Updated on: 2025/08/05 15:25 (UTC)
Overview
Dutch employment law is primarily regulated by the Dutch Civil Code (DCC). Apart from the DCC, there are general rules laid down in the Dutch Constitution and in a wide range of specific employment laws including the Works Councils Act, the Working Conditions Act, the Collective Dismissal Act, the Collective Bargaining Agreement Act, the Minimum Wages and Minimum Vacation Compensation Act, and the Equal Treatment Act.
Hiring
Employment Contracts
An employment contract can be oral or written, but within a month of the start of work, the employer must put in writing such things as:
- wages,
- hours,
- job title,
- start and duration of the contract,
- duration of probationary period,
- location of work,
- pension benefits, and
- information about the collective labor agreement if there is one.
Effective Aug. 1, 2022, employers must provide additional information to employees, in writing, about terms of employment such as procedures to follow when terminating employment or when work is not performed at a fixed location.
Workers and employers have an implicit employment agreement or contract when the employee provides labor for the same company each week for three months for at least 20 hours per month. If these conditions exist, the employer cannot terminate the worker without a good reason and must pay him or her the minimum wage.
Most agreements contain a probationary period, but employers are not required to include this. Probationary periods in employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements range from one month to two months, depending on the type of contract.
Employers are not permitted to include a trial or probation period of one month as part of a temporary contract that is six months or less in duration. This also applies to consecutive contracts. For fixed-term contracts lasting longer than six months, it remains possible to include a probation period.
Employers cannot hire the same employee for more than two years on consecutive temporary contracts. After two years of temporary contracts or when a fourth contract is offered, the new contract must be of a permanent nature. It is only possible to prevent a change from a temporary to a permanent contract if there is a period of at least six months between the two contracts. Otherwise, it is legally viewed as one contract with consecutive days.
Employers must give on-call workers at least four calendar days notice prior to asking them to come to work. The on-call worker can ignore the request if the four-day requirement is not followed. If the employer withdraws the notice within four days prior to the start of work, the on-call worker must be paid for the full period in which the work was to take place. After employing an on-call worker for a period of 12 months, the employer within one month must offer the employee a fixed number of working hours. The offer must be equal to the average number of hours that the employee performed work in the previous 12 months. Employees can choose to continue to work on an on-call contract. Employers cannot force them to accept a contract with fixed hours.
The Dutch courts may hold that independent contractors are employees covered by an employment contract under special circumstances. On Mar. 24, 2023, the Supreme Court in the Netherlands found delivery workers for an online food delivery company to be employees and not self-employed under the Dutch Civil Code. The high court determined that an employment relationship existed because the company had exercised some authority over the drivers who were not entrepreneurs, but were essential to the function of the business.
Restrictions on Hiring
The minimum age for employment without restriction is 18. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds may be hired but can only work eight hours a week and cannot work overtime, at night or in hazardous occupations.
Recordkeeping
Employers withholding payroll taxes must maintain payroll records on each employee for at least seven years. Employee registration forms must be retained by employers for a minimum of five years. In addition, employers must verify and properly record employee information, including residency and taxation status.
Background Checks
Preemployment drug testing is illegal.
Noncompetition Agreements
For all contracts entered into after Dec. 31, 2014, noncompete clauses are prohibited unless the contract specifies the necessity for such a clause and how the employer’s need for the clause outweighs the disadvantages to the employee.
Noncompete agreements are valid if entered into before Jan. 1, 2015, in writing and do not too severely restrict a person’s ability to find a new job.
Reference Citations
Employment Contracts: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), art. 7:655
Noncompetition Agreements: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), art. 7:653
Immigration and Work Permits
In General
To obtain a residence and work permit for a third-country national, the employer must prove to the relevant authority that it can find no suitable Dutch or European Economic Area candidate for the job after a comprehensive search using (for example) recruitment agencies and internet and newspaper advertising. The employer is required to report the vacancy to the Dutch social security agency at least five weeks before applying for the residence and work permits.
The Netherlands has a separate work permit program for highly skilled migrants, which allows Dutch employers to bring talented foreign professionals into the country quickly without having to prove there are no suitable Dutch or EU candidates.
