The Netherlands is a one-stop destination to start a business. This can be attributed to trade liberalization here because of its exposure to international commerce and investment. Furthermore, the Netherlands is one of Europe’s most prized start-up hotspots owing to the rise in successful entrepreneurship initiatives.
So, if you wish to capitalize on the Netherlands’ pro-business initiatives and start a business here, you can work with a Netherlands PEO. A reputed global PEO like Multiplier can take charge of onboarding and managing employees in the Netherlands, both full-timers and freelancers.
Why Use a Netherlands PEO?
An International PEO Solution onboards employees by offering legal contracts to them while ensuring total compliance with Dutch labor rules. Hence, a PEO essentially bears the regulatory load on a co-employment basis, allowing people to join and start working for your firm within days.
A Netherlands PEO offers a simplified alternative for employing staff, evaluating markets, and adapting to dynamic company demands. By partnering with an International PEO firm, you may claim ownership without engaging in legal business obligations, contractor concerns, or compromising expertise or manufacturing costs.
Multiplier, a Netherlands PEO solution provider, can assist you in creating a smooth onboarding process. Our team of professionals guarantees that all employee paperwork and other HR-related operations are compliant with Netherlands labor and employment legislation.
Netherlands PEO Costs
The expenses of a Netherlands PEO are determined by one of two pricing models: fixed or variable. At Multiplier, our onboarding and global team management service charges start at $300 per month per person. The final price is determined by the intricacy of the employment rules at an employee station. Every employee hired through our PEO receives HR support, benefits administration, and a real-time dashboard to track expenditure.
How to Hire in the Netherlands?
The Netherland sports a favorable economic climate. Also, most of the Dutch population has a good command of the English language. While these factors attract investors to the country, launching and scaling a business in the Netherlands may take some time.
Businesses must adhere to the country’s stringent employment laws and industry regulations. Overall, the documentation and compliance process can be a lengthy one, resulting in income loss.
However, you can share a majority of your workload by collaborating with a Netherlands EOR like Multiplier. We provide SaaS-based PEO and EOR solutions in the Netherlands that can help you maintain a competitive advantage.
When hiring, employers must consider the following Dutch employment rules:
Netherland Employment contract
An employment contract in the Netherlands may be written or oral. Employers must offer all employees an employment contract within one month of joining. This legally binding agreement should cover the following conditions:
- Salary
- Working hours
- Job description
- Job location
- Starting and end dates of the contract
- Probation period
- Pension
- Details of any collective bargaining agreement (if one exists)
Although most agreements include a probationary term, employers need not include one. Based on the contract type, supervised probation terms in employment agreements and collective agreements typically last 1 to 2 months.
Employers cannot hire the same person to cover their interim labor needs for two consecutive years. The following agreement has to be perpetual after two years of temporary contracts. A move from an interim to a long-term contract can only be avoided if the two contracts are separated by at least six months. Otherwise, it is regarded as a single agreement with consecutive dates.
Working hours
According to the Working Hours Act, the optimum workday is 12 hours, and the optimum workweek is 60 hours. An individual’s typical working week cannot exceed 55 hours within a four-week term.
Moreover, if an employee works more than an hour from midnight to 06:00 AM, it is considered a night shift. The following rules govern night shift work:
- Night shift cannot be more than 10 hours
- Over a 16-week timeframe, the typical working week cannot exceed 48 hours.
- Workers must have at minimum a 14-hour interval after night duty.
- Employees working three or more overnight shifts in a row must be given an additional 46 hours of rest before starting their next shift.
Minimum pay
Euro is the currency of the Netherlands. The Dutch government establishes minimum wage levels and modifies them every two years. Instead of hourly compensation, these rates are expressed in terms of salary for a day, week, or month of employment.
The minimum pay for younger employees is determined by their age. Employees aged 21 and up are paid the same minimum salary. However, the minimum wage is for employees under the age of 15, and it rises each year as they get older.
All Dutch employees are entitled to an annual vacation stipend of 8.33% of their yearly base wage, usually handed out in May.
