Positive Developments for Workers in the Netherlands: What They Mean for Employers

On January 1, 2026, the Netherlands’ new Collective Labour Agreement for Temporary Agency Workers 2026 – 2028 went into effect, giving temporary agency workers a package of employment conditions that is comparable to what direct employees in similar roles receive. While the individual employment conditions for temporary agency workers do not have to be the same, they should be equivalent overall.

The country’s More Security for Flexible Workers Act will include this principle, with the relevant part of the legislation going into force on July 1, 2026.

Other recent developments in the Netherlands include:

• A minimum wage increase that will see wages rise to €14.71 EUR per hour for employees aged 21 and over, up from the previous hourly wage of €14.40 EUR.
• A slight boost in the tax-free homeworking allowance for remote workers, which increased to €2.45 EUR per day, up from €2.40 per day in 2025.
• An increase in the basic RVU (Regeling voor vervroegde) benefit for workers with low incomes or little supplementary pension. The RVU is a temporary, tax-exempt retirement scheme that allows workers to retire up to three years before their state pension kicks in. Employers may now grant up to an extra €300 EUR gross per month for these workers.

Additional changes in the Netherlands’ employment laws are laid out in the government’s Payroll Tax Newsletter 2026.

Source: A&O Shearman

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