) and EUR 14,71 (per 1 January 2026). Youth workers between 15 and 20 years old receive a percentage of the adult minimum wage rate, which is fixed as follows:
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Workers of 20 years old are entitled to 80%;
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Workers of 19 years old are entitled to 60%;
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Workers of 18 years old are entitled to 50%;
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Workers of 17 years old are entitled to 39,5%;
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Workers of 16 years old are entitled to 34,5%;
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Workers of 15 years old are entitled to 30%.
For young employees who work on the basis of an employment contract in connection with a vocational training pathway (bbl), alternative levels, partly laid down in the decree Minimum Wages for Young Workers, apply. The normal minimum youth wage applies for the age of 15 to 17 years. Lower tiers apply to students in the BBL between 18 and 20 years old because there were too few apprenticeships. The following rates apply:
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Workers of 20 years old are entitled to 61,5%;
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Workers of 19 years old are entitled to 52,5%;
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Workers of 18 years old are entitled to 45,5%;
On top of the Statutory Minimum Wage, the statutory 8% holiday allowance is added.
Since 2024, the minimum wage is calculated on an hourly rate. Before, Dutch law provided for a minimum wage per month.
Over 70% of the workers are covered under sectoral or enterprise level collective bargaining agreements and are entitled to pay scales provided in these agreements. Most of these workers are entitled to a wage that exceeds the statutory minimum wage.
How is the minimum wage set in the Netherlands?
The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment increases the minimum wage twice per year: on 1 January and 1 July. By law, this increase is based on the average development of negotiated wages in the country. Other than the level of negotiated wages, social security benefits, economic development and level of employment is considered while fixing the minimum wage.
Minimum wage compliance
If a worker suspects that they are being paid under the minimum wage, they can alert the 'Inspectie SZW' (Social Affairs and Employment Inspection. Their trade union can help as well, for example to receive the missing payments. The 'Inspectie SZW' (Social Affairs and Employment Inspection) checks whether employers pay the minimum wage and whether employers pay out the holiday allowance of 8% of the gross wage, which is required by law. If they do not adhere to the minimum wage legislation, a fine can be imposed, varying from € 500 to € 10.000, depending on the length of the employment and the degree of underpayment. When an employer also refuses to pay out their employees holiday allowances, a fine can be imposed varying from € 250 to € 2.000.
Relationship between minimum wage and national poverty line
In the Netherlands there is no ‘official’ definition for the national poverty line, related to the minimum wage. However, there is a broadly accepted definition of poverty, based upon the minimal amounts different types of households need for expenses required to fully participate in society. For 2023, this was € 1.510 for singles and € 2.910 for a two parent household with children in puberty. The social assistance norm is 100% of the minimum wage for a family per month. For a single parent this is 70% of the minimum wage. For a single person this is 50% of the minimum wage.
Non-Standard Workers' Rights on Minimum Wage - Platform Workers
The Statutory Minimum Wage only applies to employees. Not for self-employed people, self-employed workers or freelancers. Platform workers with an oral or written employment contract can claim the minimum wage, even if they have a zero-hour contract. Some platforms offer their workers employment contracts, sometimes through an employment- or payroll agency. In that case, the minimum wage does apply to these workers.For platforms that offer their workers an employment contract but do not adhere to the minimum wage legislation, a fine can be imposed on the platform. However, if people are working as an independent contractor, these platforms cannot be fined for underpayment or refusing to pay out holiday allowance.
As of 2025, a proposal for the Act Clarification assessment of working relationships and legal presumption (Wet verduidelijking beoordeling arbeidsrelaties en rechtsvermoeden) is under consideration by the Dutch Parliament. This proposal seeks to introduce a legal presumption that a worker is considered an employee, if their hourly rate is below a certain threshold (set for EUR 36). Workers earning below said threshold can invoke the legal presumption in court to claim employment law protection. Subsequently, the employer can try to debunk the legal presumption by providing proof that the parties have agreed to self-employment. While strictly speaking, this proposal does not provide for a statutory minimum tariff, it may serve as an incentive for platform workers and other work providers to pay above the threshold.
Sources: Minimum Wages and Minimum Holiday Allowances Act of 27 November 1968; Decree concerning Minimum Wages for Young Workers of 29 June 1983; Decree on the Adjustment of Minimum Wage from 1 July 2025; Proposal for Act Clarification assessment of working relationships and legal presumption.
For updated minimum wage rates, please refer to the section on minimum wage.
Regular Pay
What is considered “wage” in the Netherlands?
The term wage means any compensation by the employer for the labor provided by the employee.
Wages may consist of the following elements:
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money (cash or bank money);
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goods for personal use (except liquor and drugs/harmful substance) if it is desirable in view of the nature of the enterprise of employer;
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accommodation/housing including lighting and heating;
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services and supplies, activities provided by the employer including education, board and lodging;
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shares, claims, stocks, vouchers and receivables.
An important condition regarding in-kind payments is that the employer cannot assign a higher than the real market value to goods for personal use, accommodation and board & lodging services.
When should the employer pay wages?
An employee must be paid his/her wages at the pre-determined/agreed time on daily, weekly, four-weekly or monthly basis. The maximum wage payment period is one month.
By default, wages must be paid a week after the wage period. The period can be extended by a written agreement. However, the extended period cannot be longer than one month in case the weekly wage (or even less than a week) and three months in case of monthly wage.
If wages are delayed from the agreed periods and non-payment is attributable to the employer, the employee is entitled to certain increase in wages (up to fifty percent).
Payment may be made in cash or to a bank account and should be in the Dutch legal tender, unless agreed otherwise. Wages may be paid at the workplace, at the employer's office or at the employee's home. As part of the present Minimum Wage Act, the employer is required to pay at least the amount of minimum wage to the worker’s bank account. On the occasion of wage payment, an employer must also provide a written or electronic itemised pay slip indicating the amount of wages, their composition, deductions, working hours and amount of statutory wage that person of the worker's age is entitled to.
Are workers entitled to a 13th month or other bonuses?
By law, employers are obligated to pay a vacation allowance of 8% of the yearly salary. This vacation bonus should either be paid in May or June. There is no statutory obligation for employers to pay a 13th month or other bonus, but many cba’s do provide for a 13th month or end of year bonus.
Withholding pay
A contractual provision which gives an employer the right to withhold a worker's wages on the pay day is null and void unless the worker has given a written consent for certain deductions. This consent allows the employer to make payments such as contributions to occupational pension schemes, repayment of wages paid in advance or overpaid wages, rent for accommodation linked to the job, and compensation or penalties in certain limited circumstances.
It is not allowed for employers to appropriate any tips, received by their workers, towards themselves. Likewise, no agreement of this kind can be included in a worker's contract. It is moreover forbidden to subtract the total amount of tips from the wage a worker has earned. However, the employer is allowed to introduce a tip jar, to allocate the received tips evenly under all of the workers. This has been decided upon by the Supreme Court in 2001, in a court case initiated by a trade union.
Non-Standard Workers' Rights on Regular Pay - Platform Workers
Payment varies by platform. One platform pays an hourly wage, the other offers a specific amount per delivery or job. Professional platform workers who work under a service contract are entitled the contractually agreed wage or, in the absence of such, a common or reasonable wage.
According to the law, a platform that mediates may not ask commission from the workers, only from the clients (art. 3 paragraph 1 Waadi).
Sources: § 405 of Book 7, Title 7 (Service Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), §616-633 of Book 7, Title 10 (Employment Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), Minimum Wage Act (Article 7, §2, Stb. 2015, 233), Act Allocatie Arbeidskrachten door intermediairs (Waadi) May 14th 1998.
