Hire and pay employees in
the Netherlands, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in the Netherlands. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.

The average onboarding time frame in the Netherlands is 2 days with Deel.

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Currency

Euro (EUR)

Capital

Amsterdam

Official Language

Dutch

Payroll Cycle

Monthly

Onboard, pay and manage employees in the Netherlands with Deel.

Usually, to hire in the Netherlands, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months.

Deel lets you hire employees in the Netherlands quickly, easily, and compliantly. We even automate tax document collection, payroll, benefits, and more. For your existing direct employees, we can manage your entire payroll operation from end-to-end.

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All the necessary benefits for the Netherlands
built right in

Deel allows you to provide localized benefits for employees in the Netherlands within minutes. All in one manageable online dashboard.

  • Public Health Care
  • Unemployment Insurance
  • Dutch Health Insurance

Our quickstart guide to hiring in the Netherlands

Navigate the tabs below to learn everything you need to know about hiring an employee in the Netherlands

Pay & Tax Leave Policy Termination Statutory time off Onboarding Additional info

Minimum Wage Requirements

In the Netherlands, the minimum base salary for full-time employees over 21, not including the holiday allowances, is EUR 2.317,83 a month. Lower minimum base salaries apply to employees under the age of 21. The minimum wage is pro-rated for part-time employees. 
The minimum wage for Deel EOR employees over 21 includes the holiday allowance and amounts to EUR 2,503.25 monthly or EUR 30,039 annually.

Individual Income Tax

The individual income tax ranges from 37.07% to 49.50%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates. 

Gross Annual Income Applicable tax rate
Up to EUR 73,031 36.93 %
Over EUR 73,032 49.50 %

Payroll Cost

The employer cost is generally estimated at approximately 34% of the employee salary, estimated on a salary of €66,956 gross, being the maximum salary for social security contributions. Anything below or under this salary will result in different percentages.

Please note that in The Netherlands, by local labor law, employees are entitled to a yearly holiday allowance (8% of salary) which is included in the base monthly salary and invoiced as an employer cost. Depending inter alia on the sector and preferences of offering a pension scheme, a private pension contribution might come on top of the below contributions, which amounts to another 15,4%.

  • Social security employer costs
  • Unemployment tax: 2.64% for indefinite contracts; 7.64% for definite contracts
  • Disability and Sickness Insurance (WGA and ZW)*: 0.87%
  • National Health Insurance (ZW)*: 6.57%
  • Disability: 6.18%
  • Child care social security: 0.50%
  • Mandatory company doctor: EUR 8.00

  • Pension contribution**: 15.4% of employee's pensionable salary + USD 14 admin fee

*Capped at a maximum monthly salary of EUR 5,969. 

**The amount will be prorated considering the employee's working hours. The maximum pensionable salary is capped at €137,800.00/year for 2024

Please note: the pension fund contribution will be prorated considering employee's working hours. The maximum pensionable salary and a franchise apply to the pension contribution calculations. These amounts may be subject to change annually and according to local regulations.

Holiday Allowance

The 8% holiday allowance is invoiced monthly as an employer cost, separately from the salary. However, this cost is included in the employee’s annual salary.


One off costs: 

  • Contract Labour Service - EUR 15
  • Worker Insurance - EUR 112

These costs are provided as estimates and are intended solely for general informational purposes. To fully comprehend all associated costs and fees related to the terms of any employment agreement for this country, please contact our Sales team for a quote.

Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours

Overtime payment is not mandatory. 
Standard working hours are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. The standard workweek is from Monday to Friday.

Maternity Leave

Expectant mothers who are employed are entitled to take up to 16 weeks paid pregnancy leave (which includes a 4-week compulsory leave period). In the case of multiple births, employees are entitled to take up to 20 weeks of paid pregnancy leave. Usually, 4-6 weeks of pregnancy leave is taken before the expected date of childbirth. Pregnancy leave will be extended if the female employee continues to be unable to work as a result of her pregnancy or childbirth. Time off for antenatal appointments are paid for by the employer.
Pregnancy leave is paid by the employer at 100% of the gross salary, up to a maximum of 100% of the maximum daily earnings. The employer can request reimbursement of the statutory amount through the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). There is no qualifying period of service for pregnancy leave

Paternity Leave

The partner of an employee who has given birth has the right to paid leave for a period equal to their weekly working hours (5 working days in the case of full time employment). This paid leave needs to be taken during the first four weeks after the childbirth. In addition to this, the employee is entitled to take so-called "short absence leave" for the birth itself.
Birth leave is paid by the employer. During the first six months after birth, there is an additional leave of 5 weeks for full-time employees (“additional birth leave”). This leave is not paid by the employer. An employee who takes this additional leave is eligible for state benefits consisting of 70% of their last earned salary (capped at 70% of the maximum daily wage), which will be granted by the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).

Parental Leave

In addition to maternity and paternity leave, parents with children under the age of 8 years old are entitled to parental leave of 26 times the number of hours they work per week for every child they have. 9 first weeks are paid, while the remaining 17 are unpaid. It is possible to discuss when employees take this leave, which can be spread out over those 8 years. Parents are entitled to take parental leave for each child.
The first 9 weeks of parental leave is government-paid at 70% of their regular salary, with the cap of 70% of the maximum daily wage. There is flexibility to take it but the total amount of hours for the leave need to be equal to an employee's full working week. Paid parental leave can only be taken until the child turns one. Employers are able to apply for an allowance for the paid parental leave of its employees through the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).

