An oproepkracht (on-call employee) only comes to work when called upon to do so. The rules that apply depend on the type of contract. For instance, there are rules with on payment when no work is available, minimum hours guarantee or minimum wages for hours worked.
More information about on-call contracts is available here .
Whether you are free from work on public holidays depends on the agreements made between employers and employees in the CAO (collaborative labour agreement) or those in your employment contract.
The Netherlands has one national holiday:
In addition, there are a number of generally-observed public holidays:
A temporary employment contract ends on an agreed date or during a trial period. In both cases, there is no dismissal procedure.
If you have a permanent contract, an employer must have good reasons to dismiss you when you have a permanent contract. More information about the rules for dismissal is available here .
The contract with an uitzendbureau (employment agency) differs fundamentally from a contract with an employer. The employment agency is your legal employer while you work in a company that hires you from the employment agency. In particular, your protection against dismissal during a certain temporary period is not regulated. On the other hand, both you and the company you are working for can terminate your employment at any given time during the agreed employment period. Uitzendbureaus have their own CAO (Collective Labour Agreement).
There is a Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs (Allocation of Workers by Intermediaries Act) that regulates issues related to uitzendbureaus. For example:
Please note that a werving- en selectiebureau (employment/recruitment agency) is not the same as an uitzendbureau. If a placement is via an uitzendbureau, then the person works via the agency for the duration of the assignment, whereas with recruitment, you work for the company straight away, and the agency receives a fee.
A temporary contract has a start date and an end date. The contract will end on the agreed date, though the employer is required to inform you in writing if the contract will be renewed at least one month before the end date. We strongly advise you to ensure that you get a contract in writing, although a verbal agreement is also valid in the Netherlands. The employer is obliged to inform you in writing of the main items covered in the contract within one month after the start of the contract. Within legal limits, both employers and employees are free to decide what will be covered by the contract.
You can find more information about temporary contracts here
Applications for a WW-uitkering (unemployment benefits) are processed by the Government’s Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen – UWV).
The application for a WW-uitkering (unemployment benefits) is a three-stage process as follows:
Step 1
You can apply for your unemployment benefit from 1 week before your last working day and up to 1 week after your last working day. Applying later than this can have an impact that your benefit will be lower. You can apply via the internet at werk.nl/werkzoekenden/uitkering-aanvragen/ww/ (in Dutch only).
You will need a DigiD (digital identification code). If you are not registered with DigiD, you can find out how to get one here. Please note that the application for your DigiD can take up to five days to process.
Step 2
Once UWV has received your unemployment benefits application, you will receive an email from them as confirmation of receipt. You will then receive an email with information about what to do to quickly find a new job and how to use your personal UWV environment (Mijn UWV) and the Werkmap. Werkmap is the environment where you can place a CV, look for jobs, and track your job search activity.
You can track the status of your application for unemployment benefits on Mijn UWV if you are logged in with your DigiD (mijn.uwv.nl/iam/inloggen/).
UWV will contact you if they need extra information from you in order to assess your request.
Step 3
UWV will get back to you with a decision letter within 4 weeks after you’ve submitted your application. The letter will contain information on whether you will receive an unemployment benefit, how high this benefit will be, and how long the benefit will last.
When you receive unemployment benefits, UWV will be monitoring that you are actively seeking a job. One of your obligations as a job seeker with unemployment benefits is to submit your job search activities to UWV via your Werkmap on werk.nl. Make sure to apply for a job at least 4 times per 4 weeks.
As a first step it may be useful to contact a vertrouwenspersoon (confidential advisor) of the company you are working for and discuss your issues.
If this doesn’t help, you can seek information and advice at het Juridisch Loket (the legal advice office) free of charge. If they conclude that you need professional legal assistance, they may be able to give you some suggestions. Their website lists 30 offices throughout the country as well as contact details. It is possible to send an email by filling in the online form (form is in Dutch only). Sometimes contact by email is not possible. In this case, it is suggested to make a phone call.
It is also possible to go to one of the offices of the Landelijk Netwerk Gratis Inloopspreekuur Advocaten , a network of lawyers offering legal issues reviewed for free by a lawyer in their neighbourhood. After the initital review, regular fees apply. More information on https://www.inloopspreekuuradvocaat.nl/english/
It is good to know that individual labour disputes in the private sector are generally dealt with by a single court judge. Individual labour disputes in the public sector are regulated by administrative law and dealt with by an administrative court. Labour law is an intricate and complex field subject to changes. It is advisable to consult legal professionals when issues or disputes arise.
As of 1 July 2015, the transitievergoeding (transition compensation) was introduced. This compensation replaces the severance payment in cases of termination of an employment contract by the employer either via a court or the Government’s Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen – UWV).
You are entitled to a transition allowance if you are dismissed or if the temporary contract is not renewed on your employer’s initiative. This right also exists if you resign yourself due to serious culpable acts or omissions on the part of your employer.
From 1 January 2020, you are entitled to a transition payment upon dismissal from the first day of your employment contract. The transition compensation is calculated as follows:
From your first working day, you will receive 1/3 monthly salary per entire year of service.
The transition payment for the remaining part of the employment contract is calculated according to the formula: (gross salary received on the remaining part of the employment contract / gross monthly salary) x (1/3 gross monthly salary / 12). This formula is also used to calculate the transition allowance if the employment contract has lasted less than a year.
Example: An employee is dismissed during his probationary period. The employment contract lasted a total of 5 days. The gross salary over these 5 days is € 800. This is considered as the monthly wages.
