Dutch pay slip: How your salary is determined

Living in another country is not only insanely exciting, but it can also be insanely annoying in figuring out how all the rules and regulations work - not to mention all of the digging through the incomprehensible and sometimes unreadable documents..

So, here is some useful information for those who are struggling to understand the Dutch salary and pay slip!

How your salary is determined

How do you know what the right salary indication should be? How do you know if you get the salary you deserve?

If you come from a country where the salary level is much higher, you might need some time to recover from the shock of what you will earn for the same position here in the Netherlands.

However, don’t forget that everything is in balance here (e.g. monthly rent, cost of living etc.). Then again, with the heavy taxes you have to pay plus the tightening up on the rules of the 30% ruling, coming to the Netherlands may be less exciting than most newcomers had hoped for.

If you work through a recruitment agency, the salary negotiations are always done by the agency for you. The recruitment consultants judge if the salary indication fits with the level of the role you will be taking.

Due to their knowledge of the labour market, the consultants should have a good insight of what a fair salary is, what your indicated salary is and where the opportunities lie, while keeping the interest of the client in mind.

At present, the labour market is an employer’s market. There are not enough jobs for all jobseekers, and that makes higher salaries more difficult to find. Unfortunately as a candidate, if you don’t accept a lower salary there are many others that will. In any case, the agency should always represent you in the best possible way.

Dutch recruitment agencies pay out salaries weekly and you will receive a pay slip on a weekly basis. This is based on the candidates working on an hourly basis and also on a temporary basis.

That is perhaps a bit confusing especially if you are used to spreading your income over an entire month.

The Dutch pay slip

At the bottom of the page, you will see an example based on a salary of 2.500 euros (gross) per month.

On the right column, you can see what the different columns stand for as well as useful tips.

Note that:
› Columns 1 and 2 are the most important ones.
› Your agency will inform you what your hourly tariff will be.

Column 1

› Loonh. Korting: JA 
This is important! A good agency will always ask whether you have multiple employers. The employer for which you work the most can apply for a so called "loonheffings" discount, and save you taxes. So, always let the agency know if you work for multiple employers.

Column 2

› CAO Phase
Working through an agency means that you work under the flexible law. Phase A is the first phase and goes to 78 worked weeks. The bureau may also tell you about this.

Column 3 (summary of all payments)

› Here you can see how many hours you have worked, and at what rate. In this example: 40 hours (a) 100% for an hourly rate of 14,42 euros.
› If you are reimbursed travel expenses, you will also find it in this column. Travel costs are always reimbursed net.
› The final amount shown in bold print at the right side is the amount that is transferred to your bank account (here: 419,10 euros)

Column 4

› Here you can see what you have accrued in reservations. These reservations are always added on top of your wages!
› Vakantiegeld en reserv.vakantiedagen (Holiday allowance & Vacation days)
These are separate from each other. Holiday allowance is automatically paid out once per year (first week of June). If you stop working completely then you also get everything paid out. You can include the Vacation Days (hours in this case) on your timesheet if you have taken a few days off, and you've built up enough hours to cover the time that you are away.
› Reserv. feestdagen
This is paid out automatically as an official holiday (e.g. Easter or Christmas) when it falls on a work day, so you cannot just claim.
› Reserv. KV/BV
This is reserved for special leave (e.g. visiting a doctor or a dentist) and again, you cannot just claim.

Column 5

› This is some cumulative information, some of which you will also find on your yearly summary.

If you still have some questions about your pay slip, any agency should be able to answer them all. Here at Projob, we also have a Business Support department of specialists that are present the whole week for these types of questions.

We wish you lots of fun receiving your first pay slip!

Els Brouwer is an Expat Service Provider, who works as Manager Interim Professional for an agency specialising in Recruitment & Career Coaching. She works with expats and international companies for more than ten years now. For more information, please comment below or visit Projob.