See how hiring works with an Employer of Record in Netherlands

Expecting mothers employed full-time are entitled to up to 16 weeks of paid pregnancy leave, including a mandatory 4-week pre-birth period. For multiple births, the entitlement extends to 20 weeks.

Typically, 4-6 weeks of leave are taken before the expected delivery date. Leave may be extended if the employee is unable to work due to pregnancy or childbirth complications. Medical appointments during pregnancy are compensated by the employer.

Compensation is provided at 100% of gross salary, capped at 100% of maximum daily earnings. Employers can request statutory reimbursement through the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). No qualifying service period applies.

Partners of employees who give birth are entitled to paid leave equivalent to their weekly working hours (5 working days for full-time employment).

This paid leave must be taken within the first four weeks following the birth. Additionally, employees may take "short absence leave" for the birth itself.

Leave is paid by the employer. An additional 5-week birth leave option exists for full-time employees. This extended leave is unpaid by the employer but eligible for state benefits at 70% of last earned salary (capped at 70% of maximum daily wage), granted through the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).

Parents with children under 8 years old are entitled to parental leave of 26 times their weekly working hours per child. For full-time employees, 9 weeks are paid while the remaining 17 weeks are unpaid.

The initial 9 weeks of leave are government-funded at 70% of regular salary (capped at 70% of maximum daily wage). Flexibility exists for taking this leave, which can be distributed throughout the 8-year period. Parents must take parental leave for each child individually.

Employers may request an allowance for paid parental leave from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).

Employers must continue salary payments to ill employees for a 2-year period.

Wage payment consists of 70% of last earned salary, provided the salary doesn't exceed the maximum daily wage. In such cases, continued wage payment is capped at 70% of the maximum daily wage.

During the first year of illness, many employment contracts stipulate employer payment of 70% or 100% of full salary (amount may be capped). In the second year, 70% of the employee's salary (capped amount) applies.

Employees may take up to 2 times their weekly working hours per year (10 days for full-time employees) as short-term care leave to care for a sick child, partner, or parent who is dependent on the employee for necessary care.

The employer pays 70% of the employee's salary during this period, with a minimum equal to the statutory minimum wage. No qualifying service period is required — the entitlement applies from day one of employment.

Employees are entitled to a short, fully paid absence for personal emergencies and urgent unforeseen circumstances that cannot be addressed outside working hours. Duration is limited to the strictly necessary time — typically a few hours to 1–2 days. The employer bears the full salary cost with no state reimbursement.

Qualifying circumstances include:

• Death or serious illness of a spouse, child, or parent
• Urgent medical appointments that cannot be rescheduled outside working hours
• Emergency home damage affecting habitability (burst pipe, fire)
• Civil duties required by law (court summons, electoral duty as polling officer)

Employees adopting or becoming foster parents are entitled to 6 consecutive weeks of paid leave, to be taken within 26 weeks of the child's arrival in the family home. The leave can be taken flexibly — either before or after the child's arrival — within the 26-week window.

The Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) reimburses the employer at 70% of the employee's daily wage (capped at 70% of the maximum daily wage). Both parents are individually entitled if both are employed, allowing each to take the full 6-week period.

Employment terminations in the Netherlands must comply with specific regulations. As your Employer of Record in the Netherlands, MBRemote manages the full termination process in compliance with Dutch law.

Furthermore, the separation process is managed in coordination with key stakeholders, including administrative requirements and recommended procedures for each specific termination scenario.

Valid Grounds for Dismissal

Employers may only terminate employment contracts with valid justification. In addition, there must be an absence of suitable alternative positions within the organisation. Valid grounds specified in Dutch legislation include:

• Economic redundancy circumstances
• Long-term disability (exceeding two years)
• Frequent absences due to illness or disability affecting business operations
• Performance deficiencies
• Misconduct
• Refusal to fulfill contractual obligations due to conscientious or religious beliefs
• Deteriorated working relationship

When termination occurs through mutual agreement, notice periods are typically required to obtain employee consent. As a result, standard notice periods range from 1–4 months based on length of service.

Notice periods must be applied consistently:

• Less than 5 years of service: 1 month notice
• Between 5-10 years of service: 2 months notice
• Between 10-15 years of service: 3 months notice
• 15+ years of service: 4 months notice

Mutual consent terminations typically require severance payments to secure employee agreement. In practice, standard severance ranges from 2–6 months of salary or more, depending on case strength.

For court-ordered or UWV-approved terminations, statutory severance equals approximately 1/3 of gross monthly salary per year worked. Consequently, long-tenured employees can be entitled to significant severance amounts.

