Big differences in wages between full-time and part-time minimum wage earners

Changes to tax policies in 2025 will lead to significant differences in how much minimum wage workers in the Netherlands benefit from salary increases, with full-time workers seeing much larger net pay increases than their part-time counterparts, according to an analysis by HR service provider Visma Raet.

The firm’s calculations, based on recent government measures, reveal disparities in net monthly income gains depending on hours worked. Minimum wage workers with full-time schedules of 36 to 40 hours a week will see increases of 2 percent to 2.6 percent. Those working fewer hours will experience far smaller increases, with some part-time workers receiving less than 0.1 percent.

Employees earning the minimum wage with a 40-hour workweek can expect a net monthly increase of 58.16 euro starting January 2025, equivalent to a 2.6 percent boost. Those working 36 hours will see their net income rise by 40.72 euro, or about 2 percent.

In contrast, workers with a 32-hour schedule will gain only 11.10 euro, representing a 0.6 percent increase. Part-time employees working 24 hours will receive an additional 1.45 euro per month, or a 0.1 percent increase. “Full-timers will experience a much greater rise than part-timers,” said a spokesperson for Visma Raet.

The disparity stems from a revision to the general tax credit (algemene heffingskorting) announced on Prinsjesdag (Budget Day) 2024. The adjustment, effective January 1, 2025, reduces the tax credit for lower-income workers, causing taxes to apply at lower salary levels and increase for lower-wage earners. “Part-time minimum wage workers will pay more taxes next year than they do now,” the Visma Raet representative added.