In the Netherlands employers must pay their employees aged 21 and up at least the statutory hourly minimum wage and the statutory minimum holiday allowance. For employees aged 15 to 20, the youth hourly minimum wage applies. For piece work and for additional hours you must also pay at least the hourly minimum wage. If you underpay your staff, you may be fined.
There is no minimum wage for employees aged 13 and 14 years. You agree together on the amount of the wage.
Amounts of the minimum hourly wage and minimum youth hourly wage
The Dutch minimum wage consists of a basic wage and various allowances, such as for shift work and irregular working hours. For employees aged 21 and up, a fixed minimum wage per hour applies: €13.27 gross for the 1st half of 2024. The amount is adjusted every 6 months.
For employees younger than 21 years the minimum hourly wage depends on their age. Check the gross amounts of the youth hourly minimum wage for employees 15 to 20 years. There are no longer fixed minimum monthly, weekly, or daily wages.
For MBO (secondary vocational education) students who work for you as part of their practical learning (block or day release) pathway (beroepsbegeleidende leerweg, BBL) a specific minimum hourly wage applies. Check the amounts for the BBL minimum wage (in Dutch).
Hourly minimum wage adjusted every 6 months
Every 6 months (on 1 January and 1 July) the hourly minimum wage and the youth hourly minimum wage are adjusted. You will need to adjust your employees' salaries accordingly. Check the 2024 hourly minimum wage factsheet (in Dutch) on how to calculate your employee's wages with a statutory hourly minimum wage. For example, per week, month, over a 4-week period, or in a period when your employee turns 21.
What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?
The difference between gross and net pay depends on the payroll taxes that apply:
The gross wage is the amount that has been laid down in an employment contract or in the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO). The gross wage is at least the statutory minimum wage.
The net wage is the pay that remains after you have withheld taxes and contributions. It is the amount that will end up on your employee's bank account (gross minimum wage minus payroll taxes).
You must put the gross wage and net wage on the payslip and give it to your employee. You must also mention the hourly minimum wage that is applicable to your employee on their payslip .
Withholding costs from the wage
You have to withhold taxes and contributions from the gross salary (payroll taxes). Payroll taxes are made up of income tax and social security contributions, such as old age pension (AOW) and unemployment insurance (WW). These are mandatory. Your employee contributes to these.
Do you have an employee with debts? If a bailiff has seized your employee's wages (attachment of earnings), you must cooperate. You then pay part of the wages to the bailiff.
You are not allowed to deduct other costs from the minimum wage. Under conditions, there are exceptions for housing or health insurance (in Dutch). The employee must give you a written authorisation.
There is an exception for employees with a disability. For this group, you can withhold money for utilities, sewerage, and water rates (in addition to the abovementioned). There is no maximum amount or percentage. If you settle or withhold money from employees (both with and without a disability), you may only do so with written consent from your employee.
Payment by bank
You must always pay the minimum wage by bank transfer. This ensures there is always proof that you have paid your employee their wage. Do you pay your employee more than the minimum wage? You can pay the extra amount in another way than by bank transfer. This also applies to the holiday allowance, which you may pay in cash or with vouchers.
For which employees does the hourly minimum wage apply?
The hourly minimum wage applies to:
employees on permanent of fixed-term contracts
staff employed by contractors or subcontractors
FAQs
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. This rate applies to covered nonexempt workers. The minimum wage for employees who receive tips is $2.13 per hour. The amount of tips plus the $2.13 must reach at least $7.25 per hour.
What is the best argument for minimum wage? ›
The primary argument advanced in favor of raising the minimum wage is that higher earnings would improve the overall standard of living for minimum wage workers by providing them with a more appropriate income level to handle the cost of living increases.
Why is the minimum wage not enough? ›
California's $16 hourly minimum wage may be much higher than a “poverty wage” by federal standards, but high housing costs still make it difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet in the state, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
What is a solution to the minimum wage problem? ›
The “Raise the Wage Act” would:
Set automatic increases starting in 2021 to keep pace with rising wages overall (i.e., adjust the minimum wage to maintain a constant minimum wage–to–median wage ratio). Gradually phase out the subminimum wage for tipped workers, which has been frozen at $2.13 since 1991.
What is the real reason for the minimum wage? ›
The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees.
Why do we need to raise the minimum wage? ›
A modest increase would improve worker productivity, and reduce employee turnover and absenteeism. It would also boost the overall economy by generating increased consumer demand. Business executives support a higher minimum wage.
What are 3 pros of minimum wage? ›
It could help them to move out of poverty and keep up with inflation. Some economists argue that other pros of raising the minimum wage could include increased consumer spending, reduced government assistance (and increased tax revenue), and stronger employee retention and morale.
What is the moral argument against minimum wage? ›
Most opponents of a minimum wage claim that workers are free to seek better paying jobs or to work harder to become more valuable to their employers. They argue that the market should decide the value of any sort of work to employers, just as it determines the value of those employers' goods and services.
What state has the highest minimum wage? ›
The District of Columbia has the highest minimum wage in the country, at $17 an hour. Next in line is Washington state, where the minimum wage was raised to $16.28 an hour at the start of the year, up from $15.74.
Is $25 an hour a livable wage? ›
An analysis of the living wage (as calculated in December 2022 and reflecting a compensation being offered to an individual in 2023), compiling geographically specific expenditure data for food, childcare, health care, housing, transportation, and other necessities, finds that: The living wage in the United States is ...
California. California's living wage is $19.41, or $40,371 a year for an individual.
Can you live on 15 dollars an hour? ›
“Most of us can't do the math in our heads. If we could, we'd realize that $15 an hour amounts to only $31,200 a year, assuming full-time work—about half of the U.S. median income and a painfully small amount for living and raising children in most American cities.” It can be painfully small outside of cities, too.
How can we make minimum wage better? ›
Raise the minimum wage and expand coverage at the federal, state, and local levels—to move the minimum wage closer to a living wage. Make more workers eligible for overtime pay, so they are properly paid for the long hours they put in.
What is an alternative to raising the minimum wage? ›
Rather than a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour, legislators could propose a tax cut for anyone making $15 an hour or less to qualify as tax exempt. This would effectively give them a $3 per hour wage increase.
What are the cons of raising minimum wage? ›
When wages go up, businesses must spend more money on paying their workers. This can pressure their finances, especially if they make little profit. As labor costs rise, some businesses may be forced to reduce their workforce to maintain profitability, resulting in unemployment for affected workers.
What are the arguments for the $15 minimum wage? ›
A $15 minimum wage by 2024 would generate $120 billion in higher wages for workers and would also benefit their communities. Because lower-paid workers spend much of their extra earnings, this injection of wages will help stimulate the economy and spur greater business activity and job growth.
What will be the minimum wage in 2030? ›
Under the default policy based on the Raise the Wage Act of 2023, the subminimum hourly wage for tipped workers is $6.00 in 2024, $8.00 in 2025, $10.00 in 2026, $12.00 in 2027, $13.50 in 2028, $15.00 in 2029, and $17.00 in 2030; it equals the federal minimum wage thereafter.
What is the current federal minimum wage today? ›
The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour. Many states also have minimum wage laws.
Who actually pays minimum wage? ›
Thus, since California's current law requires a higher minimum wage rate than does the federal law, all employers in California who are subject to both laws must pay the state minimum wage rate unless their employees are exempt under California law.
