Working in the Netherlands means understanding more than salary. Your individual contract sits alongside Dutch employment law and, for many workers, a collective labour agreement (cao). Before accepting a job, check all three.

Before you accept a job

  • Confirm who your legal employer is.
  • Check whether the contract is fixed-term, permanent, on-call or through an employment agency.
  • Ask which cao applies and obtain a copy.
  • Compare gross salary, hours, holiday allowance, leave, pension, travel allowance and other benefits.
  • Check probation, notice and any non-compete or relationship clause.
  • If your right to work depends on immigration status, verify that separately with IND.

Your contract is not the whole story

Dutch law sets minimum protections. A cao can add or alter employment conditions where the law permits it. If a cao applies, your individual contract generally cannot give you worse terms than the applicable cao permits.

Typical items on a Dutch payslip

Expect gross salary, deductions, net salary and information connected with payroll taxes and social insurance. Your employer must provide a payslip at the first salary payment and again when relevant salary or deduction details change.

If something goes wrong

  • For a cao issue, start with the employer and the cao parties; a union can help.
  • For unemployment and employee-insurance matters, check UWV.
  • For workplace-law disputes, consider a union, Juridisch Loket, legal-expenses insurer or employment lawyer.
  • For serious breaches of labour rules, the Netherlands Labour Authority may be relevant.