Visas and Work Permits
The Foreign Nationals Employment Act requires employers to first recruit in the Netherlands and other Western European countries. This is intended to protect the Dutch and Western European labor markets. To be eligible to receive a work permit, foreign workers must reside within a reasonable distance of the place of work and be older than 18 and younger than 45 years old.
To obtain a residence and work permit for a third-country national, the employer must prove to the relevant authority that it can find no suitable Dutch or European Economic Area candidate for the job after a comprehensive search using (for example) recruitment agencies and internet and newspaper advertising. The employer is required to report the vacancy to the Dutch social security agency at least five weeks before applying for the residence and work permits.
Short-term visas are provided for a maximum three months within a six-month period and cannot be renewed. Citizens of countries within the European Economic Area (European Union members, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and certain other countries (e.g., Australia, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the U.S.) are free to stay in the Netherlands for three months without a visa.
Expats from outside the EEA and Switzerland who are coming to work for longer than three months need a residence permit. Third-country nationals can apply for a combined residence and work permit (GVVA) from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The GVVA consists of a Dutch residence permit and an additional document giving the name of the employer and the conditions under which the employee will work. A GVVA can be granted for up to three years.
The Netherlands has a separate work permit program for highly skilled migrants, which allows Dutch employers to bring talented foreign professionals into the country quickly without having to prove there are no suitable Dutch or EU candidates. To qualify as a highly skilled migrant for work in the Netherlands, applicants must have:
- skills and experience that are relatively scarce,
- a university education,
- some years of work experience,
- specialization in a particular field, and
- a monthly salary that exceeds the minimum set by the government.
Waiver program. In 2017, the Netherlands implemented a waiver program that allows employers to bring certain foreign workers into the country without work permits. The program allows companies to employ foreign workers on qualifying projects provided they can show that the employees are needed for their specialized knowledge. No minimum salary requirement is specified apart from the minimum wage. The program requires that projects contribute to international trade and do not have a negative effect on the labor market or distort competition.
Employers wishing to participate in the program must submit an application to the Employee Insurance Agency, which will assess the project’s suitability. Following approval, companies can immediately begin bringing foreign workers into the Netherlands. Projects can be registered for up to three years and extensions can be granted. Employees under contracts exceeding three months must apply for residence permits.
Intracompany transfers. The Netherlands also offers permits under the EU Intracompany Transfer (ICT) Directive. The EU ICT permit is available to managers and specialists with at least a university degree or five years’ experience at their current level and to trainees with a Master’s degree. Managers, specialists, and trainees must have been working in the sending company for at least three months and cannot have their main residence in the Netherlands when applying for the permit. The permit can be issued from 90 days up to three years for managers and specialists and up to one year for trainees.
Post-Entry Requirements
Foreign nationals temporarily working or residing in the Netherlands are required to register with the Nonresident Registration service (Registratie Niet-ingezetenen or RNI). Under the Basic Registration Act (BRP), all nonresidents—defined in this context as those residing or working in the Netherlands for fewer than four consecutive months—are required to register with RNI, while those residing or working in the Netherlands for four months or more must register with the Municipal Personal Records Database. The RNI is a countrywide registry created by the Ministry of the Interior under the BRP and replaces the individual registries previously maintained by each of the country’s 18 municipalities. RNI offices assign nonresidents Citizen Service Numbers upon registration.
Reference Citations
Visas and Work Permits: Work Permit
Nondiscrimination
In General
Dutch law prohibits discrimination based on religion, life principles, political affiliation, creed, race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or chronic illness, age, employment hours, or type of work contract.
Types of Nondiscrimination
In addition to the Dutch Constitution, principles of equal treatment are laid out in the Dutch Civil Code, the Civil Servants Act, the Equal Treatment Act, the Equal Treatment in Employment (Age Discrimination) Act, the Equal Treatment in Employment (Men and Women) Act, the Equal Treatment (Working Hours) Act, the Equal Treatment (Temporary and Permanent Employees) Act, and the Equal Treatment (Disability or Chronic Illness) Act.
