Will I receive the minimum wage?

Minimum hourly wage for people under 21

If you are under 21, you are entitled to the minimum hourly wage for young people. The amount increases each year on your birthday. Your employer must start paying the higher minimum wage from that date.

Who is entitled to the minimum wage?

If you are aged 21 or over, you are entitled to the minimum wage. The minimum wage applies to:

• employees with open-ended and fixed-term contracts;
• standby workers;
• ‘payrollers’ (people who are not formally employed by the organisation where they work but a separate ‘payrolling’ company);
• agency workers;
• people with an employment permit;
• staff employed by contractors and subcontractors.

Minimum wage and contracts for services

If you work under a contract for services (overeenkomst van opdracht) or other type of contract for payment, as of 2018 you are also entitled to the minimum wage. This is not the case if you are self-employed and the Tax Administration regards you as a business taxpayer.

Examples of people who work under a contract for services include:

• people who deliver post and packages;
• lawyers;
• civil-law notaries;
• bailiffs;
• auditors;
• debt collectors;
• architects;
• real estate agents;
• veterinarians;
• auctioneers.

People who work on the basis of a contract for services or other contract for payment are not considered to have an employment contract.

If you are a self-employed person without employees, according to the rules of the Tax Administration, the above does not apply to you. As a self-employed person you have a different status on the labour market, since you decide yourself how much you charge for your work.

Lower minimum wage for people receiving a benefit under the Work and Employment Support (Young Disabled Persons) Act (Wajong)

If you work and you also receive a benefit under the Work and Employment Support (Young Disabled Persons) Act, your employer may be allowed to pay you less than the minimum wage. This is only possible with the permission of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and certain conditions apply.

Reference salary for people with a work permit

If an employer hires someone from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, they must request a work permit for the employee. One of the conditions for this is that the employer pays the employee a gross salary of at least €2,069.40 per month, an amount referred to as the reference salary. The reference salary is the same for employees of all ages and regardless of the number of weekly working hours. 

Find your minimum wage

To find out what you should be earning, see hourly minimum wage in 2024.