What changed in Dutch employment law in 2026?
Three changes took effect around the start of 2026, and one deadline was formally pushed back. None of them touches the core of the dismissal system, but each of them shows up in payroll, in pension administration or in the budget for the year.Has the wage cost benefit for older employees ended?
Yes. The wage cost benefit for older employees (loonkostenvoordeel oudere werknemer) was abolished with effect from 1 January 2026. Transitional law keeps it alive for employees who entered service before 1 January 2024, and that entitlement runs until 1 January 2027 at the latest.If you built this subsidy into a business case for hiring older workers, you should recalculate. The other wage cost benefits, including the one for employees with an occupational disability, were not abolished.When must pension schemes comply with the new pension system?
The final date for bringing pension schemes in line with the Wet toekomst pensioenen (Future Pensions Act) is now 1 January 2028. That extension is statute, not a policy intention: the Eerste Kamer passed the bill extending the transition period on 2 December 2025.The same act moves several transition dates from the statute into an order in council (algemene maatregel van bestuur). A further adjustment therefore no longer needs a full legislative round. For you as an employer this is a real deadline, not only a pension-fund problem. Amending a pension scheme changes the terms of employment, which normally needs the consent of the employees, the works council or the parties to the collective agreement.What changed for employers waiting on the IND?
This change sits in immigration law, so it is easy to miss. Since 15 April 2025 the administrative penalty payment (bestuurlijke dwangsom) for late decisions by the IND has been abolished for good, after a temporary suspension that started in 2020.If you are waiting for a residence permit for a new hire, you can still lodge an appeal against the failure to decide. A penalty set by the court remains possible. But there is no longer an automatic financial sanction running in the background, so your recruitment planning for international staff has to allow for longer waits.How is the minimum wage set?
Since 1 January 2024 the statutory minimum wage is an hourly wage. There is no longer a monthly minimum that has to be divided by a working week of 36, 38 or 40 hours. A full-time employee on a 40-hour week therefore earns more per month than one on a 36-hour week.The amount itself is adjusted twice a year by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and published in the Staatscourant. Always check the current figure rather than one quoted in an older contract or article.Which new laws are adopted but not yet in force?
Several employment bills have completed their passage through parliament but still wait for a royal decree that brings them into force. Until then, the old rules apply in full.Acting on a rule that is not yet in force is a genuine risk. A clause drafted for the future regime can be void under the regime that still governs the contract.What will the Act on more certainty for flexible workers change?
The Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers has been adopted, with entry into force to be set by royal decree. Its central change is to the chain rule in article 7:668a of the Dutch Civil Code. The interruption after which a new chain of fixed-term contracts may start becomes three years, instead of the six months that applies today. In practice this ends the pattern of parking an employee for half a year and then starting again.The act also tightens the on-call regime. Zero-hour contracts are replaced by a basic contract that guarantees a minimum number of hours.Two points are often reported wrongly. First, the rule that an on-call employee must be called up at least four days in advance, and keeps the right to pay if the call is withdrawn later than that, is not new. It has applied since 2020 under article 7:628a of the Civil Code. Second, the new interruption period is three years, not five. Until the royal decree, the six-month interruption and the existing on-call rules remain the applicable law.What is the legal presumption based on the hourly rate?
A separate act introduces a rebuttable presumption of an employment contract for workers whose hourly rate is at or below a set threshold (€38 in the bill). It has been adopted and published in the Staatsblad, but it is not yet in force. Until it is, you should treat it only as a future rule.The part of the original proposal that would have clarified the criteria for telling employment and self-employment apart was dropped during the legislative process. Once the presumption applies, a worker below the threshold can invoke it, and the hirer must then prove that the relationship is not an employment contract. Until then, the ordinary rules of evidence apply.Do agencies that second staff need admission?
Yes, from 2027. The Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten (Wtta) introduces an admission requirement for temporary work agencies and other businesses that second staff. Admission is decided by the Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt (Dutch Labour Supply Market Authority).The sequence is fixed. Applications run from 1 November to 31 December 2026, the admission requirement applies from 1 January 2027, and enforcement starts on 1 January 2028. Hirers are affected too. A business that hires staff from an agency without admission can itself be fined once enforcement begins. If you hire in staff, map your suppliers well before that date.Where does pay transparency stand?