Dutch law prohibits discrimination based on religion, life principles, political affiliation, creed, race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or chronic illness, age, employment hours, or type of work contract.
Gender Discrimination
Women cannot be fired because of pregnancy, during related leave or within the first six weeks after their return to work from maternity leave. They also cannot be rejected for employment because of pregnancy and are not required to disclose pregnancy during a job interview, nor is an employer allowed to ask whether a prospective employee is pregnant.
The Working Conditions Act, which addresses various employment-related health and safety issues, prohibits sexual harassment, and requires employers to put in place policies to prevent it. The act defines sexual harassment as unwanted sexual approaches, requests for sexual favors, or similar verbal or nonverbal behavior affecting decisions on terms of employment or creating a hostile work environment. A victim of sexual harassment can report an employer to the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission or take the company or a colleague to court. If the conduct involves violence or the threat of violence, the victim can seek to have the colleague charged criminally.
Employers must provide equal pay for equal work.
EU Pay Transparency Directive: As a member state of the European Union, the Netherlands has until June 2026 to transpose the minimum requirements of the EU Pay Transparency Directive into its national law or amend any current pay equity laws to conform with the directive, which aims to promote pay equity between men and women. The directive introduces requirements on gender pay gap reporting, salary history bans during the hiring process, and wage disclosure in job vacancy listings. The national law may go beyond the minimum requirements of the directive, but the law may not directly conflict with the directive requirements.
Reference Citations
Nondiscrimination: Constitution of the Netherlands (as amended), art. 1
Gender Discrimination: Working Conditions Act, 1998, art. 4; Dutch Civil Code, art. 7 (English)
Employee Privacy
Employee Data
On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) superseded the Data Protection Directive as the primary law governing data privacy in the EU. The GDPR establishes minimum requirements for the processing of employee data and allows EU member nations to introduce more restrictive local legislation. Stricter requirements can also be established in collective bargaining agreements or work contracts. For more information, see the In Focus: International Privacy Laws.
The government has published regulations implementing the GDPR in the Netherlands. The country’s data protection authority also has issued penalty guidelines for violations.
Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
Under the GDPR, employers can monitor employees only if there is a lawful basis for doing so. Lawful bases can include preventing employee misconduct, deterring crime, and ensuring compliance with health and safety procedures. Employees must be given prior notice, and any data that is collected must be used and kept only to fulfill its original purpose.
Reference Citations
Employee Data: General Data Protection Regulation, 2016; Implementing Regulations for the GDPR, 2018 (Dutch)
Employee Monitoring and Surveillance: General Data Protection Regulation, 2016
Compensation
Hours of Work
Under the Working Hours Act, the maximum workday is 12 hours and the maximum workweek is 60 hours. Over a four-week period, an employee’s workweek cannot average more than 55 hours, and over a 16-week period, it cannot average more than 48 hours.
The night shift is considered work performed for longer than an hour between midnight and 6:00 a.m. For night-shift workers, the restrictions are tighter: the maximum night shift is 10 hours, and the average workweek cannot exceed 40 hours over a 16-week period. After a night shift, a worker’s next shift must start at least 14 hours later, and if an employee works a series of three or more night shifts, the next shift cannot start for at least 46 hours.
After a worker’s shift, his or her next shift cannot start for at least 11 hours, though once a week this can be shortened to eight hours. An employee is entitled to 36 consecutive hours of rest following a five-day workweek. The employee may work a longer week, provided he or she has a rest period of at least 72 consecutive hours every 14 days. The 72-hour period may be split into two periods, neither of which may be shorter than 32 hours. Employees are entitled to a 30-minute break after working five and a half hours and a 45-minute break after working more than 10 hours. Both breaks may be split into increments of 15 minutes.
Employees generally do not have to work on Sundays unless they have given their consent. Where Sunday work is necessary—for example, in hotels, restaurants, manufacturing and the health care sector—an employer must request permission from the works council to employ workers on Sunday. The employee must still give his or her consent to work, and each employee is entitled to 13 free Sundays a year, though a collective labor agreement can provide for fewer free Sundays.
