Ga naar hoofdmenu / zoekveld

  1. Home 
  2. English 
  3. Minimum wage 
  4. Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage

Supervision of the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act

The right to a minimum wage

All employees between the ages of 15 and 65 working in the Netherlands are entitled to at least the statutory minimum wage and minimum holiday allowance. This is provided for in the Act of the same name. This Act is also applicable if the employer has its registered office abroad and if the employee is a foreigner (also see Supervision of the Foreign Nationals Act).

Separate minimum (youth) wage levels apply for employees between the ages of 15 and 23. The youth wage rises as the age increases. Apart from the statutory minimum wage, employees are entitled to a minimum holiday allowance of 8% of their gross annual wage. You can find the current amounts on our website, see the brochure the minimum wage in the Netherlands and on the site of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment: www.rijksoverheid.nl/ministeries/szw

Supervision by the Labour Inspectorate

The Labour Inspectorate supervises compliance with the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act. If wages are underpaid, a penalty can be imposed to a maximum of € 6,700 for each underpaid employee and in the event of underpaid holiday allowance, a maximum penalty of € 3,125 for each underpaid employee.

The amount of the penalty depends on the extent and duration of the underpayment. The employer will also still be required to pay the amount of wage and/or holiday allowance that was unlawfully not paid. If the employer fails to do this, a penalty can be imposed for each day that the employer continues to be in default. This penalty can increase to up to € 400 per day (penalty order).

More information