For employees
Working in the Netherlands and the EU: what you are entitled to
Your contract, your permit, your data, your job. In plain language, for you.
Most of our work is for companies. This page is for the people inside them. These are the questions employees and expats ask us most, answered in plain language. Where a rule changes every January or is still in Parliament, we say so.
If you are an employee in the Netherlands, or coming to work here, you have more protection than most people realise, and more deadlines than most people expect. A missed four-week notification can cost a highly skilled migrant their permit; an unsigned settlement can cost you unemployment benefit; a monitoring tool your employer installed may be unlawful.
Read the group that fits your situation. Each answer ends where a personal check begins; for that, send us a short description and you hear back within one working day.
01
Coming to work in the Netherlands
Permits, thresholds and the 30% ruling.
Which permit do I need as a non-EU national?
Most people come as a highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) with an employer that is a recognised sponsor with the IND, or on an EU Blue Card. Other routes are the intra-corporate transfer, the researcher permit, the orientation year for recent graduates, and the self-employed or start-up permit. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit; they register with the municipality and get a BSN.
What salary do I need as a highly skilled migrant?
A gross monthly threshold set by the IND and indexed every January, with a lower threshold under 30 and a reduced one after the orientation year. The salary must be market-conform and paid monthly into your account; allowances and bonuses mostly do not count. Ask us for the current figures before you negotiate.
What is the 30% ruling and will I get it?
A tax facility for employees recruited from abroad with specific expertise: part of your salary is paid tax-free for up to five years. The percentage drops to 27% for new applicants from 2027, with transitional rules for people who already had it, and there is a salary threshold and a 150 km rule. The application must be filed within four months of your start date, otherwise you lose months.
Can my partner and children come, and can my partner work?
Yes. Your partner and minor children can get residence as family members. Your partner is allowed to work freely in the Netherlands without a separate work permit.
How long does the process take?
For a recognised sponsor the IND aims to decide within two weeks of a complete application. Add time for the entry visa (MVV) where needed, the appointment for your residence card, municipal registration and your BSN. Employers who are not yet recognised sponsors must become one first, which takes longer.
02
Your contract
What it must contain and what you can push back on.
What must a Dutch employment contract contain?
Your employer must give you in writing: the parties, start date, place of work, job, salary and payment dates, working hours, holidays, notice periods, probation and any collective agreement. A probation period is at most one month for fixed-term contracts under two years and two months for indefinite contracts. Three fixed-term contracts, or three years in total, convert into an indefinite contract.
What is my notice period?
The statutory notice period for employees is one month, unless your contract says otherwise within the legal limits. For employers it runs from one to four months depending on your years of service. Notice is usually given against the end of a month.
Is my non-compete clause enforceable?
In an indefinite contract, only if it is in writing with an adult employee. In a fixed-term contract, only with a written explanation of the compelling business interest. Courts regularly limit or set aside clauses that are too broad. A government bill published in 2026 would cap clauses at twelve months, require a geographic scope and oblige employers to pay compensation when they invoke the clause.
Holiday allowance, holidays and sick pay
You are entitled to a holiday allowance of at least 8% of your annual salary, usually paid in May, and to at least four times your weekly working hours in paid leave. If you fall ill, your employer must pay at least 70% of your salary for up to two years; many contracts and collective agreements pay 100% in the first year.
Am I an employee or a freelancer?
What matters is how the work is done, not what the contract says. Since 2025 the tax authority enforces against false self-employment again, and a law passed in 2026 presumes an employment relationship below roughly EUR 38 per hour from 2027. If you work for one client, under their direction, with their tools, you are probably an employee with all the rights on this page.
03
Losing your job
Dismissal, settlement agreements, your permit and benefits.
Can my employer simply dismiss me?
No. Outside the probation period and summary dismissal for urgent cause, an employer needs permission from the UWV (economic reasons or long-term illness) or the court (performance, culpable conduct, disturbed relationship), or your agreement in a settlement. You may withdraw from a settlement agreement in writing within fourteen days without giving reasons.
What is the transition payment?
A statutory severance of one third of a month's salary for every year of service, counted from your first day, capped at a statutory maximum that is indexed each year (around one year's salary for high earners). It is due in nearly every employer-initiated termination, including non-renewal of a fixed-term contract.
I am a highly skilled migrant. What happens to my permit?
You get a search period of three months to find a new qualifying job, provided your employer initiated the termination and you were not at fault. Your employer must notify the IND within four weeks. A settlement agreement must state explicitly that the employer initiated the termination and that you were not culpable, otherwise the search period may not apply. If you find nothing in time, the permit is withdrawn with effect from the day your job ended.
Am I entitled to unemployment benefit (WW)?
Usually, if you worked at least 26 of the last 36 weeks in insured employment and the termination was not your fault. Resigning or agreeing to a settlement that calls you culpable can cost you the benefit. Apply with the UWV immediately; it does not affect your residence rights.
Do I keep my 30% ruling?
You can take it to a new employer if no more than three months pass between your last working day and signing the new contract. With garden leave, the clock starts when the garden leave starts.
04
Artificial intelligence, monitoring and your data at work
What your employer may and may not do.
Can my employer use artificial intelligence to screen, rank or evaluate me?
Only within limits. Under the EU AI Act, systems used for recruitment, promotion, task allocation or performance monitoring are high-risk: your employer must inform you and your works council before using them, ensure human oversight and keep records. Under the GDPR you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing with significant effects, and to ask for human review. In the US, New York City requires bias audits for hiring tools and Colorado has its own rules.
Can my employer read my email or track my location or screen?
Monitoring is allowed only for a legitimate purpose, in a proportionate way, and after you have been informed. Secret monitoring is permitted only in exceptional cases with concrete suspicion. Systems that monitor employees need the consent of the works council. Blanket keystroke logging, webcam checks or reading private messages generally fail the test.
Can I use ChatGPT or Copilot for my work?
Follow your employer's AI policy if there is one. If there is none, do not put customer data, personal data, source code or confidential documents into a public tool: your confidentiality clause and the GDPR still apply to you personally. Ask for an approved business account.
What data about me can I ask for?
Everything your employer holds about you: your personnel file, assessments, emails about you, log data and the logic behind automated decisions. Send a written access request; your employer must answer within one month, free of charge, and correct errors on request.
I want to report wrongdoing. Am I protected?
Yes. Under the Dutch Whistleblower Protection Act, employers with fifty or more staff must have an internal reporting channel, and you are protected against dismissal and other detriment when you report in good faith, including reports made directly to an authority such as the Huis voor Klokkenluiders.
05
Working across borders
Remote work abroad, postings and pay transparency.
Can I work remotely from another country for my Dutch employer?
For short periods usually yes, with three checks: tax (where you become taxable, often after 183 days), social security (which country's system applies, arranged with an A1 certificate within the EU) and your residence permit, which assumes you work in the Netherlands. Longer arrangements need a written agreement and often a local employer of record.
What applies when I am posted to another EU country?
The core working conditions of the host country, including minimum pay, working time and leave, under the Posting of Workers Directive, with Dutch social security continuing under an A1 certificate for up to 24 months.
Can I ask what my colleagues earn?
From the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, expected in the Netherlands in 2027, you can ask for the average pay levels for your category of work, broken down by sex, and employers may no longer ask about your salary history. Larger employers must report pay gaps.
Your situation is specific. Our reply will be too.
Send a few lines about your contract, your permit or what happened at work. You hear back within one working day with a clear view of your options and what it would cost. Individuals pay a fixed fee agreed in advance.