In the Netherlands, there are permanent and temporary contracts. A permanent contract is for an indefinite period and a temporary contract is for an agreed period. If you have had 3 consecutive temporary or stand-by contracts, you are then in permanent employment. You also receive a permanent contract if you have had several temporary contracts for a period of more than 3 years.
In addition, there are 3 types of stand-by contracts: a stand-by contract with a preliminary agreement, a  zero-hour contract and a min-max contract. After 6 months, you are usually entitled to a contract for the average number of hours per week that you have worked in those 6 months. You have to request this contract yourself, so make sure you do so!
Finally, there is also the temporary employment contract, which may only be given by employment agencies. All the aforementioned types of contract can be given within the temporary employment contract. The period for zero-hour and stand-by contracts may then be 1 year, and you can have 6 contracts over a period of 4 years.

It sets out the agreements you, as an employee, have made with your employer. The contract of employment contains agreements about your terms of employment, including your wages, allowances, overtime pay and working hours. Unions also make agreements on behalf of employees with employers’ organisations, about things like wages and working hours. We call that a collective labour agreement (called ‘cao’ in Dutch). Your employer is obliged to comply with it. Many sectors, such as agriculture, horticulture and transport, have a mandatory cao.

These rules also apply if you are employed by an employment agency. In the Netherlands, there is also a cao for temporary workers. Furthermore, as a temporary worker, your employment agency will give you a confirmation of placement (called ‘uitzendbevestiging’ in Dutch) for the company where you will be working. This states which sections of the cao or regulations of the company where you will be working apply to you as a temporary worker. So there are 2 cao’s that apply to temporary workers.

It is not obligatory for you and your employer to sign it. Always request a written contract if you are starting new work. Then your rights and obligations and those of your employer are fixed, and you can read them through if necessary.

Yes, that is even necessary in order to conclude your contract. As an employee, you are always entitled to examine your contract and to make changes to it. You may also request copies or reports of it. Discuss this with your employer. If your employer has a collective labour agreement (cao), then your employment agency or the company you are working for must comply with the agreements in it. These include agreements about wages and commuting expenses, for example. Or agreements about taking breaks during work and pay for overtime requested by your employer.

A temporary employment clause (called ‘uitzendbeding’ in Dutch) is a clause in the temporary employment contract that ensures that the contract between temporary worker and employment agency ends when the assignment ends. If you work as a temporary worker on a contract that contains the ‘uitzendbeding’, your work can stop if the company you are working for decides that the assignment is finished. You will then receive pay only for the hours you have actually worked. You can work with an ‘uitzendbeding’ for a maximum of 78 weeks, after which you must receive a temporary contract for a set number of hours that must always be paid, even if you cannot work.

Never start working if you do not know what your terms of employment are. These include your wages (in accordance with the law or the collective labour agreement) and your entitlement to holidays, holiday allowance and continued payment of wages in the event of illness. Always make sure you have written proof of the agreements in your contract. This can also be sent by e-mail. Then you can use it if your employer does not comply with the agreements. See also Help and Support for which parties can help you if your employer does not comply with the agreements.

The rules for how many hours a day you are allowed to work are laid down in Dutch law. If you think you have to work too many consecutive hours, read the rules in the Working Hours Act in Dutch. Ask for help with reading them. Discuss it with your employer. Show your employer your contract, which states how many hours you are allowed to work. Extra rules about working hours are often agreed in collective labour agreements (cao’s), which then apply alongside the statutory regulations of the Working Hours Act.

According to Dutch law, your employer can make separate agreements with you about the number of hours you work. This is laid down in the Working Hours Act. These agreements must be included in your contract, so look carefully at these agreements in your contract. Your employer can also ask you to work extra hours sometimes, for example if there is a lot of work to do. You will be paid for these extra hours. The rule is that you do not work more than 12 consecutive hours. And you are allowed to work a maximum of 60 hours a week. But you are not allowed to do that every week. If you have to work longer hours, always discuss it with your manager. NB! Make your own record of how many hours you have worked. Then you will be able to check whether you have to work too much and whether you are paid for the number of hours you have worked.

Yes, there are. They include the trial period at the start of your work (called ‘proeftijd’ in Dutch), the working conditions, the term of notice and your pension. Your employer must comply with these agreements.

As an employee in the Netherlands, you are entitled by law to the minimum wage and the minimum holiday allowance. Your employer can pay you more than that, but never less. Read more information in English about your minimum wage and what deductions your employer can make. For example, your employer can deduct a maximum of 25% of your minimum wage for housing. This is only possible with your explicit agreement and if your employer has a certificate with a quality mark for the accommodation. For more information, see the SNF (English) or the AKF (Dutch).
Your employer may also make deductions for your health insurance. In that case, you should immediately receive an insurance policy number and an insurance card. Other deductions, such as fines and other sums of money, are not permitted.

You receive the minimum wage if you are working and are aged 21 or older. You are also entitled to it if you continue to work after your retirement age. If you are aged between 15 and 21, then you are entitled to the minimum youth wage. If your employer has a collective labour agreement (cao), then you always receive the wage that is agreed upon in that cao. If your employer does not have a cao, then you always receive at least the minimum wage for your age.

