When must your wages be paid?
As an employee in the Netherlands, you are entitled to timely payment of your wages. According to the law, your employer must pay the wages no later than on the last day of the payment period. For a monthly salary, this means that you must receive your wages no later than at the end of each month. For a weekly salary, this must happen weekly. Unfortunately, many labour migrants experience problems with the payment of their wages, especially in sectors such as construction, cleaning and logistics.
It is important to know that your employer must always provide you with a payslip. This payslip must clearly state how many hours you have worked, what your gross wages are, what deductions have been made, and what your net wages are. Carefully preserve all your payslips, as they are essential evidence if you need to claim your wages.
Steps to claim your wages
The first step is always to address your employer in writing. Send a letter or email in which you indicate which wages have not been paid and request payment within a reasonable period, for example 7 days. Keep a copy of this correspondence. If your employer does not respond or refuses to pay, you can take further legal steps.
If a written demand does not help, you can initiate proceedings before the sub-district court. This is a relatively quick and inexpensive procedure. You can file a wage claim, in which you not only claim the outstanding wages, but also the statutory increase and the statutory interest.
Statutory increase for late payment
An important weapon for employees is the statutory increase under article 7:625 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW). If your employer pays the salary late, you can claim an increase that amounts to a maximum of 50% of the due salary. This increase starts at 5% for each working day of delay from the fourth to and including the eighth working day, and rises to 1% per working day thereafter, with a maximum of 50%.
This means that if your employer owes you €2,000 in wages and pays this more than two months late, you can claim an additional €1,000 in statutory increase (wettelijke verhoging) on top of that. The judge may reduce this increase if it sees grounds for doing so, but the starting point is 50%.
What if your employer goes bankrupt?
If your employer goes bankrupt while there are still outstanding wages, you can invoke the UWV wage guarantee scheme (loongarantieregeling). The UWV then assumes your employer's payment obligation for a maximum of 13 weeks of arrears of wages, plus wages for the notice period. Holiday allowance and holiday days for a maximum of the past year are also reimbursed.
You must report directly to the UWV when your employer has been declared bankrupt. The UWV will inform you about the procedure and the required documents.
Special points of attention for labour migrants
As a migrant worker, you face an increased risk of wage problems. Some employers or temp agencies try to pay insufficient wages, make unjustified deductions for housing or transport, fail to pay overtime, or circumvent the minimum wage. It is important to know that all these practices are illegal.
As a labour migrant, you have exactly the same wage rights as Dutch employees. This means that you are entitled to at least the statutory minimum wage, 8% holiday allowance, payment for all worked hours including overtime, and a clear payslip. If your employer does not comply with these rules, you can file a complaint with the Netherlands Labour Authority.
Legal assistance with wage claims
At Arslan Advocaten, we regularly assist employees and labour migrants in recovering unpaid wages. Our lawyers have extensive experience with wage claim proceedings and are familiar with the specific problems that labour migrants encounter. We can help you with calculating your wage claim including the statutory increase, sending a letter of formal notice, initiating proceedings before the sub-district court judge, and contacting the Labour Inspectorate. Feel free to contact us without obligation for an initial advice consultation.