What do you need to know to hire in the Netherlands?
The Netherlands pays a transition payment from the first day of employment, not after a qualifying period. Minimum wage is €14.71/hour, statutory leave is 20 days, and employer sick pay runs for 24 months. Each guide below takes one layer.
· Netherlands guide
How does Teamed handle Dutch hiring for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in the Netherlands for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
Payroll, contracts, and the full Dutch employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts manage every Dutch hire, from the first offer letter to the final settlement. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, handles your Netherlands team alongside EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity payroll on one platform. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
A Dutch contractor who converts to a permanent role keeps their record, and that same employee can graduate from EOR to your own Dutch BV without re-onboarding. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Dutch hire, until it isn't.
- The transition payment is owed from day one. The Netherlands does not require any qualifying service before a dismissed employee earns a transition payment. You owe one third of a monthly salary for each year of service, capped at €102,000 in 2026. The termination guide shows how the formula works.
- Employer sick pay runs for 24 months. Dutch law requires you to continue paying at least 70% of salary through two full years of illness. Most European countries cap employer sick pay in weeks. The Netherlands caps it in years.
- The two-year sick leave cycle changes how you can terminate. You cannot dismiss a sick employee during the first two years of illness. Any termination attempt during that window is blocked. The hiring guide covers how to plan around this from the first contract.
Hiring in the Netherlands adds employer social contributions on top of gross salary. The employer total runs between 15 and 19 percent depending on sector and applicable rates. There is no single statutory employer rate.
Dutch payroll runs monthly. Statutory annual leave is 20 days for a five-day week, counted separately from public holidays.
The transition payment (transitievergoeding) is owed on any employer-initiated termination, from the first day of employment, at one third of a monthly salary per year of service.
Teamed runs Dutch payroll, contracts, and compliance through an EOR entity holding the required Dutch registrations. This page is the map. Each guide below is the detail.
Zero FX. No setup fees. 48-hour onboarding. The price your finance team can forecast against without an asterisk.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in the Netherlands in 2026?
A Dutch hire costs roughly 115 to 120 percent of gross salary once employer social contributions are included.
Employer social contributions cover health, unemployment, long-term disability, and parental leave. The total depends on sector and applicable rates, and there is no single published employer rate.
Dutch employer social contributions split across several schemes: Zvw (health), Aof (disability), AWf (unemployment), and WAZO (parental leave). Together they run between 15 and 19 percent of gross salary, depending on the sector classification and whether the employer qualifies for the lower Aof rate. There is no fixed statutory aggregate rate. Teamed quotes the applicable components and shows every line on every invoice.
Teamed's Netherlands price is a starting rate, with zero FX in any currency pairing. No setup fees. No exit fees. Salaries, taxes, and benefits passed through at cost on every invoice.
The full breakdown, with worked examples at current statutory rates, is in the cost guide.
Do you need a Dutch entity to hire employees in the Netherlands?
No. An Employer of Record runs Dutch payroll and contracts from day one.
Your own Dutch BV becomes cheaper than EOR somewhere around 5 to 8 employees, depending on salary.
Setting up a Dutch BV (besloten vennootschap) requires notarial incorporation, registration with the Kamer van Koophandel (KvK), and ongoing payroll, accounting, and annual filings. Setup takes four to eight weeks. An Employer of Record is faster and cheaper at low headcount. Teamed runs Dutch payroll, contracts, and compliance from day one.
The crossover point depends on Dutch salary levels and your accounting costs. For most tech roles it lands around 5 to 8 employees. The EOR vs entity guide runs those numbers for the Netherlands specifically.
Most EOR providers will not tell you when you have crossed it. We do, and we help you move. You progress from contractor to EOR to your own Dutch entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model, with tenure preserved.
What are the key employment law rules in the Netherlands in 2026?
The minimum wage rose to €14.71/hour on 1 January 2026.
Dismissal protection applies from the start of employment. There is no qualifying period before an employee can challenge a termination.
The Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag (WML) sets the minimum wage at €14.71/hour from 1 January 2026. Written employment contracts must be provided from day one. Standard contracts run for a maximum of two years and three fixed-term renewals before becoming permanent by law (ketenregeling).
Probation is capped at 2 months for permanent or fixed-term contracts of two years or more. For fixed-term contracts of six months to two years, the cap is one month. During probation, either side can end the contract with no notice. Once probation ends, dismissal requires either UWV permission or dissolution by the subdistrict court. The hiring guide covers the day-one obligations in full.
What benefits must you provide Dutch employees in 2026?
The statutory floor is 20 days of paid annual leave, 16 weeks of maternity leave, and employer sick pay at 70% of salary for 24 months.
Parental leave runs to 26 weeks per parent, with the first nine weeks paid via UWV.
Statutory annual leave is 20 days for a five-day week under Burgerlijk Wetboek art. 7:634. The Netherlands counts leave and public holidays separately. Sick pay is 70% of salary for up to 24 months, paid by the employer. This two-year obligation is longer than any other Teamed country in Europe.
