NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Inge de Laat, Tijmen Noordoven, Ilaha Muhseni and Laetitia Wezenbeek, Rutgers & Posch
Bonuses For sectors, bonuses are not a legal entitlement unless agreed in the employment agreement or a collective labour agreement. The rules below apply to the pay - ment of bonuses. • Employers must ensure bonuses are awarded fairly, avoiding favouritism or exclusion of certain groups. The General Equal Treatment Act forbids discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, marital status or sexual orientation. • Dutch case law includes the “acquired rights” prin - ciple: if bonuses are paid regularly and without res - ervation, employees may expect them to continue and therefore also rightfully claim a bonus. To avoid this, employers should explicitly state that bonuses are discretionary and do not create future claims. • Employers must act responsibly when granting bonuses, ensuring transparency and avoiding arbi - trary decisions. Bonuses given on a purely discre - tionary basis can create unfair situations, possibly leading to legal claims. Employers should be able to explain why some employees receive bonuses and others do not. • Temporary agency workers are entitled to equal pay, including bonuses, matching that of the hiring company’s employees. 13th Month A 13th month is an extra gross monthly salary that some employers pay their employees, usually at the end of the year. It is a bonus on top of the regular sal - ary and is often seen as a form of secondary employ - ment condition. There is no legal obligation for the employer to provide the employee with a 13th month. However, pursuant to employment agreements, col - lective labour agreements, personnel handbooks or the “acquired rights principle”, employees may be entitled to a 13th month. 1.5 Other Employment Terms Vacation According to the Dutch Civil Code, employees are entitled to a statutory minimum of vacation days equal to four times their weekly agreed working hours. For instance, an employee working 40 hours (5 days) per week must receive at least 160 vacation hours (20 vacation days) annually. Any vacation days granted
There are exceptions and additional rules for certain sectors, such as healthcare and transport. These exceptions and additional rules can be found in the Working Hours Decree ( Arbeidstijdenbesluit ). Collec - tive labour agreements may also provide for devia - tions from these regulations. 1.4 Compensation Minimum Wage Generally, wages are agreed upon freely between employers and employees. However, the Dutch Act on Minimum Wages and Minimum Holiday Allowances ( Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag ) sets mandatory minimum wage and holiday allowance lev - els, which are updated annually. As of 1 July 2025, the gross statutory minimum hourly wage for employ - ees aged 21 and over has increased to EUR14.40 per hour. If a collective labour agreement applies, it may also include binding salary scales. Specific Regulations The Standards for the Remuneration of Top Officials in the Public and Semi-Public Sector Act ( Wet normering topinkomens ) limits the income and severance pay - ments of senior officials in public and semi-public sec - tors. Since 2015, their salary cannot exceed that of a government minister, known as the Balkenendenorm . This Act applies to institutions like healthcare institu - tions, housing associations and educational institu - tions. For 2025, the maximum gross salary, including holiday pay and bonuses, is set at EUR246,000. In the financial sector, the Financial Supervision Act ( Wet financieel toezicht ) regulates bonuses and sever - ance allowances. Although the Act is based on Euro - pean regulations, in the Netherlands the bonus cap is lower than in other European jurisdictions. The provi - sions include: • a cap on variable bonuses to a maximum of 20% of the gross fixed yearly salary – only in exceptional cases may exceptions be made and the European bonus cap of 100% applies; • the rule that at least 50% of variable remuneration must be based on non-financial criteria; • a cap on severance payments at one year’s fixed salary; and • a prohibition on granting guaranteed bonuses.
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