Netherlands: Pay and benefits

Updating author: Wouter Engelsman and Jasper Hoffstedde, CLINT | Littler

Original authors: Mark Carley and Robbert H. van het Kaar

See the legal services provided by the updating authors of International > Netherlands, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• Most employees are covered by pay scales laid down in sectoral or company-level collective agreements. (See Pay - general)
• Employees must be paid at the agreed time and receive an itemised payslip containing certain information. (See Payment of wages)
• Save for certain mandatory deductions, there are only a limited range of deductions that employers are permitted to make from employees' pay. (See Deductions)
• No distinction in remuneration may be made, directly or indirectly, between men and women. (See Equal pay)
• The statutory national minimum wage applies to all employment, and employees are also entitled to a statutory minimum holiday allowance. (See National minimum wage)
• The pensions system consists of the basic old-age pension; occupational pension schemes; and personal pensions. (See Pensions)
• Employers are obliged to calculate and deduct personal income tax at source from employees' pay, as well as deduct national insurance contributions and contributions to "employee insurance funds". (See Income tax and social security)
• There are various rules regarding pay for employees absent from work due to sickness. (See Sick pay)
• There is no generic maximum threshold for the calculation of bonuses. However, there is a cap for the financial sector (See Bonuses)
• Many employees receive benefits in kind but these are only mandatory under specific circumstances. (See Benefits in kind)