Employer's duty to pay wages in the Netherlands
The obligation to pay wages is the employer's primary duty under the employment contract. Article 7:616 of the Dutch Civil Code provides that the employer must pay the agreed wages at the agreed time. The Minimum Wage Act (WML) requires that at least the statutory minimum wage is transferred to the employee's bank account - cash payments of the minimum wage portion are not permitted since 2016. The duty to pay wages at the specified time is established in Article 7:616 of the Dutch Civil Code; Article 7:623 of the Dutch Civil Code requires payment intervals of no less than one week and no more than one month. In 2016, chain liability provisions (Articles 7:616b-7:616d CC) were introduced so that every principal in a subcontracting chain may be held liable for the wages owed by the formal employer, irrespective of the applicable law on the employment contract (Article 7:616c of the Dutch Civil Code).
Wages must generally be paid at least once per month for salaried employees or once per week/four weeks for hourly workers, unless a different frequency is agreed. The employer must provide a payslip (loonstrook) with each payment, detailing gross salary, deductions, net salary, and accrued holiday allowance.
No work, no pay - exceptions
The traditional rule in Dutch employment law was geen arbeid, geen loon (no work, no pay). Since the amendment of Article 7:628 of the Dutch Civil Code in 2020, the principle has been reversed: the employer bears the risk of non-performance of work. This means the employee retains the right to wages even when no work is performed, unless the cause lies within the employee's sphere of risk.
Key situations where the employer must continue paying wages include: illness (for up to 104 weeks under Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code, at least 70% of salary - see two-year sick leave rule), suspension or garden leave, and work stoppages caused by the employer. The employee does not retain the right to wages in cases of unjustified absence, imprisonment, or certain forms of strike action.
Deductions from wages under Dutch employment law
An employer's ability to make deductions from wages is strictly limited under Articles 7:631 and 7:632 of the Dutch Civil Code. Permissible deductions include tax and social security withholdings, pension contributions, and amounts the employee owes the employer under a contractual arrangement (e.g., study costs reclaim). Deductions for damages caused by the employee are only permitted if the employee agrees in writing or a court has ordered them. The employer may never reduce the net salary below the minimum wage level through deductions. The employer must provide an itemised payslip (loonstrook) at each payment under Article 7:626 of the Dutch Civil Code, which must state the applicable minimum wage rate so the employee can verify compliance. Fines payable to the employer by the employee may only be set off for a maximum of 1/10 of the fine amount, and only insofar as the statutory minimum wage remains untouched (Article 7:632(2) of the Dutch Civil Code).