Netherlands 2027

Hiring in the Netherlands in 2027: what changes for a foreign employer with a Dutch BV

Pay transparency, an admission for lending out staff, a presumption of employment for cheap freelancers, a higher youth wage, a 12% levy on fossil company cars and a 27% expat ruling. The dates, what each rule asks of you, and which ones are still bills.

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Home›Payroll in the Netherlands›Hiring in the Netherlands in 2027

By Robert Jeffrey, Holdwise B.V., Hoofddorp. Published and checked against the official sources on 20 October 2026.

Summary

Three changes are law and have a hard date. From 31 December 2026 Dutch law presumes an employment contract when someone works for less than €38 per hour, and you must prove the opposite. From 1 January 2027 a company that lends out staff needs an admission under the Wtta; registration for the transitional scheme closes before that date, and fines start on 1 January 2028. From 1 January 2027 an employer pays a levy of 12% of the list price on every petrol, diesel or hybrid company car with private use that was first provided in 2027.

Also on 1 January 2027: the youth minimum wage goes up sharply, the expat ruling is 27%, the Aof premium rises, and the pay transparency act is intended to start, with a ban on asking the last salary and pay gap reporting for employers with more than 100 employees. The Self-employed Act, which gives freelancers a safe harbour, is planned for January 2028.

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The 2027 dates for employers, with their status

DateWhat changesStatus on 20 October 2026
31 December 2026Legal presumption of an employment contract for work below €38 per hour (reference 1 January 2026); the client has the burden of proofLaw (36783), adopted by the Senate on 16 June 2026
31 December 2026Agency workers get employment conditions equal to those of the hirer’s own staff (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers)Law, adopted by the Senate on 7 July 2026
2 December 2026EU platform work directive: transposition deadline; the Dutch draft act was in consultation until 24 August 2026EU law adopted; Dutch act still a draft, the deadline will probably be missed
Before 1 January 2027Wtta: companies that lend out staff register with the Netherlands Authority for the Lending Market for the transitional scheme (inspection report or SNA certificate)Law; the act takes effect on 1 January 2027
1 January 2027Pay transparency: ban on asking the last salary, objective job evaluation, pay gap reporting for employers with more than 100 employeesBill, submitted 21 May 2026; intended date
1 January 2027Youth minimum wage up: 20 years 87.5% (was 80%), 19 years 75% (60%), 18 years 62.5% (50%), 17 years 50% (39.5%), 16 years 40% (34.5%); adult hourly wage for 2027 published in the autumnCabinet decision of 17 April 2026, implemented by decree
1 January 2027Pseudo-final levy of 12% of the list price on petrol, diesel and hybrid company cars with private use; cars provided before 2027 exempt until 31 December 2030Levy: law (Tax Plan 2026); extended exemption: bill (37023)
1 January 2027Expat ruling: maximum 27% tax-free; 30% only for rulings that started before 2024Law (Tax Plan 2025)
1 January 2027Higher Aof premium (disability fund) as the business share of the limited indexation: €1.5 billion in 2027; the Whk premium also rises; percentages to be publishedBill (Tax Plan 2027); premium percentages follow
1 January 2027Work costs scheme: the exemption for a 20% discount on own products (up to €500) ends; free space stays 2% up to €400,000 and 1.18% aboveBill (Tax Plan 2027)
1 January 2027Tax-free commuting allowance €0.25 per kilometre, retroactive to 1 January 2026Bill (Tax Plan 2027)
1 January 2027Cap on the fee an agency may charge when you take over an agency workerLaw (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers)
1 July 2027Equal pay for lent staff as a condition for the Wtta admissionConsultation 8 to 22 October 2026; intended date
1 January 2028Wtta enforcement and fines, also for hirers; flex law in full (zero-hours contracts banned, bandwidth contract up to 130% of the minimum, three-year gap after three temporary contracts); final date of the pension transition; Self-employed Act (intended); UWV compensation for the transition payment endsLaw, except the Self-employed Act (draft in consultation until 29 October 2026)
7 June 2028First pay gap report, for employers with 150 or more employees, on the calendar year 2027Bill
OpenMandatory disability insurance for sole traders (36912; DGAs excluded); bill on non-compete clauses (maximum 12 months, compensation of 50% of the last monthly salary per month)Bills before the House of Representatives; dates unknown

Pay transparency: what you may ask, and what you report

The Dutch act that implements the EU pay transparency directive (2023/970) was submitted to the House of Representatives on 21 May 2026. The EU deadline was 7 June 2026; the Dutch target is 1 January 2027, provided both houses approve. Two duties are for every employer: an objective system for valuing and grading the jobs in your company, and a ban on asking a candidate about the last salary in talks about employment conditions. The third duty is for employers with more than 100 employees: regular reports on the pay difference between men and women, published on a ministry website where employees can look them up. Employers with at least 150 employees report on the calendar year 2027 by 7 June 2028; employers with 100 to 150 employees report in 2031 on 2030.

