The Hardest Market ยท Netherlands
Netherlands's HR data
The rules and costs of employing people in Netherlands (Amsterdam), from official sources, in English and Japanese.
Employment rules
| Statutory annual leave | 4x weekly days (20 days) plus 8% holiday allowance |
|---|---|
| Public holidays (2026) | 11 days |
| Notice of dismissal | 1-4 months by service (employer); 1 month (employee) |
| Severance required by law | Transition payment: 1/3 month per year, cap โฌ102,000 |
| Typical negotiated exit | No official benchmark; settlement agreement, usually at least the transition payment |
| Probation | Max 2 months (permanent), only if agreed in writing |
| Working hours | Max 12h/shift, 60h/week, 48h average over 16 weeks |
| How hard is dismissal? | Hard: UWV permit or court approval needed |
Employer contributions
| Unemployment insurance (WW, AWf low rate) | 2.74% |
|---|---|
| Disability insurance (WIA, Aof high rate) | 7.63% |
| Childcare surcharge (Wko) | 0.5% |
| Health insurance employer levy (Zvw) | 6.1% |
Employee contributions
None
Take-home pay and employer cost by annual salary
| Annual salary | Employee contributions | Income tax | Take-home | Employer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| โฌ45,000 | โฌ0 | โฌ8,386 | โฌ36,614 | โฌ52,637 |
| โฌ65,000 | โฌ0 | โฌ18,430 | โฌ46,570 | โฌ76,031 |
| โฌ90,000 | โฌ0 | โฌ31,688 | โฌ58,312 | โฌ103,476 |
| โฌ130,000 | โฌ0 | โฌ54,092 | โฌ75,908 | โฌ143,476 |
Single employee in Amsterdam, Dutch tax resident for the full 2026 calendar year, below state pension (AOW) age, no dependants, permanent contract. Gross salary is the full annual pay including the statutory 8% holiday allowance (vakantiegeld), paid evenly; no bonus, no pension-scheme contributions, no 30% ruling (that expatriate regime is for recruited foreign specialists; the model is the local case). Only the general tax credit and the labour tax credit apply. Employer is a large employer (premium wage bill over โฌ4,330,000) on a permanent contract, so the low WW rate and the high Aof rate apply.