For fixed-term contracts of 6 months or longer, Dutch law imposes an advance notice obligation (aanzegverplichting): the employer must notify the employee in writing at least 1 month before the contract end date whether the contract will be renewed and, if so, on what terms.

However, failure to comply with this obligation results in a statutory fine of up to 1 month's salary payable directly to the employee — regardless of whether the employment ends or is renewed.

When employment is terminated by mutual agreement (via a settlement agreement — vaststellingsovereenkomst), the employee has a statutory right to dissolve the agreement within 14 calendar days of signing, without giving any reason. This right exists to protect employees from signing under pressure.

Therefore, employers must inform employees of this right explicitly in the settlement agreement itself. Failure to do so extends the cooling-off period from 14 days to 3 weeks. Furthermore, the employee may only exercise this right once within a 6-month period.

The statutory minimum vacation entitlement for employees equals four times the weekly working hours per year.

For full-time employees working five days weekly, this typically translates to 20 vacation days annually. Most employers provide employees with 25 days of paid annual leave.

The country observes 11 official public holidays annually.

National public holidays include:

• New Year's Day — 1 January
• Good Friday — variable (Friday before Easter)
• Easter Sunday — variable
• Easter Monday — variable
• King's Day (Koningsdag) — 27 April
• Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag) — 5 May
• Ascension Day — variable (39 days after Easter)
• Whit Sunday (Eerste Pinksterdag) — variable
• Whit Monday (Tweede Pinksterdag) — variable
• Christmas Day — 25 December
• Boxing Day (Tweede Kerstdag) — 26 December

The Netherlands Employer of Record onboarding process is completed within 2 business days following client execution of the Statement of Work.

The 8% holiday allowance is incorporated into annual salary calculations. Consequently, employee annual salary displayed on our platform includes both the base annual salary and the 8% holiday allowance.

When establishing employee annual salary, ensure inclusion of both base salary and the 8% holiday allowance.

The 8% holiday allowance is invoiced monthly as an employer cost, separate from the primary salary.

MBRemote collects and verifies all required documentation prior to contract issuance. Standard onboarding documentation for the Netherlands:

Employment agreements in the local language are not legally mandated. An English-only version is permitted under local legislation and represents common practice.

Essential contract elements include:

• Employee name
• Commencement date
• Employment duration
• Position description
• Termination provisions

Fixed-term contracts are commonly recommended to establish a strong match before transitioning to permanent employment, as terminations can involve complexity. Up to 3 consecutive fixed-term contracts are permissible with a maximum combined duration of 3 years.

Probationary durations may extend up to 2 months maximum for indefinite term employment agreements and fixed-term arrangements of 2 years or longer.

For fixed-term contracts under 2 years (minimum 6 months), a 1-month probationary period may be established. This provision cannot be extended under local regulations.

Approximately 80% of Dutch employees are covered by a Collective Labor Agreement (CAO — Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomst), negotiated at sector or company level between employer associations and trade unions. CAO provisions take precedence over statutory minimums and may impose additional requirements:

• Higher sector-specific minimum wages above the statutory floor
• Mandatory participation in sector pension funds
• Additional leave entitlements (e.g. extra vacation days, care leave top-ups)
• Sector-specific overtime compensation rules and premiums
• 13th month pay or year-end bonus obligations

Non-compete clauses (concurrentiebeding) are enforceable in the Netherlands under strict conditions that vary by contract type:

• Indefinite-term contracts: valid if agreed in writing with a clear geographic scope and/or time limitation
• Fixed-term contracts: valid only if accompanied by a written statement from the employer explaining the substantial business interests that justify the restriction
• Typical duration: 6–12 months post-employment; courts regularly reduce or nullify disproportionate restrictions
• Garden leave: commonly used in combination with non-competes to soften enforceability challenges

The Netherlands falls under full EU GDPR jurisdiction (locally implemented as AVG — Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming), enforced by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens — AP). As the legal employer of record, MBRemote acts as Data Controller for all employee personal data and ensures:

• Lawful basis documented for all HR data processing activities
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA) provided to all clients as standard
• Employee data retention limited to legally required minimum periods
• Cross-border data transfers handled under Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
• Employee privacy notices provided in plain language at onboarding

Under Dutch law (Auteurswet, Article 7), works created by an employee in the course of their employment automatically vest in the employer — no separate IP assignment agreement is strictly required for copyright. However, patents and inventions require explicit assignment clauses.

MBRemote's standard employment contracts include explicit IP assignment provisions covering:

• Software, source code, algorithms, and technical documentation
• Creative works, designs, and marketing materials
• Inventions and patentable innovations developed during employment
• Pre-existing IP incorporated into deliverables (with appropriate employee carve-outs)