If you receive a lower wage than agreed in your contract, there are organisations in the Netherlands that can help you. If you work for an employment agency and you receive a lower wage than agreed in the collective labour agreement (cao), you should report it to the SNCU. This organisation checks whether your employer complies with the agreements about your work. If you receive less than the minimum wage, then you can report this (anonymously) in your own language to the Inspectorate SZW. You can also phone them on +31 (0)70 333 56 78. Read information in English about your entitlement to the minimum wage. Read about help from the union under the theme Help and Support

Various organisations in the Netherlands check whether your employer is complying with the laws about your terms of employment. This includes the payment of your wages. On the SNCU website Foundation for Compliance with the CLA, you can read in English, Spanish, Polish or Romanian about how checks are carried out on whether your employer is complying with the agreements. And unions ensure that you get what you are entitled to as well. Unions can help you with questions about your work or the payment of your wages. Read about help from the union under the theme Help and Support.

If you are working for a Dutch company, then you will receive a pay slip that states how much you earn. Your pay slip states your gross wage and net wage, and the taxes and premiums deducted by your employer, like your income tax, for example. It also states how many hours you have worked and the period over which you have received wages, as well as allowances for overtime and expenses, etc. Deductions from your salary for housing and health insurance must also be included on your pay slip.

Keep your pay slip safe, so that you can look at it again if necessary.

That depends on the agreements you have made with your employer. In principle, the amount you earn per month depends on the hours you have worked. You will receive overtime pay if your employer asks you to work extra hours and you have agreed that this overtime is actually paid.

Sometimes, you receive pay for holidays in the Netherlands and for special personal leave, in the event of a birth or death in your family, for example.

Every company has its own pay slip. The precise contents of a pay slip can vary per employer. So if you have more than one employer, you will receive multiple pay slips. If you have any questions about this, you can ask your employer.

Your employer is obliged to give you a pay slip. You may receive the pay slip either by post or digitally. That varies per employer. Usually, you receive a pay slip every month, when each payment of your salary is made. Your employer may also choose to give you a pay slip more often. If you receive your pay slip by post, make sure your employer has your correct address. NB! If you can access your pay slip through a digital system, then also make a copy of it and save it on your own computer.

As well as receiving monthly pay slips, you will receive an annual statement from your employer at the start of each new year. The annual statement shows your total earnings from the previous year. Keep your annual statement safe, as you will need it in order to file your tax returns in the Netherlands.

Your employer needs you to have a bank account, in order to pay your wages. The minimum wage for your age must always be paid into a bank account. Read in English how you can find out your minimum wage. Your employer is obliged to pay your minimum wage by giro, into an account that is in your name. Why is this necessary? Because then it can be established with certainty that your minimum wage has actually been paid out. Only the sum above the minimum wage for your age may be paid to you in cash or in kind. This is only possible for a certain part; i.e. the part above the minimum wage for your age. You may also have your wages paid into your bank account in your home country, but then it will take longer for the money to be transferred.

For questions about your cao, you should contact a trade union in the Netherlands. These organisations promote the interests of employees, which includes you. For example, you can phone the FNV union on +31 (0)88 368 03 68 or the CNV union on +31 (0)30 751 10 01. In order to get help, you might have to become a member of the union first.

Check whether a collective labour agreement (cao) applies to the sector in which you are working. This may be the case in the horticulture, transport or meat sector, for example. A cao may deviate from the legal agreements, but only if that is to your benefit. So you should never receive less than the legal minimum wage, but you can receive more. Most cao’s include a wage table and a job list, so you can see whether you are receiving the correct wage for your job.

If you are a temporary worker and are earning less than then the wage agreed in your collective labour agreement (cao), there are a number of organisations you can contact. One of them is the Foundation for Compliance with the CLA (SNCU). You can phone this organisation in Dutch, English, Polish or Romanian on +31 (0)85 210 40 80.  You can also contact the FairWork foundation in your own language on +31 (0)20 760 08 09 or via WhatsApp +31 (0)6 51 77 12 49. You can also get help from the union if you are earning less than the wage stated in your cao. You can contact either the FNV union (+31 (0)88 368 0 368) or the CNV union (+31 (0)30 751 10 01)). 

If you are going to work for an employment agency, then your employment agency must fulfil certain conditions. It must be registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK). It is good if the employment agency you will be working for is NEN-4400-2 certified. Read why in Dutch or in English. It is also good if the employment agency is a member of a trade organisation. These organisations check whether the employment agency complies with the agreements in your contract. Read in Dutch how these organisations, ABU or NBBU, can help employment agencies in the Netherlands.

NB! If you are going to work for an employment agency, it is possible that for the first 1.5 years you will only be paid for the hours you actually work. Furthermore, you do not decide yourself how many hours per week you can work. This means it is possible that you will have to pay fixed costs like your rent and your health insurance, while you may not have worked a single hour in a particular week, so will not have received any wages. This is the case if you have a temporary employment contract that contains a temporary employment clause (called ‘uitzendbeding’ in Dutch) or a temporary contract that contains an exclusion from the obligation to continue to pay wages (called ‘uitsluiting loondoorbetalingsverplichting’ in Dutch). This must be stated in your contract.

If you do not work for a temporary employment agency, it is also possible that you receive a zero-hour contract or a stand-by contract for 6 months. In that case, too, you will only be paid for the hours you actually work, and you often have no influence over the number of hours you can work per week.

If you are a resident of a country in the European Union (EU), e.g. Poland, Bulgaria or Romania, then you do not need a permit. If you are from a country outside the EU, then you probably do need a permit to work in the Netherlands. Read in Dutch or in English which work permits you need in order to work in the Netherlands.

In that case, your work would not comply with the regulations in the Netherlands. We call it illegal work. If you are asked to work illegally in the Netherlands, you should always report it. Illegal work is dealt with strictly in the Netherlands. The organisation that checks on illegal work is the Inspectorate SZW. Read in English how you can report illegal work in the Netherlands. Read in your own language how to make a report (anonymously if you wish).