The bill implementing the EU pay transparency directive was submitted to the Tweede Kamer on 21 May 2026 and has not yet been adopted. The transposition deadline of 7 June 2026 has therefore passed without Dutch implementation. The bill aimed at entry into force on 1 January 2027, but that date is now uncertain.That does not leave you in a vacuum. Equal pay for equal work between men and women is already binding under the Wet gelijke behandeling van mannen en vrouwen and under EU law directly. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) already hears complaints about unequal pay. What is not yet enforceable is the machinery of the directive: pay ranges in vacancies, the ban on asking candidates about their pay history, and the reporting and joint pay assessment obligations for larger employers.What applies now when you hire self-employed contractors?
The enforcement moratorium under the Wet DBA ended on 1 January 2025. The tax authorities can again impose additional assessments for false self-employment, although 2025 was treated as a transitional year in which employers acting in good faith would not receive penalties for gross negligence.The substantive test has not changed. Under article 7:610 of the Civil Code an agreement is an employment contract if there is work, pay and a relationship of authority. In its Deliveroo judgment of 24 March 2023 the Supreme Court held that this must be assessed on all the circumstances taken together. That includes the way the work is embedded in the organisation and whether the worker genuinely behaves as an entrepreneur. The label on the contract is not decisive.
Which rules on transparent and predictable working conditions apply?
Since the Dutch implementation of the EU directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, four rules apply that often surprise employers working from an older contract template. They are in force and mandatory, and a clause that conflicts with them is void.What if working hours are unpredictable?
Where the working pattern is largely unpredictable, the contract has to state the reference days and hours within which the employee can be called on. Outside that window the employee may refuse the work without consequences.An employee with a contract of at least 26 weeks can also ask for more predictable working hours. The employer must answer in writing and give reasons.Who pays for compulsory training?
Training that the employer must provide by law or by collective agreement is free for the employee. It counts as working time and, where possible, takes place during working hours. A study costs clause covering that training is void.This concerns training on safety, working conditions and keeping the current job. It does not cover professional diplomas that were a condition of being hired in the first place.Can you ban an employee from working elsewhere?
A blanket ban on working elsewhere is no longer enforceable. The employer may only rely on such a clause where there is an objective justification, such as health and safety, the working time rules, protection of confidential information or avoiding a conflict of interest.That justification does not have to be written into the contract. It does have to exist at the moment the employer invokes the clause.What must the employer tell the employee?
The employer must inform the employee about considerably more than before. This includes the place of work or the fact that it varies, the arrangements for overtime and its pay, the procedure on termination including notice periods, and the entitlement to training. For postings abroad it also covers the country, the duration, the currency of payment and any repatriation arrangement. Most of this information has to be given within one week of the first working day.What has not changed in dismissal law?
The backbone of Dutch employment law is untouched by the 2026 changes, and this is where most disputes still arise. An employer cannot terminate an open-ended contract unilaterally without prior review.Dismissal for business economic reasons or after long-term incapacity for work goes to the UWV. All other grounds, including underperformance, a damaged working relationship and the cumulative ground, go to the subdistrict court. The grounds are listed exhaustively in article 7:669 of the Civil Code. The employer must also show that redeployment in a suitable alternative role is not possible within a reasonable period.Which notice periods apply?
Notice periods are set by article 7:672 of the Civil Code. The statutory period for the employer runs from one to four months, depending on the length of the employment. The employee gives one month.If the contract lengthens the employee’s notice period, the employer’s period must be at least twice as long. A contract that gives both parties two months is therefore defective, and the longer period does not bind the employee.When is the transition payment due?