The calculation is then as follows: (€ 800 / € 800) x (1/3 x € 800) / 12) = 1 x (€ 266.67 / 12) = € 22.22. The employee will, therefore, receive € 22.22 transition compensation for the 5 days that he was employed.
If the dismissal took place after 1 January 2020, you can make use of the Transition Allowance Calculation Tool (in Dutch only) on rekenhulptransitievergoeding.nl/.
There are some exceptional cases in which the transition compensation does not apply, as follows:
For further information, please visit the government’s website (in Dutch only):
The Algemene Ouderdomswet – AOW is a basic state pension insurance scheme. Everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands is insured automatically, regardless of nationality. As a rule, everyone who has reached the pension age and lives or has lived in the Netherlands is entitled to an AOW pension. You will be paid a pension from the day you reach the pension age that applies for you. If you do not live in the Netherlands at that time, you may only get a part of your AOW, depending on the treaties between the Netherlands and the country where you live.
For every year that you are insured, you build up rights to 2% of the full AOW pension. If you have been insured for the full number of years (which is 50) you will get a full AOW pension. If you have lived or worked outside the Netherlands, you are likely to have been uninsured during certain periods and may get a lower pension as a result.
In 2021 the statutory retirement age is 66 years and 4 months. In 2022 it will increase to 66 years and 7 months; in 2023 to 66 years and 10 months; in 2024 to 67 years. As from 2025 the pension age will be linked to the average life expectancy and thus could be greater than 67. Five years before your retirement date, the pension age will be final. You can calculate your expected retirement date on https://www.svb.nl/en/aow-pension/aow-pension-age/your-aow-pension-age.
The AOW is not designed to be a standalone income for retirees in the Netherlands and should be supplemented by a company/occupational pension (labour-based pension) or private pension scheme, or both.
Here are the most useful methods of job hunting:
Via uitzendbureaus (employment or job agencies)
Some agencies employ people and send them temporarily to employers, though you can also get other types of contracts depending on the employer. There are both advantages and disadvantages to using this channel. On one hand, an agency can give you inside information about an employer as well as helping you prepare for an interview. On the other hand, an agency is one step further away from the employer. It’s up to the agency to propose and promote you for the job, which is why it’s important to make a good impression on them as well. Treat them the same as you would a potential employer, including dressing professionally.
Choose agencies representing your area of work and especially those dealing with international organisations if you do not speak Dutch. Some Dutch employment agencies may not consider you as a candidate if your CV is in English. To avoid being turned away with a standard response, look for job opportunities having descriptions which are in English. If Dutch is a requirement for the position and you can manage the language, then you should send the cover letter and CV in Dutch. In both cases, have your cover letter and CV checked for spelling and grammar errors as that is one of the first things a recruiter will look at.
Some agencies specialise in jobs for non-Dutch speakers. You can either forward your CV to the job agency or apply for their advertised vacancies. Both can be done via their websites; however, it is a good idea to give them a call to introduce yourself and stand out as a potential candidate. For a comprehensive list of recruitment agencies, contact the ACCESS Helpdesk here. If you are looking for a recruiter or headhunter for your next career step, then refer to the werving- en selectiebureaus (recruitment agencies). You can find all agencies available in the Netherlands on: allewervingenselectiebureaus.nl.
Many agencies require an MBO (vocational education) or HBO (professional higher education) diploma to apply for vacancies. If you are looking for part-time work as a student, job boards such as Monsterboard.nl may be more helpful.
Via networking
In the Netherlands, establishing a network of contacts is invaluable. This can happen anywhere (e.g. in sports clubs, your children’s school, interest groups and clubs). Be ready for the question: What do you do? Spend time on perfecting your profile and practising your ‘pitch’ but remember to keep it simple and natural.
Attending multilingual job fairs can be helpful. Some of the organisations/employers participating in these fairs may have positions for English-speaking job seekers, and the added networking opportunities may provide valuable information.
Via LinkedIn
LinkedIn is widely-used in the Netherlands so make sure your profile is up to date, including that you live in the Netherlands. Ensure your profile and experience are consistent with your CV and include a professional photo. Recruiters and hiring managers are constantly reviewing profiles and placing job advertisements there. You can also join groups, take part in discussions, and use LinkedIn for your job research. Sign up for job alerts by filling in key words and areas of work interest, and you will be notified of jobs matching your requirements.
Via the internet and job boards
There are internet platforms with available job opportunities especially for internationals. You can upload your CV and sign-up for job alerts on various job boards such as: Togetherabroad.nl, https://www.iamexpat.nl/career, https://www.dutchnews.nl/jobsinholland/, https://www.expatica.com/nl/working/.
Open application
If you have identified particular organisations which interest you, seek a connection in your network (LinkedIn can be a good start). This can lead you to an introduction to someone working there. Simultaneously, you could also consider an open application, and if possible, deliver it in person. This method is more effective in small- to medium- sized companies.
Career optimisation
ACCESS career coaches and trainers offer courses/workshops about professional skills development, cultural awareness and global mobility. You can email them directly if you would like details about how they can help you.
Many international companies, non-commercial organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and affiliates of the United Nations and the European Union use English as the main working language. Also, certain jobs need languages such as French and German. Learning some Dutch would no doubt increase your opportunities, but there are many jobs for which no Dutch is required.
You qualify for zorgtoeslag (healthcare allowance) if you meet the following conditions:
The exact amounts of income and savings change annually. For an overview of the current amounts, please have a look at the website of the Tax office (Belastingdienst) ,
www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/toeslagen/zorgtoeslag/ (Dutch only)