The Netherlands actively promotes part-time work to encourage more women and older workers to participate in the workforce.
Minimum Wage
Under the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act, employers must pay the full statutory minimum wage to workers at least 21 years old. Effective July 1, 2024, the minimum wage for employees aged 21 years and older is 13.68 euros per hour. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the minimum wage for employees aged 21 years and older was 13.27 euros per hour.
Workers younger than 21 are eligible for lower minimum wages under an age-based sliding scale.
Flex workers, such as on-call employees or individuals who work at home, also are entitled to the full minimum wage.
Overtime
Dutch law does not provide a national standard for overtime. Premium pay rates are typically established in employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements.
Wage Payment
Employers must pay employees either weekly or monthly and provide them with pay slips with information about their salaries.
Mandatory Bonuses
The Netherlands does not require employers to provide bonus payments to employees, but a month’s extra salary (13th month bonus) is customarily given to employees in November or December.
Reference Citations
Hours of Work: Working Hours Act, 1996 (as amended), §§ 5:2 - 5:8
Wage Payment: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), art. 7:623
Benefits
Vacation
Employees receive annual vacation leave of at least four times the number of days they regularly work each week. For example, an employee who works five full-time days a week receives 20 days—four weeks—of paid vacation each year. Many collective bargaining agreements provide for more than the minimum vacation allowance, often 25 days. In addition, employees are paid a holiday allowance each year that amounts to 8 percent of their gross annual salary. Unused leave can only be carried over for six months.
Holidays
Dutch law does not require employers to give workers national or public holidays off or to pay them extra if they work on those days, so employer policies on holiday leave are established by collective bargaining agreements or employment contracts.
The Netherlands recognizes two national holidays: the King’s birthday, April 27, and Liberation Day, May 5, celebrating the end of World War II. Liberation Day is celebrated every five years; the next celebration will be held in 2020.
Generally observed public holidays include:
- New Year’s Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Ascension Day (the 40th day after Easter Sunday)
- Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost, which is the seventh Sunday following Easter)
- Dec. 25: Christmas Day
- Dec. 26 (Boxing Day)
Public holidays that fall on weekends are not moved to a weekday.
Maternity Leave
Under the Work and Care Act, female employees are entitled to a minimum 16 weeks’ pregnancy and maternity leave. Maternity leave can begin up to six weeks and should start no later than four weeks before the baby is due and can continue for at least 10 weeks after birth even if delivery is later than expected. Employees may return to work earlier if they like, but no sooner than 42 days after giving birth.
The maternity pay rate is 100 percent of the employee’s most recently earned salary up to a maximum of 100 percent of the daily pay set by national social security legislation. The employer pays the salary and is reimbursed by the government.
Employers cannot refuse a request for maternity leave.
The Working Time Act of 1996 provides mothers who return to work after giving birth the right to feed the infant and express breast milk on the job site for up to nine months after birth. Nursing mothers in the workplace receive full pay and are eligible to use this option up to one quarter of their working time.
Paternity Leave
An employee whose wife or partner gives birth is entitled to six weeks of unpaid leave, which can be taken within six months of the birth of the child. Employees who take unpaid leave may claim benefits from the Employment Insurance Agency for up to 70 percent of their salary.
Sick Leave
If a temporary or permanent employment contract is in effect and a worker becomes ill, up to two years of paid sick leave is provided at a minimum of 70 percent of the wages the employee last earned.
Under the Gatekeeper Improvement Act, the employer and the employee are responsible for reintegrating the worker into the workplace following return to work.
An individual cannot be fired while on sick leave during those two years, unless the employer goes to the UWV WERKbedrijf (Public Employment Service)—a semi-governmental organization with authority in various employment-related areas—and gets a determination that the individual is not sufficiently cooperating with reintegration into the workplace or that the worker is regularly ill and disrupting production. Collective labor agreements may also have provisions that allow dismissal in less than two years. A worker can also be let go if he or she becomes ill after the employer applies to the UWV for a dismissal.
Other Leave
Family care leave. Employees get 10 days a year of leave compensated at up to 70 percent of salary under the Work and Care Act to care for a sick child, partner or parent. Employers may, however, have different rules under collective bargaining agreements.