Maternity leave (zwangerschaps- en bevallingsverlof) is 16 weeks total, funded by UWV. Birth leave for partners is 1 week at full pay, plus an option to take up to five additional weeks at 70 percent of salary. Either parent may take 26 weeks of parental leave (ouderschapsverlof), with the first nine weeks paid by UWV at 70 percent. The benefits guide covers each entitlement and the employer funding obligations.
What are payroll taxes in the Netherlands in 2026?
The Netherlands uses three Box 1 income tax brackets combined with national insurance in bracket 1.
Bracket 1 up to EUR 38,883 runs at 35.75% combined. Bracket 3 above EUR 78,426 tops out at 49.5%.
Dutch income tax and national insurance are combined in Box 1. The first bracket up to EUR 38,883 runs at 35.75%, which bundles income tax and national insurance (AOW, ANW, WLZ). National insurance at 27.65% is only levied in bracket 1. Employees pay no national insurance on earnings above EUR 38,883. Bracket 2 from EUR 38,883 to EUR 78,426 runs at 37.56% (income tax only). The top bracket above EUR 78,426 runs at 49.5%.
Employer social contributions cover health (Zvw), disability (Aof), unemployment (AWf), and parental leave (WAZO). The aggregate employer total is between 15 and 19 percent of gross salary depending on sector. There is no single published aggregate rate. Loonheffingen payroll filings run monthly. The tax and payroll guide sets out every bracket and contribution rate.
How do you terminate an employee in the Netherlands?
Dutch statutory notice starts at 4 weeks for employees under five years of service.
Notice scales with tenure and reaches 16 weeks at 15 or more years of service.
Notice under Burgerlijk Wetboek art. 7:672 runs to the end of a calendar month. At five to ten years of service notice rises to 2 months, at ten to fifteen years to 3 months, and at fifteen or more years to the maximum of 16 weeks. The employer pays full salary through the notice period unless garden leave is agreed.
The transition payment (transitievergoeding) is owed on every employer-initiated termination from the first day of service. The rate is one third of a monthly salary per year of service, capped at €102,000 in 2026. Unlike the UK or Germany, there is no qualifying service period before this payment is due. Termination routes are either via UWV (for economic or long-term sickness grounds) or via the subdistrict court (for all other grounds). The termination guide runs the full process.
What should you know before hiring in the Netherlands?
Two things catch US buyers out. The first is the two-year sick pay obligation.
The second is that the transition payment is owed from the first day, not after years of service.
Dutch sick pay is a two-year employer obligation. You pay at least 70% of salary for up to 24 months when an employee is ill. You also cannot dismiss a sick employee during that window. Most US buyers budget sick pay in days. In the Netherlands, budget it in months and model the disability reintegration obligations alongside it.
The transition payment has no qualifying period. A Dutch employee dismissed on their first day of work is owed a transition payment. The formula is one third of a monthly salary per year of service, capped at €102,000. Collective redundancy rules trigger when you dismiss 20 or more employees within 90 days, requiring prior notification to the UWV. The hiring guide and the EOR vs entity guide both explain how Teamed navigates these rules.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire an employee in the Netherlands?
Plan on roughly 115 to 120 percent of gross salary once employer social contributions are added. The employer total across health, disability, unemployment, and parental leave schemes runs between 15 and 19 percent depending on sector. Teamed's Netherlands fee is one flat number per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency pairing. The cost breakdown guide has worked examples.
Can a US company hire in the Netherlands without an entity?
Yes. An Employer of Record like Teamed runs Dutch payroll, contracts, and compliance through its own registered entity. You direct the work. Teamed becomes the legal employer of record. Setup takes 48 hours once terms are confirmed. Forming your own BV takes four to eight weeks and requires notarial incorporation and KvK registration.
What is the Dutch minimum wage in 2026?
The statutory minimum hourly wage (WML) is €14.71/hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 January 2026. It is set under the Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag. The Netherlands moved from a weekly and monthly minimum wage to an hourly rate.
What is the Dutch transition payment (transitievergoeding)?
The transition payment is owed on every employer-initiated termination from the first day of employment. There is no qualifying service period. The rate is one third of a monthly salary for each year of service. The maximum transition payment in 2026 is €102,000.
What are Dutch statutory notice periods?
Statutory employer notice runs to the end of a calendar month. The minimum for under five years of service is 4 weeks. At five to ten years it rises to 2 months, at ten to fifteen years to 3 months, and at fifteen or more years to the maximum of 16 weeks. During probation, notice is zero days on either side.
What is the minimum annual leave for a Dutch employee?
Statutory minimum paid annual leave is 20 days for a standard five-day week under Burgerlijk Wetboek art. 7:634. The Netherlands counts annual leave and public holidays separately. Employers can grant more leave by contract.
The Netherlands reads as a moderate-cost labour market until you model the sick pay. Two years of employer-funded illness cover, plus the reintegration obligation, is the budget line most US companies miss on their first Dutch hire. The transition payment owed from day one is the second surprise. Both are codified, both are predictable, and both sit in these guides.
The Netherlands has clear rules. Transition payments from day one. Sick pay for two years. Notice that scales to four months.
Most of the cost surprises in the Netherlands come from not reading the rules before the first hire.
Read the right Netherlands guide before that hire, not after the first sick day turns into the first legal dispute.