For a foreign group with a small Dutch BV the job evaluation system is the practical step: a written grading of the Dutch roles, consistent with the salaries you pay. The ministry wants the reporting linked to data that is already in the payroll administration. Our payroll page covers the set-up; the directive’s further rights for employees come with the final text.

Freelancers: the €38 presumption and the Self-employed Act

The act that introduces a legal presumption of employment on the basis of the hourly rate (36783) passed the House on 21 April 2026 with 143 votes and the Senate on 16 June 2026. It takes effect on 31 December 2026 and applies at once to existing contracts. Below €38 per hour (the reference amount at 1 January 2026; the first amount is set by ministerial regulation) an employment contract is presumed, and the client must prove that the person is self-employed. The tax office has enforced the rules on false self-employment since 1 January 2025; after an audit, payroll taxes can be claimed back to that date.

The clarification part of the earlier VBAR bill was dropped. In its place the cabinet put the Self-employed Act (Zelfstandigenwet) in consultation until 29 October 2026: a self-employment test (the person invoices own work, is registered at KVK, the number of clients counts, and cover for business risks counts) and a work-relationship test (free to organise the work, at own expense and risk). Whoever meets both tests, and works that way in practice, is in a safe harbour. The intended start is January 2028. Until then the rule of thumb for a foreign employer is simple to state: a freelancer below €38 per hour who works under your direction is an employee in all but name, so hire that person. See the rules for hiring freelancers.

Lending and hiring staff: the Wtta deadline

The Act on the admission of labour providers (Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten, Wtta) takes effect on 1 January 2027. From that date a company may lend out workers only with an admission from the Netherlands Authority for the Lending Market (Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt), which also appoints the inspection bodies. A company that wants to use the transitional scheme registers before 1 January 2027, with an inspection report or, where that report is late, with the SNA certificate of the Labour Standards Foundation. The Labour Inspectorate starts enforcing on 1 January 2028, and the fine for lending staff while the admission is missing also hits the hirer. A consultation of 8 to 22 October 2026 adds equal pay for lent staff as an admission condition, intended for 1 July 2027.

This touches more companies than agencies. A foreign group that seconds its Dutch BV’s staff to a sister company, a consultancy that places people at clients under the client’s supervision, and every BV that hires from an agency: check the admission of your agency from 2027 and settle the position of your own secondments before the deadline.

Wages, premiums and contracts in 2027

  • Minimum wage. The statutory minimum hourly wage was €14.71 on 1 January 2026 for workers of 21 and older; the amount for 1 January 2027 is published in the autumn. The youth wage rises on 1 January 2027: 20 years from 80% to 87.5%, 19 years from 60% to 75%, 18 years from 50% to 62.5%, 17 years from 39.5% to 50%, 16 years from 34.5% to 40%; 15 years stays at 30%, and apprentices (bbl) get the same percentages. Hospitality, retail and e-commerce with young staff budget for this now.
  • Premiums. The business share of the limited indexation in the Tax Plan 2027 (€1.5 billion in 2027, €1.7 billion a year from 2028) is collected mainly through a higher Aof premium; the Whk premium rises too. The percentages for 2027 are published later in 2026.
  • Work costs scheme. Free space stays 2% of the first €400,000 of the wage sum and 1.18% above; the exemption for a 20% discount on your own products ends. The tax-free commuting allowance becomes €0.25 per kilometre, retroactive to 1 January 2026.
  • Flexible contracts. The Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers, adopted on 7 July 2026, gives agency workers equal conditions from 31 December 2026 and caps the agency’s takeover fee from 1 January 2027. From 1 January 2028 zero-hours contracts are banned, a bandwidth contract may go up to 130% of the minimum hours, the gap after three temporary contracts becomes three years, and agency phase A is capped at 52 weeks.
  • Pension. Every pension scheme must have switched to the new system by 1 January 2028; at insurers and premium pension institutions about 44,000 employer contracts still had to be converted in mid-2026. Vouchers of up to €555 for advice are available to small employers. See the pension duties of a Dutch employer.
  • Non-compete clauses. A bill before the House limits them to 12 months, requires a geographic scope and a written reason, and sets a compensation of 50% of the last monthly salary per month; the start date is unknown.

