Score
improved

2024 Score

90

2022 Score

88

2020 Score

88

Rating

Approaching Access to Decent Work

Fair
Wages

40

Decent
Working Hours

80

Employment
Security

80

Family
Responsibilities

100

Maternity
at Work

100

Safe
Work

100

Social
Security

100

Fair
Treatment

100

Child &
Forced Labour

100

Freedom of
Association

100

Fair Wages - 40

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the legislation or collective negotiation set and determine the minimum wages in the country? Yes 1 Minimum Wages and Minimum Holiday Allowances Act of 27 November 1968
No Change
Does the law require regular and timely payment of wages? Yes 1 §616-633 of Book 7, Title 10 (Employment Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek
No Change
Does the law require overtime compensation to be at least 125% of the regular hourly rate? No 0 Working Time Act (Arbeidstijdenwet), 1995; Working Hours Decree (Arbeidstijdenbesluit), 1995
No Change
Does the law require any additional compensation for working on a weekly rest day? No 0 No applicable legal provisions could be located
No Change
Does the law require additional compensation for night work? No 0 §1:7, 4:9, and 5:8 of Working Time Act, 1995; §4:7 of Working Hours Decree, 1995
No Change

Decent Working Hours - 80

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law stipulate general weekly working hours as 48 hours or lower? Yes 1 Working Time Act, 1995; Working Hours Decree, 1995
No Change
Does the law restrict maximum working hours, including overtime, to 56 hours per week? Yes 1 Working Time Act (Arbeidstijdenwet), 1995; Working Hours Decree (Arbeidstijdenbesluit), 1995
No Change
Does the law require a paid weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours? Yes 1 §5:3, 5:5, and 5:6 of Working Time Act, 1995
No Change
Does the law require paid public holidays? No 0 Public holidays list provided by the Government
No Change
Does the law require at least three working weeks of paid annual leave? Yes 1 Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek); Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag
No Change

Employment Security - 80

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require a written employment contract or employment particulars to be given to a worker on commencement of employment? Yes 1 §610 & 654-655 of Book 7, Title 10 (Employment Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code
No Change
Does the law restrict the hiring of fixed-term contract workers? Yes 1 §667 & 668 of Book 7, Title 10 (Employment Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek)
No Change
Does the law limit the length of the probation period, including renewals, to three months? Yes 1 §652 of Book 7, Title 10 (Employment Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek)
No Change
Does the law require a 30-day notice period before employment contract termination? Yes 1 Dutch Civil Code; Extraordinary Decree on Labour Relations 1945 (BBA); Dismissals Decree
No Change
Does the law require severance pay at the rate of at least two weeks of wages for every year of service? No 0 Dutch Civil Code; Decree conditions deduct costs from transition compensation. Stb. 171 (May 11, 2015)
No Change

Family Responsibilities - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require a four-month parental leave for parents? Yes 1 Chapter 6 (Parental Leave) of the Work and Care Act of 16 November 2001; Paid Parental Leave Act (2 August 2022)
No Change
Does the law require at least one week of paid paternity leave for fathers*? Yes 1 §4:2, 4:2a and 4:2b of the Work and Care Act of 16 November 2001 (Wet arbeid en zorg)
No Change
Does the law require flexible working arrangements* for workers with family responsibilities? Yes 1 Act to change the Working Hours Adjustment Act to further flexible work of 9 June 2015
No Change
Does the law require paid nursing breaks? Yes 1 §4:8.1-3 of the Working Time Act, 1995; §3.48 of the Working Conditions Decree, 1997
No Change

Maternity at Work - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law prohibit inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment? Yes 1 Section 7:646 of the Dutch Civil Code; §1 of the Equal Treatment of Men and Women Act, 2015
No Change
Does the law require maternity leave of at least 14 weeks? Yes 1 §3 & 4 of the Work and Care Act of 16 November 2001 (Wet arbeid en zorg)
No Change
Does the law require cash maternity benefits to be at least two-thirds (66.67%) of a worker's former wage? Yes 1 §3 & 4 of the Work and Care Act of 16 November 2001 (Wet arbeid en zorg)
No Change
Does the law require cash maternity benefits to be paid through a contributory social insurance or a universal benefits system or such benefits are an employer's liability? Yes 1 §3 & 4 of the Work and Care Act of 16 November 2001 (Wet arbeid en zorg)
No Change
Does the law protect workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy? Yes 1 §667:8, 670:2 & 7 of Book 7, Title 10 (Employment Contracts) of Dutch Civil Code
No Change

