Minimum wage rise and uniform hourly wage system starting from January 2024

The Netherlands will increase its statutory minimum wage by 3.75 per cent on January 1, 2024. The statutory gross minimum hourly wage for employees aged 21 and over will be set at 13.27 euros per hour. In addition to this regular adjustment based on the price level (indexation), a minimum hourly rate will replace the existing monthly rate.

The minimum wage is currently calculated on a monthly basis, which means that it does not matter whether an employee works 36, 38, or 40 hours a week. Thanks to the initiative of MPs Barbara Kathmann (PvdA) and Senna Maatoug (GroenLinks), the law has been amended to introduce a uniform minimum hourly wage.

As a result, those working 40 hours a week will receive pay for an additional four hours each week. This implies that, on average, this group will have an hourly wage increase of over 15 percent. For those working 36 hours a week, the wage increase will amount to 3.75 percent.

In September, a majority of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, backed a 1.7 percent increase in the minimum wage and social security benefits for 2024, aside from the indexation yet to be determined.