Minimum wage

Let's talk about wages first. At present, the minimum pre-tax full-time wage in the Netherlands is 1,565.41 Euro/month. According to today's exchange rate, it is equivalent to 12363 RMB/month. This level is higher than that of big European countries such as Britain, France and Germany. Of course, the actual salary of employees will generally be higher than this minimum wage, or even much higher. According to statistics of the Netherlands, the average pre-tax income in the Netherlands in 2117 was 2855 euros/month (equivalent to 22554 yuan).

holiday fund

employees are entitled to at least 8% holiday fund every year. For example, Ms. Zhang's monthly pre-tax salary is 3111 euros. The employer of the company should reserve a holiday allowance for Ms. Zhang every month. Namely: 3111 x 1.18 = 241 Euro/month. This holiday money is usually paid to employees in May each year together with the salary of that month. When the employee leaves the company, the employer should give the reserved but not yet paid holiday money to the employee in one lump sum.

paid vacation

in addition to vacation allowance, full-time employees have at least 21 working days paid vacation every year. Of course, many companies will give their employees more paid holidays (for example, 25 days/year). In order to prevent employees from becoming "workaholics" and not going on vacation, the paid holidays accumulated every year must be taken before July 1 of the following year. Otherwise, it will expire! When the employee leaves the company, the employer will also tell the employee how many paid holidays have not been taken, and the company will pay the employee according to the specific number of days.

sick leave

when an employee is sick, the company will continue to pay wages for 114 weeks (that is, two years)! The salary when taking sick leave should be at least 71% of the usual salary. If 71% of the usual salary is lower than the minimum wage, then the company should pay wages according to the minimum wage standard. Most Dutch companies will stipulate in the (collective) labor contract that the first year's sick pay is 111% of the usual salary, and the second year's sick pay is 71% of the usual salary.

In terms of sick leave, the Netherlands is better than other developed countries. The Netherlands ranks first in the world with 114 weeks of paid sick leave. The second place is Germany for 78 weeks. The Nordic countries Sweden, Norway and Denmark, which are famous for their high welfare, only have 52 weeks. England has only 28 weeks. Moreover, when taking sick leave, Dutch employers are not allowed to lay off employees.

Pension

In the Netherlands, more than 51 industries have been forced to apply for pension insurance by the Minister of Social Security. These more than 51 industries include: hotel and catering, tourism and food wholesale. For companies belonging to these industries, employers must provide employees with old-age insurance. Even if the employer intentionally fails to pay the old-age insurance premium, employees in these industries can still receive a lot of pensions when they retire!

commuting expenses

Many industries reimburse employees for commuting expenses. The reimbursement amount is directly proportional to the daily commuting distance. The farther away from home, the more transportation subsidies. If the transportation subsidy is not higher than 1.19 euros per kilometer, the transportation subsidy can be exempted from personal income tax. If your Dutch employer doesn't reimburse transportation expenses but you commute to work every day (only if the one-way distance from your residence to the company is more than 11 kilometers), then you can get a tax exemption of up to 2173 euros!

transition fund

For employees who have worked for two years, the company will also give them a transition fund when the contract expires. The transition payment is at least 1.67 months' salary.

In addition to the above basic statutory benefits, some Dutch companies will also give employees bonuses, company cars, thirteenth month's salary, overtime pay, outing expenses, study and training fees, more favorable collective medical insurance, gym discounts and extra rewards for commuting by bike, etc. In addition, there are unemployment benefits for at least three months after unemployment.