Long-term compassionate leave. This type of leave—which is unpaid unless otherwise provided in the employer’s collective bargaining agreement—is granted when an employee must take care of a seriously ill child, partner or parent over an extended period. The employee must request leave two weeks in advance and is entitled over a 12-week span each year to up to half the number of hours he or she normally works. Employers can refuse to grant long-term compassionate leave if it would seriously disrupt company operations. Provisions in a collective bargaining agreement for long-term compassionate leave supersede the law.
Parental leave. The Parental Leave Act of 1990 grants full-time and part-time workers who have children or are raising children younger than age 8 unpaid parental leave. A collective labor agreement may provide for paid leave. A worker becomes eligible for parental leave only after having worked for an employer for one year. The maximum amount of leave per child is 26 weeks. Parents usually take this leave by working half their normal hours but can make arrangements with an employer to take more hours in a shorter period or to spread the leave out over more than a year. An employer cannot refuse a request for parental leave.
Note: Effective Aug. 2, 2022, both parents are entitled to nine weeks of partially paid parental leave during the child’s first year of life. Eligible parents may apply to the Dutch Labor Office to receive 50% of their daily wage during the leave. Any leave not taken in full in the first year will be converted into unpaid leave which can be taken until the child reaches age eight. The total amount of parental leave (paid and unpaid) remains capped at 26 weeks.
Adoption and fostering leave. The Work and Care Act provides up to six weeks of leave for employees involved in the adoption or fostering of a child. The UWV pays this benefit, not the employer. To qualify, an employee must have worked for his or her present employer for at least a year. The leave can begin as early as four weeks before the adoption and ending up to 22 weeks after the adoption. Employees accrue vacation days during adoption leave. Leave can be taken by both parents. Employers are not allowed to refuse this type of leave. The adoption allowance remains available if an employee’s contract ends or the employee resigns or loses his or her job and adopts or fosters a child within 10 weeks of termination of employment.
Life-course savings plan. The life-course savings plan allows employees to make tax-free contributions to a special savings account that will give them money to use in taking unpaid leave for any purpose. Workers are allowed to save up to 12 percent of their gross salary each year to a total of 210 percent of their wages. Employers can also allow employees to convert overtime or extra vacation time into savings contributions. Savings are tax-deferred, taxed only when withdrawn and even then subject to a tax discount.
Pensions and Social Security
The legal retirement age in the Netherlands is 66 years and 7 months in 2022. In 2023, the retirement age rises to 66 years and 10 months and in 2024 and 2025 it will be 67 years. From 2026 onwards it will only be increased if life expectancy continues to rise.
Under the General Old Age Pensions Act, Dutch residents who reach retirement age are eligible to start receiving a flat-rate pension benefit based on the net minimum wage and the person’s living situation. Employees and employers make contributions to the social insurance system.
Workers’ Compensation
Employers pay into the workers’ compensation system, which is governed by the Work and Income According to Labor Capacity Act.
An injured worker is entitled to paid sick leave for up to two years. If a worker has not recovered after two years, the Institute for Employee Benefit Plans will examine the person to determine the degree of incapacity, which is calculated in terms of how much the injury has affected the worker’s wages. If the loss is less than 35 percent, the worker is not considered disabled and must return to work. Those whose loss is more than 35 percent and whose injury is considered temporary are placed under the Return to Work Plan for the Partially Disabled (WGA) and receive benefits of up to 75 percent of pay for up to three years and two months and may be required to return to work on a part-time basis if they are able. There are additional benefits for workers who exhaust their WGA entitlement before they regain full earning capacity.
