If you have got an attractive job offer and considering relocating to the Netherlands here are some essential information for you that will help you to understand Dutch salary and taxation system, working environment and rules.

We have ongoing vacancies in the Netherlands for IT & Telecom Engineers, as well as Civil Engineers and Automotive Engineers for Non-EU Nationals. We will support you throughout the entire process from initial interview to signing the employment contract, processing visa application and relocation.

Work Permit

Every non-EU citizen who wants to work in the Netherlands has to obtain a valid work permit. Either the employee or their prospective employer may request the permit, although it is usually the employer who makes the request.

A work permit is valid only for the employer who makes the request and ceases if / when the employee leaves the job. There is no general work permit for the Netherlands.

Inter-Consulting work with a Local company in the Netherlands that will become an employer of a consultant and will arrange a work permit for the person. The consultant will be working on-site at a client while getting paid by the employer. These requirements are essential for the arrangement of Work Permit.

Wage Tax in the Netherlands - 30% Ruling

If an employee is recruited from abroad to work in the Netherlands, with a specific expertise that is scarce or absent in the job market in the Netherlands, he or she may be entitled to the 30% tax ruling. The ruling reduces the gross salary (the basis for wage tax and social security) to 70% on top of which a tax-free remuneration of 30% is paid via the payroll as a tax-free allowance intended to cover the higher expenses incurred by living in the Netherlands.

Both employee and employer must jointly request the application of the 30% rule from Dutch tax office. The employee will have to have significant and relevant work experience (considered scarce in the Netherlands), have higher education, be hired from abroad <150 km from the Dutch border and earn a salary of at least €38.347 waged tax per annum. The 30% ruling is generally limited to a five-year period.

Employees who plan to remain in the Netherlands long term and who are paying into the Dutch social security system should be advised that all the rights based on the gross salary such as pension and social security will decrease accordingly and be based on the 70% taxable portion.

The 30% allowance will have an impact in the tax-free reimbursement of extra territorial expenses and school fees as these are deemed to be included. For more information on the 30% ruling, please contact activpayroll.

To find out how much Tax you should pay in Netherlands you can check this calculator.

Working hours

A standard Dutch working week is 38 hours. The majority of fulltime (voltijd) jobs in the Netherlands are between 36-40 hours a week, or seven to eight hours a day, five days a week.

Some companies have a 40 hour working week instead of the standard 38 hours, in which case employees receive more salary for more hours worked.

Another way employers may compensate higher weekly hours is by increasing annual holiday leave (sometimes to around 12 additional days).

In the Netherlands lunch breaks are usually 30 minutes, unpaid.

Holiday leave in the Netherlands

Full-time employees in the Netherlands are legally entitled to a minimum of 20 days (four weeks) of paid holiday leave per year. This is based on a calculation of four times the number of hours worked per week.

Sick leave in the Netherlands

If you are working in the Netherlands and you fall ill on a working day then you must report it to your employer so you can claim sick leave.

Most companies have a formal process for reporting when you are sick which involves calling, messaging or emailing your manager and someone from the HR (P&O) department.

If you are sick during your holiday, and you directly inform your employer, it is possible to have those days counted as (paid) sick leave instead of holiday leave.