The Dutch government has announced that from January 1 next year, the minimum wage for employees will increase by 10.15 per cent.
Through a statement issued on Friday, November 18, the government emphasised that the cabinet has decided to make working more rewarding with this increase, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In addition, the same also revealed that the government is implementing an additional increase of 8.05 per cent on top of the six-month adjustment for the first time since its launching in 1969.
As a result, the minimum wage for full-time workers will increase from €1,756.20 to €1,934.40 gross per month.
As regards the statutory gross minimum wage for employees aged 21 and over with full-time employment, it is as follows:
- €1,934.40 per month
- €446.40 per week
- €89.28 per day
The Dutch authorities had announced last August that the monthly minimum wage had increased by 1.8 per cent since July 1. The same was set to remain effective until August next year.
According to the government, then, the minimum gross monthly wage for workers above the age of 21 with full employment increased from €1,725.00 to €1,756.20. At the same time, the government added that for all other age groups, the gross minimum wage also increased by 1.8 per cent.
The current employment law in the Netherlands does not determine how many hours there are in a full working week. Thus, the working period may vary from one company or institution to another, from 36 to 49 hours in a full week. Thus the minimum wage does not change in cases when employers have longer or shorter working hours.
As the government explains, the minimum wage rule also applies to employees who have employment permits.
The government also noted that employees coming from non-EU countries are obliged to apply for a work permit in the Netherlands.
On July 20, the EU Parliament said it would approve new minimum wage rules for EU workers. According to MEPs, with these new rules for minimum wages, they want to guarantee that everyone in the bloc has a good standard of living.
In addition, based on the new rules, a real increase in wages will be seen in several EU countries, thus avoiding competition. However, MEPs said they expect the minimum wage increase to reduce the gender wage gap, considering that around 60 per cent of EU citizens earning the minimum wage are women.
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