Reference Citations
Vacation: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), arts. 7:634, 7:638; Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act, 1968 (as amended), art. 15 (Dutch)
Maternity Leave: Working Time Act, 1995 (as amended), art. 4:8 (Dutch); Work and Care Act, 2001 (as amended), art. 3:8 (Dutch)
Paternity Leave: Work and Care Act, 2001 (as amended), art. 4:2 (Dutch); Act Introducing Extra Birth Leave, 2018 (Dutch)
Sick Leave: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), arts. 7:629
Labor Relations
In General
Unions have the right to negotiate wages, holidays and other conditions of employment with employers. Collective bargaining agreements, which traditionally cover one or two years and cannot exceed five, are often negotiated for whole industries and cover a large majority of workers. Companies that have 50 or more employees (full-time and part-time) are required to establish works councils, which include worker representatives selected by employees. Labor disputes can be decided by arbitration as well as in court. Case law has established a right to strike.
When the ownership of a business changes, the successor employer becomes responsible for its predecessor’s obligations under an existing collective agreement.
Right to Organize
The Netherlands recognizes labor unions in the Collective Labor Agreements Act, under which unions have the right to negotiate wages, holidays and other conditions of employment with employers. Collective bargaining agreements, which traditionally cover one or two years and cannot exceed five, are often negotiated for whole industries and cover a large majority of workers in the Netherlands.
Works Councils
The Works Council Act requires companies that have 50 or more employees (full-time and part-time) to establish works councils, which include worker representatives selected by employees. Depending on company size, a works council can have up to 25 members.
Councils advise employers on employment-related issues, and their members can vote on management decisions in these areas. Disputes between employers and works councils can be resolved through mediation or the courts.
After three months working for a company, employees gain the right to cast votes and be a candidate for the works council. Temporary agency workers are eligible to vote and be chosen after 18 months of working in the company.
Dispute Resolution
Labor disputes can be decided by arbitration as well as in court. Collective bargaining agreements usually include provisions for resolving disputes that do not involve the courts.
Strikes and Lockouts
Although Dutch law has no statutory provision granting workers the right to strike, case law has established such a right. In addition, the Netherlands has ratified the European Social Charter, which grants workers the right to take part in strikes or other industrial actions. Case law determines when a strike is justified.
Companies cannot terminate an employment agreement because an employee participates in a strike or other job action.
Successorship Clauses
In cases where a business is sold or transferred, the successor employer becomes responsible for its predecessor’s rights and duties towards the employees under the collective agreement.
Reference Citations
Works Council: Works Councils Act (as amended), art. 2
Successorship Clauses: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), art. 7:662 - 7:666
Safety, Health and Security
In General
An employer is required to make risk assessments of safety issues and in consultation with works councils or employee delegations formulate policies to deal with any hazards discovered. Employers with 25 or more employees must appoint at least one employee as a safety officer.
Preemployment drug testing is illegal.
Workplace Safety and Health
An employer is required to make risk assessments of safety issues and in consultation with works councils or employee delegations formulate policies to deal with any hazards discovered. Employers must enter into a contract with a certified health and safety provider to ensure that employees:
- receive expert supervision and guidance in case of illness,
- have direct access to a company doctor,
- have the right to request a second opinion from another company doctor, and
- can submit complaints when they are dissatisfied with the quality of care.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, all workplaces in the Netherlands must be smoke-free.
Employers with 25 or more employees must appoint at least one employee—who has enough training and equipment to prevent and respond to accidents and emergencies—as a safety officer.
Drug and Alcohol Use
Preemployment drug testing is illegal, and current employees can refuse to take a drug test unless they work in safety-sensitive occupations.
Reference Citations
Workplace Safety and Health: Working Conditions Act, 1998, art. 3
Termination
Termination by Employer
Employers must obtain permission from the Public Employment Service before terminating an employment contract except in cases of summary dismissal or judicial intervention. Employment contracts can be terminated by mutual consent, during a probationary period or for various other reasons, including:
- Termination by operation of law applies when a temporary contract ends or an employee reaches age 65 or dies. If an employee dies, the employer is required to give the employee’s relatives a cash payment equal to about one month’s wages.
- Termination for failure to meet a condition of employment occurs when, for example, an employee does not pass a certain employment test or does not obtain a required certification by a specific date. The employer must be able to show it attempted to help the employee improve his or her performance and prove improper performance by the employee.
One month before the termination of a fixed-term contract (of six months or longer), employers are required to notify employees in writing as to whether the employment agreement will be extended or not. If the employer does not notify the employee, it must pay the employee an amount equal to the salary that would have been paid during the notice period up to a maximum of one month’s salary.
