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Minimum wage

go to topWhat is the statutory minimum wage?

The statutory minimum wage is the minimum wage you should receive when you are employed. Employees from 23 to 65 years old are entitled to the minimum wage. Employees from 15 to 23 are entitled to the minimum youth wage.

go to topAre you entitled to the statutory minimum wage?

If you are employed and are between 15 and 65 years old, you are entitled to the statutory minimum wage.

Minimum youth wage
If you are under 23 you are entitled to the statutory minimum youth wage. How much this is depends on your age. The older you are, the higher your wage.

Flex-workers
Flex-workers are also entitled to the statutory minimum wage. Flex-workers are on-call employees or people working from home, for example. They have a flexible contract.

If you are a flex-worker you are entitled to the statutory minimum wage when you:

  1. have no more than two employers;
  2. are not self-employed;
  3. are working as a flex-worker yourself. Only members of your family are allowed to work with you. Family members are your spouse or partner, next of kin or in-laws living at your home and foster children;
  4. work a minimum of 5 hours per week on average;
  5. work a minimum of three months. If the period between two assignments is shorter than 31 days, you are allowed to include this period.

Wajong
If besides your job you are receiving a Wajong (Disablement Assistance Act for Handicapped Young Persons)-allowance, you may in some cases receive less than the minimum wage. Your employer must have permission from the Social Security Agency UWV for this.

go to topHow do you know you are receiving the right wage?

The minimum wage is adjusted twice a year, in January and in July. The amounts are for gross wages for normal working hours.

If you want to check whether you are receiving (more than) the statutory minimum wage, you should add the following amounts:

  1. the (basic) wage in your contract;
  2. bonuses you are receiving. You may be receiving bonuses for example for performance, working in shifts, irregular working hours, being on-call and working conditions;
  3. fixed rewards for the turnover you achieve. These are paid out at each term of payment;
  4. rewards from third persons, like tips. These rewards are a consequence of your work. There must also be an agreement with your employer;
  5. non-pecuniary rewards, such as board and lodging, meals or wash- or shower facilities. Your employer is allowed to charge you a fiscally established amount. These rewards must be necessary for your work.

The total of these amounts should not be lower than the minimum wage.

Overtime hours do not count
Overtime hours, holiday pay and payment of profits do not count in the calculation of the minimum wage.

Part-time work and minimum wage
The amount of your gross minimum wage depends on the number of hours you work. If you work part-time, the gross minimum wage is proportionally lower.

Wage slip
Your wage slip states the statutory minimum wage applicable to you.

go to topWhat is included on your wage slip?

Your employer will give you a wage slip. This will contain the following information:

  1. your gross wage
  2. how this wage is built up, for example your basic wage and performance-related bonuses
  3. the statutory minimum wage and minimum holiday pay applicable to you
  4. your name and the name of your employer
  5. the period for which you are being paid, for example the month of July
  6. the number of hours you are working

Check
With your wage slip you can check whether you are being paid enough.

go to topTo how many holidays are you entitled?

When you are employed, you are entitled to holidays. You are entitled to four times the number of days you work per week. If you work five days a week, you are entitled to twenty holidays (4x5=20).

Paid holidays
You will continue to be paid during your holidays.

Less than one year of service
Your holidays are built up over one year. If you haven’t been employed yet for a year, your holidays are calculated proportionally.

Youth who have to go to school part-time
Youth who because of compulsory education have to go to school two days a week are, apart from school holidays, entitled to a minimum of twelve holidays.

go to topHow much holiday allowance do you receive?

During your holidays you will continue to be paid. Apart from that, you are also entitled to a holiday allowance. This is eight per cent of your gross annual salary.

Payment of holiday allowance
Your employer will pay your holiday allowance, at least once a year. Usually this happens at the end of May or the beginning of June. Your collective labour agreement may state otherwise. Temping agency workers or holiday workers may receive their holiday allowance per month.

go to topWhat can you do if you are not being paid enough?

If you receive less than the statutory minimum wage, you can call your employer to account and try and find a solution. If this doesn’t work, you can resort to the Labour Inspectorate or go to court. Employers paying less than the statutory minimum wage are liable to a direct fine from the Labour Inspectorate. The fine depends on the degree of evasion of payment. The maximum is 6700 euros per employee.

Legal aid
You can seek advice of, for example, a trade union, law centres (Juridisch Loket) or legal aid solicitors.

Overdue wages
You do not need to claim your wages immediately. If you find out later that you have been paid too little, you can claim these overdue wages afterwards. You must do this within five years. Overdue holiday pay must be claimed within two years.

Holidays
Holidays you were entitled to but did not get, can also be claimed afterwards. You must claim within five years. 

go to topHow much is the minimum wage?

As stipulated by the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act, all employees aged 23 to 65 must be paid at least the minimum wage and holiday allowance. The minimum wage amount is adjusted every half year (in January and July) based on the average development of negotiated wages in the Netherlands.

Minimum youth wage
The minimum youth wage applies to younger people aged between 15 and 23. The minimum youth wage amount is linked to a person’s age. This means that a young person is entitled to a higher wage after each birthday until the age of 23.

Flexiworkers
Flexiworkers are also entitled to the statutory minimum wage. Flexiworkers include homeworkers and on‑call workers, for example.


go to topWhat is the amount of the gross minimum wage?

As of 1 July 2010 the gross minimum wage in euro is:

Age

per month

per week

23 years and over

1.416,00

326,75

22 years

1.203,60

277,75

21 years

1.026,60

236,90

20 years

870,85

200,95

19 years

743,40

171,55

18 years

644,30

148,70

17 years

559,30

129,05

16 years

488,50

112,75

15 years

424,80

98,05

Note:

  • The amounts in this table have not been laid down in law. The gross amounts are adjusted twice a year.
  • The amounts in this table are based on a working day of eight hours for an employee born in 1950 or later, single without children.
  • The net amounts are not the same for everyone. They may vary according to sector because social security contributions and other deductions like taxes may differ.
  • In determining the amounts the tax credits of the partner have not been taken into account. The tax credit of employees of over 57 years has also not been taken into account.
  • In determining the amounts only deductions that are applicable to all employees have been taken into account. Pension contributions and health and social care contributions are ignored.

If you work part-time, you should look at the gross amount. The hourly minimumwage can be found on our Dutch website. The net amounts cannot be lowered proportionally. This is because less is deducted from lower.

go to topHow much is the net minimum wage?

The net amounts are not specified in the Act. The net wage is the wage you receive in your account or in cash. How much you receive net depends on the tax and national insurance contributions which are deducted from your wage. This can be different for each person.

go to topMore information

Download the brochure Everybody is entitled to minimum wage (Pdf, 136 kb).

If you cannot find an answer to your question on this website, you can ask the Postbus 51 Information Service by calling free number 0800 8051. The service is available on working days from 08.00 to 20.00 hrs. If you are calling from abroad, the number is +31 77 4656767 and the regular rate will apply. Your question will usually be answered immediately, though sometimes you will be referred to another government or non‑government agency.