Safe Work - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require employers to provide free personal protective equipment to workers? Yes 1 §3, 8 & 11 of the Working Conditions Act, 1999; §4 of the Working Conditions Decree, 1997
No Change
Does the law require employers to train workers on health and safety Issues? Yes 1 Working Conditions Act, 1999; Working Conditions Decree, 1997
No Change
Does the law restrict work that is prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child? Yes 1 §4:5 & 4:7 of the Working Time Act, 1995; §1:41 & 1:42 of the Working Conditions Decree, 1997
No Change
Does the law provide for employment injury benefits in the event of an occupational accident or disease? Yes 1 The Disability Insurance Act,1966; The Work According to the Labour Capacity Act, 2005
No Change

Social Security - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law provide for an old age benefit? Yes 1 General Old Age Pensions Act (Algemene Ouderdoms Wet-AOW) of 31 May 1956
No Change
Does the law provide for survivors' benefits? Yes 1 General Surviving Relatives Act (Algemene Nabestaanden Wet-ANW) of 21 December 1995
Score adjusted due to a minor revision in methodology
Does the law provide for unemployment benefits? Yes 1 Unemployment Benefits Act (Werkloosheidswet-WW) of 6 November 1986
No Change
Does the law require paid sick leave (and sickness benefits) for the first six months of sickness? Yes 1 Dutch Civil Code; Sickness Benefits Act,1913
No Change
Does the law provide for invalidity benefits? Yes 1 The Disability Insurance Act, 1966; The Work According to the Labour Capacity Act, 2005
No Change

Fair Treatment - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value? Yes 1 General Equal Treatment Act,1994; Equal Treatment (Men and Women) Act, 1980; Civil Code
No Change
Does the law prohibit sexual harassment in employment? Yes 1 Dutch Civil Code; Working Conditions Act, 1999
No Change
Does the law prohibit discrimination in employment matters? Yes 1 Dutch Civil Code; General Equal Treatment Act,1994; Equal Treatment in Employment (Men and Women) Act
No Change
Does the law allow women to do the same job as men? Yes 1 Equal Treatment (Men and Women) Act, 1980; Decree on Gender Related Occupational Activities, 1989
No Change
Does the law guarantee basic labour protection to the platform workers? Yes 1 General Old Age Pensions Act (Algemene Ouderdoms Wet-AOW) of1956; MISSOC Comp. Table for Netherlands
No Change

Child & Forced Labour - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law prohibit the employment of children? Yes 1 §3:2 of the Arbeidstijdenwet, 1999
No Change
Does the law set employment entry age equal to or higher than the compulsory schooling age? Yes 1 Paragraph 2 and 2a of the Leerplichtwet 1969
No Change
Does the law prohibit the employment of young persons in hazardous work under the age of 18 years? Yes 1 §3:2 of the Arbeidstijdenwet, 1999
No Change
Does the law prohibit forced labour? Yes 1 §197b-197d & 273-f of Dutch Penal Code, 1881
No Change

Freedom of Association - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice? Yes 1 §1 & 8 of the Dutch Constitution of 1815; Works Councils Act of 28 January 1971
No Change
Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions? Yes 1 Collective Agreements Act; Act on Declaring Provisions of Collective Agreements Generally Binding and Non-Binding
No Change
Does the law provide the right to strike? Yes 1 Dutch Supreme Court Ruling of 1986; §6(4) of the 1961 Council of Europe Social Charter
No Change
Does the law prohibit imposing excessive sanctions against striking workers, including replacement of such workers? Yes 1 No violative legal provisions could be located
No Change

*In order to measure the trend in country’s legislative performance over the last edition of the Labour Rights Index (2022), the following legend is used.

Score increase

Score decrease

Score adjustment

Methodological change

No change