In case of amicable termination where there is mutual consent, a 14-day reconsideration period is available. Within those 14 days, employees may withdraw their consent to the termination, which would result in the continuation of the employment agreement or a reopening of negotiations toward a new settlement agreement. The employer is obligated to inform the employee about this possibility. If the employer fails to notify the employee, the reconsideration period is extended to three weeks.
Employee dismissals are prohibited if they are based on discrimination, such as gender or pregnancy, or on a worker’s participation in a labor action, such as a strike, or on a works council.
Occupationally disabled employees cannot be terminated until they have exhausted two years of leave unless a collective labor agreement allows it or the Public Employment Service received the employer’s request for dismissal before the disability was incurred or determines the worker isn’t cooperating with efforts to be reintegrated into the workplace.
Whistleblowing. On Jan. 24, 2023, the Dutch Senate adopted the Whistleblowers Protection Act, which transposes the EU Directive on Whistleblowing into national law. Employers with more than 50 workers must establish whistleblower policies and reporting mechanisms for suspected wrongdoings within the company. The law expands legal protections for whistleblowers and the scope of protected individuals. Employers with whistleblower procedures currently in place must ensure those procedures comply with the act.
Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs
Workers can be terminated in cases of collective redundancy when an employer decides to dismiss 20 or more of its workers within a three-month period for economic reasons, typically because of a corporate reorganization, facility shutdown or company relocation.
Employers are required to inform the Employment Service and the trade unions in cases of collective redundancy, outlining the reasons for the dismissals and identifying affected employees. The period of notice may be specified in a contract or a collective labor agreement; otherwise, the required period is from one month to four months, depending on how long the employee has worked for the company.
In cases of mass layoffs, employers must use seniority in determining which workers to terminate. Employees with comparable jobs are categorized into age groups and those with the least seniority in each age group must be let go first. An employer can keep a particular employee regardless of seniority, however, if it can show that the employee is indispensable to the organization or that it would be harder for that worker than for other employees to find another job.
Payment on Termination
Employees are entitled to a “transition allowance” in cases when the employer initiated the termination of the employment agreement and the agreement exceeded 24 months. The amount of the payment is based on length of service and employee age.
The transition payment is one-third of monthly wage per year of employment for the first 10 years of employment and half of the monthly wage per year worked thereafter.
The termination allowance cannot exceed 75,000 euros unless the employee’s yearly salary exceeds this amount, in which case this higher amount counts as the maximum.
Unemployment Insurance
Terminated workers under age 65 may be entitled to an unemployment insurance allowance through the Institute for Employee Benefit Plans. To be eligible, a former employee must have worked at least 26 of the 36 weeks preceding the first day of unemployment.
Reference Citations
Termination by Employer: Dutch Civil Code (as amended), art. 7:667 - 7:670
Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Collective Redundancy Act, 1976 (as amended), arts. 1-4 (Dutch)
Personal Taxes
Residency Requirements
The term “resident” is not defined under the tax laws of the Netherlands. Whether an individual is regarded as resident or nonresident is determined on the basis of the facts and circumstances of a particular case. An individual’s personal and economic ties with the Netherlands are important factors.
Taxable Income
Dutch residents are taxed on their worldwide income, nonresidents only on income sourced in the Netherlands.
Tax Rates
The Netherlands has a two-tier system that has effectively been in place since 2020, with a basic rate of 37.07% and a top rate of 49.50%.
Reference Citations
Residency Requirements: Income Tax Act (Dutch)
Web References
In Dutch or English, as noted.
Law and Regulation
Collective Redundancy Act (Dutch)
Dutch Civil Code (English)
Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (Dutch)
Personal Data Protection Law (Dutch)
Work and Care Act (Dutch)
Working Conditions Act (English)
Working Time Act (Dutch)
Government Websites and Publications
Dutch Data Protection Authority (English)
Dutch Equal Treatment Commission (Dutch)
Government of the Netherlands (English)
Labor Inspectorate (English)
Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (English)