Company cars and staff from abroad

The 12% levy. From 1 January 2027 an employer pays a pseudo-final levy of 12% a year of the list price (including VAT and BPM; market value for cars older than 25 years) on every petrol, diesel or hybrid passenger car that is also used privately; commuting counts as private use. The levy is for the employer alone and applies as well when a BV provides a car to its director. Vans are outside it, and so are fully electric cars. Cars first provided before 1 January 2027 are exempt until 31 December 2030 under the bill Other Tax Measures 2027. The decision for a fleet is therefore made before the end of 2026: provide the fossil car in 2026, or order electric; the company car calculator compares both.

The expat ruling. An employee recruited from abroad who meets the salary norm gets at most 27% of the salary tax-free from 1 January 2027; 30% survives only for rulings that started before 2024. The salary norm was €48,013 in 2026 (€36,497 under 30 with a master’s degree); the 2027 norms are published at the end of the year. The allowance and the actual extraterritorial costs are alternatives, chosen once a year. The employment contract is signed before the employee relocates. For employees who need a residence permit, the highly skilled migrant salary thresholds of 2026 were €5,942 gross per month (30 and older) and €4,357 (under 30); the 2027 amounts follow on 1 January 2027. See the expat ruling in 2027 and bringing staff to the Netherlands.

Questions employers ask

Does the pay transparency act apply to a Dutch BV with ten employees? +
The two general duties apply to every employer: an objective system for valuing and grading jobs, and a ban on asking a candidate about the last salary in talks about employment conditions. The reporting duty is for employers with more than 100 employees: from 150 employees the first report on the calendar year 2027 is due by 7 June 2028; employers with 100 to 150 employees report in 2031 on 2030. The bill was submitted on 21 May 2026 and is intended to take effect on 1 January 2027, after approval by both houses of Parliament.
I pay freelancers €30 per hour. What changes on 31 December 2026? +
From that date Dutch law presumes an employment contract when someone works for less than €38 per hour (the reference amount at 1 January 2026; the first amount is set by ministerial regulation). The freelancer can rely on that presumption and you, as the client, must prove that it is real self-employment. The act applies at once to existing contracts. The presumption belongs to Dutch employment law, so it matters for work under Dutch law, in practice work in the Netherlands; for a freelancer who works from another country, the law of that country decides.
Do I need an admission under the Wtta when I second staff within my own group? +
The Wtta covers everyone who makes workers available to another company for pay, under that company’s supervision. From 1 January 2027 that requires an admission from the Netherlands Authority for the Lending Market (Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt). A company that wants the transitional scheme registers before 1 January 2027, with an inspection report or the SNA certificate; enforcement with fines, also for the hirer, starts on 1 January 2028. Settle the question for your group secondment before the deadline; registration is the safe step.
What does the 12% levy cost on a company car with a list price of €50,000? +
€6,000 per year, paid by the employer as a final levy, for a petrol, diesel or hybrid passenger car that is also used privately; commuting counts as private use. It comes on top of the addition to the employee’s taxable salary. Cars made available before 1 January 2027 are exempt until 31 December 2030 under the bill. Fully electric cars are outside the levy.
Can a new employee from abroad still get the 30% ruling? +
From 1 January 2027 the tax-free allowance is at most 27% of the salary, for employees recruited from abroad who meet the salary norm. Only employees who had the ruling before 2024 keep 30% for the remaining months of their term. The salary norms for 2027 are published at the end of 2026; in 2026 they were €48,013 and €36,497 for employees under 30 with a master’s degree.
Does the mandatory disability insurance for the self-employed touch my BV? +
The bill (36912, submitted on 24 March 2026) creates a public insurance for sole traders and partners in a partnership, with a benefit of about 70% up to the minimum wage and an opt-out for an equivalent private policy. Directors who own their company (DGAs) are excluded. Parliament has yet to debate it and the start date is open. For your BV the relevance is indirect: a freelancer you hire may ask for a higher rate to pay the premium.

Sources

Which of these dates touch your Dutch team?

Tell us how many people you employ here, whether you work with freelancers or an agency, and which cars you provide. You get a written answer on what to change before 1 January 2027 and what can wait; the price is in the proposal, see written advice. The payroll itself is part of our corporate services.

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