Sick Leave

Employers are obliged to pay ill employees their salary for a period of 2 years.
The payment of wages consists of 70% of the last earned salary – as long as the salary does not exceed the maximum daily wage, in which case the continued payment of wages is capped at 70% of the maximum daily wage – and in the first-year entails at least the statutory minimum wage. In general, employment contracts often state that the employer will pay 70% or 100% of the employee's full salary (the amount is not capped) for the 1st year of illness and 70% of the employee's salary (the amount can be capped) during the 2nd year of illness.

Termination Requirements

Terminations must respect complex rules and the rules of an employee’s employment country. The off-boarding is always handled by the Employer with the primary stakeholders. It may include ad-hoc fees as well as required or recommended steps on specific termination cases.

An employer can only come towards a termination of an employment agreement on the basis of a valid reason in combination with the fact that there is no longer a suitable redeployment for the employee within the company. The following reasons are specified in the Dutch legislation:

  • Redundancy due to economic circumstances
  • Long-term disability (two years)
  • Frequent absence due to illness or disability which results in unacceptable consequences for business operations
  • Underperformance
  • Misconduct
  • Refusal to perform contractual duties due to conscientious or religious objection
  • Disturbed relationship

Terminations in the Netherlands can be complex. As a general rule you cannot unilaterally terminate an employee in the Netherlands without the permission of the Dutch Courts or the Dutch Unemployment Agency (UWV). In most cases it is therefore preferred to seek mutual consent to a termination in which case the governmental permission is not required.

Notice Period

When a termination is done by mutual consent, notice periods are often required in order to obtain the employee’s consent. Typically, the notice period can be between 1-4 months depending on how long the employee has been with the company. Notice periods always start at the end of the month. 

Notice periods should be applied as follows:
  • Less than 5 years of service: 1 month’s notice
  • Between 5 and 10 years of service: 2 months’ notice
  • Between 10 and 15 years of service: 3 months’ notice
  • 15 years or more of service: 4 months’ notice

Severance for Employees

When a termination is done by mutual consent, severance payments are often required in order to obtain the employee’s consent. Typically, the amounts for severance by mutual agreement can be equivalent to 2-6 months of salary or more depending on the strength of the case. In case of a termination by the court or the Dutch Unemployment Agency (UWV) the statutory severance needs to be paid which is roughly 1/3 gross monthly salary per each year worked.

To protect you from unforeseen financial risks arising from terminations, Deel applies a Severance Accrual to all employment agreements in this country.  Deel has extensive expertise in managing litigation risk globally and our Severance Accrual calculation is based on the prevailing common-law or statutory entitlements and local best practices. In the event your employee resigns or is not entitled to severance, all unused amounts will be returned to you.

Paid Time Off

The legal minimum number of vacation days for an employee in the Netherlands per year is four times the number of days worked per week.

This typically means 20 holidays in the case of a full-time employee working for five days a week. Most employers in the Netherlands grant their employees 25 days of paid holidays.

Public Holidays

The Netherlands celebrates 11 national holidays.

National public holidays include:

  1. New Year’s Day
  2. Good Friday
  3. Easter Sunday
  4. Easter Monday
  5. King’s Day
  6. Liberation Day (once every 5 years)
  7. Ascension Day
  8. Whit Sunday
  9. Whit Monday
  10. Christmas Day
  11. Boxing Day

Onboarding

Onboarding takes 2 business days after the client signs the SOW.

Salary Requirements

At Deel, the 8% holiday allowance is included in the annual salary. This means that the employee's annual salary on the Deel platform will include both the annual base salary and the 8% holiday allowance.

When determining the employee’s annual salary, ensure that you include both the base salary and the 8% holiday allowance.

The 8% holiday allowance is invoiced monthly as an employer cost, separately from the salary. 

Employment Contract Details

A Dutch version of the employment agreement is not required under Dutch law. An English-only version is permitted under Dutch law and is common practice in the Netherlands.

A contract must include:

  • Name
  • Start date
  • Length of the employment
  • Job description
  • Termination conditions
 

It is a common and recommended practice in the Netherlands to offer a fixed term contract to ensure a good match before entering into a permanent contract as terminations can be complex. It is possible to enter into 3 fixed term contracts with a maximum total duration of 3 years.

Probation Period

Probationary periods can be for a maximum of 2 months for indefinite term employment agreements and for fixed term employment agreements for 2 years or more. For fixed term contracts of less than 2 years (but a minimum of 6 months) a probation period of 1 month can be agreed upon. This cannot be extended under Dutch law.
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Hiring in the Netherlands, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in the Netherlands with our EOR solution. If you have an entity, our Global Payroll solution takes care of payroll and compliance for your direct employees. Our 250+ in-house experts handle everything from managing local laws, complex tax systems, or your payroll in the Netherlands and 150+ countries.

Group (8)

Starting at 599 USD

Management fee

Group (9)

34%

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