Cost to Hire an Employee in the Netherlands (2026)

• Gross salary, usually paid monthly.
• Employer costs of about 26.2% at a €60,000 salary: €15,702 a year, of which the largest is holiday allowance (vakantiegeld).
• An EOR fee, if you hire without your own entity. The providers in our Netherlands guide publish starting prices of US$459–699 per employee per month.

Mandatory employer costs at a €60,000 salary (mid-level professional). Employee contributions and income tax come out of gross pay and aren't included.

Contribution ceilings mean employer costs can be a smaller share of higher salaries. Figures exclude the EOR fee.

• Holiday allowance: 8% of gross salary
• Maximum premium wage (2026): €79,409 / year
• Minimum wage (from Jul 2026): €14.99 / hour
• Statutory annual leave: 4× weekly hours (20 days)
• Sick pay obligation: Up to 104 weeks (≥70%)

• Pension contribution (if a sector fund applies or offered) (10% of gross): Not mandatory in general, but compulsory where a sector pension fund applies. Employer shares commonly range from 5% to 15%+ of pensionable salary.
• 'Gross salary' here means 12 monthly payments excluding the 8% holiday allowance. Premiums are applied to that figure as a simplification; in real payroll they are also due on the holiday allowance, up to the cap.
• Employee insurance premiums apply up to the maximum premium wage of €79,409 a year (2026).
• Employees pay wage tax and national insurance contributions out of gross pay. These are not employer costs.
• Sick pay is a major contingent cost: employers must pay at least 70% of salary (often 100% in year one) for up to 104 weeks of illness, plus reintegration obligations. Ask your EOR how this is priced or passed through.
• Qualifying incoming employees may receive part of their salary tax-free under the expat ruling. The ruling is being reduced from 30% to 27% from 2027, and it reduces the employee's tax, not employer premiums.

Without your own entity in the Netherlands, an Employer of Record can employ your hire for a monthly fee. The alternative is setting up your own Dutch BV. See the comparison in our Netherlands guide and EOR vs local entity.