Netherlands

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Sunday
• Easter Monday
• King’s Birthday
• Ascension Day
• Whit Monday
• Christmas Day
• St. Stephen’s Day

Working Hours

Employees can work up to 2,080 hours per year. As a result, the average working week is around 40 hours per week.

Minimum Wage

From 1 July 2025, the gross minimum wage rate for workers are as follows:

Age	Minimum wage per hour
21 and over	€14.40
20	€11.52
19	€8.65
18	€7.20
17	€5.69
16	€4.97
15	€4.32

Note: the minimum wage is adjusted twice a year, in January and July. So, please visit the Government of the Netherlands' website for the most up-to-date figures.

Employee Tax

Annual income	Tax rate
Up to EUR 69,398	37.07%
More than EUR 69,398	49.5%
Old age pension (AOW) contribution	17.9%
Orphans and widow/widower pension (ANW) contribution	0.1%
Long term care (WLZ) contribution	9.65%
General unemployment fund	Up to 2.7%
Health insurance (ZVW)	6.51%
General disability insurance contribution (WIA)	6.28%-7.64% (based on size of employer).
General unemployment insurance contribution (AWF)	2.74% for indefinite employees and 7.74% for fixed term workers.
Childcare contribution	0.5%

Bonuses

There are no statutory bonus schemes in the Netherlands.

Employment contracts in the Netherlands should be written and issued to the employee within a month of their start date. Contracts should include:

• Employer and employee names
• Job title and responsibilities
• Working hours
• Salary
• Start date
• Contract length (if applicable)
• Notice period

Fixed-term contracts are permitted in the Netherlands for up to three years or three renewals, whichever is sooner.

Annual Leave

Most annual leave entitlements are agreed in collective bargaining agreements. The statutory allowance is four times the number of working hours per week.

Sick Leave

Up to 104 weeks’ sick leave, paid at 70% of the employee’s most recent wage.

Parental Leave

• Maternity leave: at least 16 weeks' paid leave, with six weeks taken as "pregnancy leave" before the birth.
• Paternity leave (birth leave): five days' paid birth leave, to be taken in full or in instalments, spread over the four-week period after their partner has given birth.
• Parental leave: employees with children under 8 years old are entitled to 26 weeks of parental leave – consisting of a state benefit at 70% of their daily wage and is paid during the first nine weeks weeks (subject to being taken within the first year of the child's life). The following 17 weeks are unpaid.

Termination Process

Employers in the Netherlands can terminate a contract, provided they give notice and compensation in line with legal requirements, and they have strong grounds for dismissal.

Grounds for termination include:

• Economic reasons such as reorganisation
• Persistent poor performance
• Conflict beyond repair
• Conscientious objections
• A disability lasting two years
• Improper conduct
• Mutual consent

Employers must apply for a dismissal permit from the employee insurance agency.

Employees can also end a contract, by giving at least one month's notice.

Severance Pay

Employers who have been dismissed must be awarded a transition budget. This can be used to pay for training, or assistance to transfer to another job.

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