Holidays
There are two public holidays in the Netherlands: the King’s birth anniversary on April 27 and Liberation Day on May 5, which commemorates the conclusion of the Second World War. Every five years, the country celebrates Liberation Day; the next commemoration will be in 2025.
Apart from the same, here are some public holidays observed in the country:
- New Year’s Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Sunday
- Easter Monday
- King’s Day (27 April)
- Liberation Day (5 May, see also below)
- Ascension Day
- Whit Sunday
- Whit Monday
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
Annual leave
The minimum guaranteed holiday allowance for every year of service is four times the contracted working time per week. Usually, most employees get 25 holidays per year. Besides, there are eleven public holidays every year. Employers may or may not grant leaves to their employees on public holidays.
Employees may take their leaves in installments. They can spend their annual leaves within six months after a year ends. For example, leaves accrued in 2022 are only valid till 1 July 2023. However, employers and employees may mutually agree to extend the leave period validity via a collective labor agreement (CAO) to five years.
Maternity leave
Female employees have the right to sanction a minimum of 16 weeks of maternity leave under the Work and Care Act. The maternity leave can begin 4-6 weeks before the due date and can last a minimum of 10 weeks after delivery.
Female employees are paid their full salary throughout their maternity leave. Even working moms who are nursing will be paid in full. Self-employed women can utilize maternity and pregnancy benefits from the Social Security Agency (UWV) for up to 16 weeks, usually six weeks before the baby is born.
Paid parental leave
Employers must pay the parents for the first nine weeks of parental leave. Parents can take a total of 26 weeks of leave. Paid leave for working parents will be worth 70% of the employee’s daily income for the duration of the absence.
Within a year after the child is born, parents must take nine weeks of paid leave. They have until the child’s eighth birthday to use the rest 17 weeks however they see fit. Unless mentioned in the collective bargaining agreement (CAO) or corporate policy, this absence will be unpaid.
Payroll
In the Netherlands, the companies follow a monthly payroll cycle. Work completed between the initial and final days of the month is usually paid on the last day. The payment of a 13th-month salary is optional – it depends on the employer to provide employees with additional compensation or bonus.
Taxation in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has extensive public socioeconomic benefits packages, which are paid for both by employers and employees.
Income is divided into three categories for tax filing purposes –
- Earnings from work and homeownership (box 1)
- Substantial interest gained from financial investment in a company (box 2)
- Savings and investments (box 3)
A progressive tax rate with four tax brackets applies to one’s income for the first category. Here, individuals can deduct certain expenses from their income. Hence, the income tax is calculated on the post-deduction amount. As of 2021, the income tax rate for individuals with salaries up to €68,508 is 37.10%, and above €68,508, the tax rate is 49.50%.
For the second category, individuals earning a substantial interest (when one owns at least 5% of the shares or profit-sharing certificates in a company with a partner) must pay a 25% tax on income from substantial interests.
In the third category, individuals must pay 30% tax on their earnings from savings and investments. The tax is calculated on the total value of your assets (savings, second home, shares, etc.), excluding your debts. However, the government does not tax a portion of your wealth (capital yield tax allowance).
Termination/severance in the Netherlands
An employer can terminate an employee’s contract for various reasons, which vary depending on the context and can be rather complicated. Although if their contracts expire naturally, all workers in the Netherlands are entitled to severance compensation (transitional pay in the Netherlands).
In the Netherlands, termination notice varies depending on the employer and the duration of employment. While employees may agree to a more extended notice period while signing their employment contracts, the standard notice period is one month. However, the maximum term for an employee’s notice period is six months.
Why Multiplier?
Multiplier’s Netherlands PEO service assists organizations in seamlessly entering and operating in a foreign market.
Our specialists will assist you with new employee orientation, payroll, perks, costs, and other HR functions. We always ensure complete adherence to all applicable statutory provisions and laws. Rest assured, you can trust us to help navigate you through your business expansion process in the Netherlands.
Our Netherlands PEO Simplifies Your Expansion
- 100% regulatory compliance
- Global payroll handling on schedule
- No hidden costs
- Employee contracts
- Employee recruiting and supervision must be precise and transparent