Information for this page was compiled during December 2023 and January 2024. As Member States are currently transposing the EU minimum wage directive, national legislation can be subject to change. Eurofound intends to update these profiles in early 2025. Users are invited to contact Eurofound if they are aware of changes.
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Minimum wage in the Netherlands is regulated by the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act. The act is updated every six months with the new figures applicable for the next half a year. The most recent update for 1 January 2024 also included a change from a monthly minimum wage to an hourly minimum wage. This was also the only major change in the minimum wage regulation in the past ten years.
The main actors involved in the setting of the minimum wage are the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (Centraal Planbureau, CPB), which calculates the average expected growth of collective employment wages, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, SZW) which then sets the minimum wage based on this formula. In exceptional circumstances, the government can be involved if a special increase is required. This happened for the first time in 2023.
The process of setting the statutory minimum wage follows the standard procedure established by the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (BWBR0002638, Article 14). Twice a year (in January and July) the minimum wage is adjusted to the average expected growth of the collective employment wages. This expected growth is calculated by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (Centraal Planbureau, CPB). A fixed formula is then used to transform this expected growth into the adjustment of the minimum wage. This follows standard procedures: the government generally does not have any direct influence on the adjustment of the minimum wage levels. This process is legally established and is based on a set formula and can only be deviated from during extenuating circumstances (which are also legally defined in Article 14.5). The minimum wage adjustment, as calculated on the basis of the predefined formula, is then formally set by the Ministry of Social Affairs by Decree.
Year 2023 was the first during which a special increase has been implemented since the introduction of the minimum wage in 1969. Debate on raising the minimum wage generally takes place in Parliament, with other actors such as social partners voicing their opinions in the media. Due to exceptionally high inflation and its impact on Dutch people's disposable income, the government decided on Budget Day to raise the minimum wage all at once. It was considered necessary to give people on lower and middle incomes perspective and make them more resilient against (possible) financial setbacks.
Because of the special circumstances, the minimum wage adjustment can be regulated through a General Administrative Order (AMvB) instead of a legislative amendment. An AMvB can be realised faster and also means that all benefits linked to the minimum wage, such as social assistance, will automatically rise with it.
According to article 14.1 of the Minimum Wage Act, twice a year (1 January and 1 July) the minimum wage is adjusted based on the average expected growth of the wage levels as established in a basket of collective labour agreements. This expected growth is calculated by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau (CPB). A fixed formula is then used to transform this expected growth into a change of level for the minimum wage:
| Criterion | How is this defined/operationalised? | Regulation or practice |
| Average expected growth of the collective employment wages | a) half of the trend in collective employment wages as estimated for the year in question, as published in the Macroeconomic Outlook in the previous year; and b) the difference between the trend in collective employment wages as estimated for the previous year, as published in the Central Economic Plan in that year, and the trend in collective employment wages as further estimated for the previous year, as published in the Macroeconomic Outlook in that year. | Minimum wage and minimum holiday allowance act, Article 14.1 |
The minimum wage is universally binding, as stipulated in Article 7 of the Minimum wage and minimum holiday allowance act. Both Dutch and foreign employers and employees in the Netherlands must comply with the rights and obligations it entails. The minimum youth wage applies to young people aged between 15 and 21 (as described in the next section).
The minimum youth wage is applicable to individuals aged 15 to 20, with the full rate coming into effect for those aged 21 and above. This is defined in the Minimum Youth Wage Decree (BWBR0003599). There are also sub-minimum rates for apprentices and disabled workers. No changes were made in the past five years in how these rates are determined. The only change is the shift from a monthly to an hourly rate as of 1 January 2024, which applies to all rates including sub-minimum rates.
The percentage rules for the different age groups are as follows (Minimum Youth Wage Decree, Article 2):
| Age | Percentage of minimum wage |
| 21 years and older | 100% |
| 20 years old | 80% |
| 19 years old | 60% |
| 18 years old | 50% |
| 17 years old | 39.5% |
| 16 years old | 34.5% |
| 15 years old | 30% |
The minimum wage rate is defined per hour as of 1 January 2024 (Article 8 of the Minimum Wage Act). Until the end of 2023, there was a monthly rate, as well as a calculation of how this translates to a weekly rate and a daily rate. Hourly rates depended on the length of the full-time work week, which can vary per sector in accordance with the applicable collective agreement. A full working week is between 36 and 40 hours in the Netherlands for 2023. However, this system changed as of 2024. From then on, there is only going to be a minimum hourly rate for all workers (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2023b). As of January 2024, the hourly rate is € 13.27. With this change, all previous specifications regarding working hours or monthly payments have disappeared.
As stipulated in art. 6 of the Minimum Wage Act, the minimum wage in the Netherlands consists of one’s basic wage and the following additional components: compensation for additional work or overtime, supplements, remuneration and tips. The total of these amounts may not be less than the statutory minimum wage to which one is entitled. The definition of the ‘basic’ rate is the wage which is stated in one’s employment contract. Income that does not count towards the minimum wage includes holiday pay, profit allowances, special benefits (for example a benefit one gets from time to time for turnover one has achieved), benefits one only gets later and under certain conditions (for example pension and savings schemes to which the employer contributes), allowances for expenses one had to incur for one’s work, year-end bonuses. All these components one should receive on top of one’s minimum wage.
| Component | Description |
| (Basic) wage | This is the wage stated in one’s employment contract. |
| Compensation for additional work or overtime | Extra work or overtime are the hours one works more than stated in one’s contract. Or if one works more hours than the working week counts in one’s industry or organisation. Workers are also entitled to the statutory minimum wage for these hours. |
| Supplements | Supplements are for example for performance, shift work or irregular working hours. |
| Remuneration | Fixed (weekly or monthly) rewards for the turnover one makes. |
| Tips | If a worker and their employer have agreed on this. These are remunerations from third parties (i.e. not from the employer) arising from one’s work. |
The Macro Economic Outlook (Macro Economische Verkenning, MEV) is an important study by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) to forecast and analyse medium-term economic developments in the Netherlands. The MEV report is published annually in September and forms the basis for the next year's budget.
The Central Economic Plan (Centraal Economisch Plan, CEP) is a CPB publication published annually in March/April. This publication presents the economic outlook for the current and coming year.