Netherlands to experiment with full-time bonus for teachers

The Cabinet will experiment with bonuses for teachers and school leaders who work longer hours, Minister Dennis Wiersma (Education) said in a letter to parliament. Education is struggling with major staff shortages, and the Minister hopes a bonus will encourage more teachers to work more hours.

Wiersma called on schools to sign up for the experiment before the end of this month. He wants to try out different types of bonuses and find out which ones work best. This could be a bonus for people who start working full-time or a bonus for teaching staff who work four days instead of two. The amounts involved are not yet known.

Schools participating in the experiment will have to pay the bonuses themselves. The Ministry of Education will help them choose a bonus variant and develop the idea. Minister Wiersma expects to share the first insights in the spring so that schools can implement the bonuses in the next school year.

“As a teacher, you work around the clock to teach students well,” said Wiersma. “That is tough, now that it is increasingly difficult to find enough colleagues.” He sees the bonus as one of the solutions to motivate teaching staff - one of the sectors with the most part-time workers - to work more hours.