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Written Agreements

In the Netherlands, an employment contract (oral or written) establishes a legal relationship between the employee and the employer. It is mandatory to provide a written contract within 1 month of concluding the employment start date.

The mandatory written or electronic contract includes the following information:

• Name and place of residence of employer and employee
• Workplace location
• Employee’s job and nature of the work
• Usual working hours
• Amount of salary and payment periods
• The date the employee joined the company
• Term of the contract (if for a definite period)
• Length of the trial period (if applicable)
• Annual leave and how it is calculated
• Length of notice period for employee and employer
• Pension scheme (if applicable)
• Non-compete or non-solicitation clause (if applicable)
• Applicable collective agreements

Some clauses are only valid if agreed in writing, for example, a non-compete or non-solicitation clause. Such clauses can only be included in permanent employment contracts, and not in fixed-term contracts. If the employer wants to include these clauses in fixed-term contracts, they must provide a business necessity in the contract.

Oral Agreements

In the Netherlands, a contract of employment establishes a legal relationship between the employee and the employer. It may be oral or written; however, employers must provide employees with a written or electronic labor contract within 1 month from the start of the employment relationship.

The employee, who in exchange for remuneration, performs work for another person for 3 consecutive months and works weekly (or at least 20 hours monthly) is presumed to be working according to such an employment agreement, irrespective of the presence of a contract.

Implied Agreements

The labor laws of the Netherlands do not offer provisions regarding implied contracts. In the absence of an agreement, an employee, who in exchange for remuneration, performs work for another person for 3 consecutive months and works weekly (or at least 20 hours monthly) is presumed to be working according to such an employment agreement. In case of a dispute, it is the employer's responsibility to prove that the labor contract did not exist.

In the Netherlands, the weekly working time may not exceed 48 hours, on average, in a 16-week reference period and 55 hours, on average, during a 4-week reference period, including overtime. Employees can work a maximum of 12 hours in a shift and 60 hours in a week. Collective agreements may specify other daily and weekly hours that are still subject to the daily and weekly 12- and 60-hour limits, respectively. A longer workweek is possible as long as a rest period of at least 72 hours is provided every 14 days. The length of a night shift cannot go over 10 hours.

Working hours for young employees cannot be longer than 8 hours per shift or 40 hours per week over a 16-week reference period.

Employees can request their employers to work remotely if they meet certain criteria - employed with companies with more than 10 employees and have worked for more than 6 months. The statutory regulation for working from home does not apply to companies with fewer than 10 employees.

New Year’s Day (January 1), Easter Monday (date may vary), Ascension Day (date may vary), Whit Monday (date may vary), King’s Day (April 27), Liberation Day (May 5 – celebrated every five years), Christmas Day (December 25).

In the Netherlands, a probationary period must be agreed to in writing by employer and employee. In case of open-ended employment contracts and fixed-term contracts of 2 years or more, probationary period cannot exceed 2 months. In case of temporary contracts with no specific termination date or fixed-term agreements of two years or less, probationary period cannot exceed 1 month. No probation may be arranged for fixed-term contracts of 6 months or less.

Employment contracts can be terminated without notice or reasonable grounds during the probationary period by either party.

Notice Period

The required notice period provided by the employer depends on the length of employee service, as follows:

• 1 month for less than 5 years of service
• 2 months for more than 5 but less than 10 years of service
• 3 months for more than 10 but less than 15 years of service
• 4 months for 15 or more years of service

Employees may terminate an employment contract with 1 month’s notice. The notice period can be increased or decreased if put in writing. However, it cannot exceed 6 months. Fixed-term employees may be required to give notice to terminate their contract before expiry, if it is included in their contract.

Severance Benefits

In the Netherlands, the employer must provide a transition payment to the employee in the event of a dismissal or the non-renewal of a temporary contract. This regulation applies to both permanent and temporary employees. The employee is also entitled to a transition allowance if they resign due to serious culpable acts or omissions on the employer's part. Employees are entitled to a transition payment in the event of dismissal from the first day of their employment contract. This also applies if they are fired during their probationary period.

The amount of transition pay depends on the gross salary and duration of the employee's service. The reimbursement is set at a maximum of EUR 98,000 gross.

Minimum Wage

In the Netherlands, from January 2024, only minimum hourly wages are published. There are no longer fixed minimum monthly, weekly and daily wages. The statutory gross minimum wage for employees aged 21 and older who are full-time employees is EUR 14.06 per hour. Employees below 21 years of age are paid a percentage of this wage.

The minimum wage amount is adjusted every 6 months (on January 1 and July 1) based on the average development of negotiated wages in the country.

Employment contracts determine the period over which employees' wages are calculated. It could be weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. Employers can extend the payment period as stated in the employment contract. With a weekly wage, payment may never take longer than 1 month. For a monthly salary, this may never be longer than a quarter. If there is any further delay, employees can claim an increase of 5% per day for the 4th to 8th working day after the day on which wages were due, and thereafter 1% for each subsequent working day, with a maximum of 50% of their salary.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

In the Netherlands, the maximum daily work hours, including overtime, are 12, and the maximum weekly work hours are 60. Collective agreements can determine premium payments for overtime work. Pregnant women and young employees under the age of 16 years are not allowed to work overtime. If an employee works overtime on a structural basis, he/she can have their employment contract adjusted.

Work on weekends is allowed, however, employees cannot work on more than 13 Sundays in a year.

Employees are entitled to at least 8% of their annual pay as holiday allowance. The annual salary used to calculate this allowance includes overtime, performance premiums, commissions, supplements for working unsocial hours, and payment in lieu of holiday days. Vacation pay may be reduced if an employee earns more than three times the annual equivalent of the minimum wage. The minimum holiday allowance is 8% of the annual minimum wage.

Visas

The following types of visa are applicable in the Netherlands:

• Airport transit visa (ATV) - for a stopover at an airport in the Netherlands.
• Short-stay visa (the Schengen visa) - for stay up to 90 days within a period of 180 days in the Netherlands.
• Long-stay visa (authorization for temporary stay - MVV) - for staying more than 90 days; can be applied for through a sponsor.
• Caribbean visas - for visits to Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and Saint Maarten, which constitute the Caribbean Kingdom

Work Permits

Persons from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland who wish to work in the Netherlands must obtain a work permit. For employment lasting less than 3 months, only a work permit (TWV) is required. If employment will last more than 3 months, a combined residence and work permit (GVVA) is required.

Work permits are valid for 1 year. There are exceptions for certain types of work, and in this case, a work permit can be obtained for a maximum of 3 years.