May’s right around the corner, which means holiday pay is coming for most employees in the Netherlands.
You may be slightly less excited about your holiday pay this year, as you could be receiving less money, reports RTL Nieuws.
This is due to the labour tax structure — the more you earn, the more your holiday pay is taxed.
Who’s lucky?
This doesn’t apply to everyone, though. Some lucky folks among us will actually be getting more holiday pay than last year. 👇
The increases specifically apply to minimum wage workers, where:
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Those with a 36-hour work week can expect a €236 jump in their holiday pay,
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Those with a 38-hour work week can expect an increase of €146,
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And those with a 40-hour work week will stand to get €188 more.
@rashi.in.amsterdam #Vakantiegeld tijd has to be my fave time of the year 😅 Did you know employees in NL receive almost a whole month’s salary extra as ‘vacation money’ end of May? ✨ #Dutchlife #justdutchthings #expatsinthenetherlands #lifeinamsterdam #livinginthenetherlands #dutchreels #indiansinamsterdam #MemeCut #Meme ♬ original sound – Jacques🩸
Who’s a bit less lucky?
That’s it for the good news, because pretty much everyone else needs to knock a star off the hotel they’ll be booking for their next holiday (or have one less sangria 🍷).
Those earning between €3,000 and €5,382 gross per month will receive less holiday pay overall, with average-salary earners (€3,588) getting €8 less. The highest earners in that group (€5,382) will receive €11 less.
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However, the most severely affected is the low-income group (€1,000 to €1,750). With a gross monthly income of €1,000, expect a whopping €213 less in holiday pay this year.
Lastly, those earning €2,000 gross per month will get a €145 holiday pay increase. Sounds good, right? Wrong.
Because of current tax measures, their monthly salary is €32 lower, so they are still worse off.
Who won’t even notice?
There’s also a group that won’t be affected.
High earners, with a gross monthly salary between €7,176 and €10,764, will get as much holiday pay as last year, not a cent less, not a cent more.
In 2024, this group received €637 less in holiday pay, although to be fair, they might not have noticed that either.
Will your holiday pay be affected? Let us know in the comments!
What about holiday pay for people who are receiving AOW? Their holiday pay is built up per month and paid in may, so I guess if the AOW goes up the holiday pay goes up. But the the % go up as well?