The transition payment accrues from the first working day. It is therefore due even where the employer ends the contract during the probationary period. Its maximum is adjusted each year, with a gross annual salary as the alternative cap where that is higher. Do not rely on a figure quoted in an older article.Two limits are worth knowing in advance. There is no entitlement if the employee resigns without seriously culpable conduct by the employer. And under article 7:673c of the Civil Code the transition payment is no longer owed if the employer is declared bankrupt, is granted a suspension of payments or falls under the debt restructuring scheme for natural persons. The UWV wage guarantee scheme covers unpaid wages and holiday pay, but not the transition payment.
How does a settlement agreement work?
The alternative route is unchanged as well. Many employment relationships in the Netherlands end with a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst). The employer takes the initiative in writing, so that the employee keeps entitlement to unemployment benefit, provided the notice period is observed.The employee has a statutory reflection period of fourteen days to withdraw consent. That right must be stated in the agreement. If it is not, the reflection period is three weeks instead.What should international employers keep in mind?
If you recruit from abroad, the employment side and the immigration side have to be arranged together. A highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) can only be employed by a sponsor that the IND has recognised. The IND sets the salary criteria for each year and each age category, and the permit is tied to that employer.Ending the employment therefore affects the right of residence. The employee has a limited search period, and the employer must inform the IND. Our page on the highly skilled migrant procedure sets out the conditions in detail.Two further points regularly go wrong in international structures. First, Dutch mandatory employment law applies to work habitually performed in the Netherlands, whatever the contract says about governing law. A choice of law cannot deprive the employee of the protection of the mandatory rules of the country where the work is habitually carried out.Second, the expat tax facility for incoming employees is a tax matter. The percentage and the salary norms are set by the legislator and have been reduced in recent years. Confirm the position with a tax adviser rather than relying on a recruitment brochure. On the corporate side, the interaction between employment obligations and cross-border structures is covered in our overview of international business law.What should employers and employees do now?
For employers the agenda for the coming year is short:- Check that the pension scheme will be in line with the Wet toekomst pensioenen before 1 January 2028, and that the required consent has been obtained.
- Map the suppliers who second staff to you, and confirm that they apply for admission under the Wtta between 1 November and 31 December 2026.
- Review contracts with self-employed contractors against the authority test, not against the label.
- Take the wage cost benefit for older employees out of the budget, except where the transitional rule still applies.
- Read older contract templates against the four rules on transparent working conditions. A study costs clause or a blanket ban on ancillary activities drafted before the implementation may now be unenforceable.
In summary
- The core of Dutch dismissal law is unchanged in 2026: prior review by the UWV or the subdistrict court, the grounds of article 7:669 of the Civil Code and a transition payment from day one.
- The wage cost benefit for older employees ended on 1 January 2026, and pension schemes must move to the new system by 1 January 2028.
- The Act on more certainty for flexible workers (three-year interruption) and the hourly-rate presumption have been adopted but are not yet in force.
- Agencies that second staff need Wtta admission from 1 January 2027, with enforcement against agencies and hirers from 1 January 2028.
- False self-employment is enforced again since 2025; the Deliveroo test of all circumstances decides, not the label.
Frequently asked questions
What are the key principles of Dutch employment law?
Dutch employment law requires a written statement of the main terms, limits dismissal to the grounds listed in article 7:669 of the Civil Code with prior review by the UWV or the subdistrict court, and gives a transition payment from the first working day.
How do expats get a work and residence permit in the Netherlands?
It depends on the route. A highly skilled migrant needs an employer that the IND has recognised as a sponsor and must meet the IND salary criteria for the year; the permit is then tied to that employer. Other categories, such as intra-corporate transferees or employees who need a work permit from the UWV, have their own conditions.
What rights do employees have under Dutch employment law?
Employees in the Netherlands are protected against dismissal without a reasonable ground and prior review, are entitled to written information about their main terms of employment, paid annual leave and continued pay during illness, and have access to maternity, birth and parental leave.
How are international businesses affected by employment classification reforms in the Netherlands?
The reforms on flexible contracts and on the presumption of employment have been adopted but are not yet in force, so the current rules still apply. What does apply now is that the enforcement moratorium on false self-employment ended on 1 January 2025.
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