The new statutory minimum wages as of 1 January 2024 have been announced. As of 1 January 2024, the statutory minimum wage will increase with 3.75%. As of 1 January 2024, the statutory minimum hourly wage will be:
| Age | Per hour |
| 21+ | €13,27 |
| 20 years | €10.62 |
| 19 years | €7.96 |
| 18 years | €6.64 |
| 17 years | €5.24 |
| 16 years | €4.58 |
| 15 years | €3.98 |
As of 1 January 2024, the central government will only publish a statutory minimum wage per hour. The Minimum Wage Act changes per 1 January 2024 and from that moment on the Netherlands has a statutory minimum hourly wage, where previously there was a legal minimum monthly wage from which the hourly wages were calculated.
The statutory minimum hourly wage as of 1 January 2024 is derived from a working week of 36 hours. For the sectors covered by the Collective Labour Agreement for Retail Non-Food, the introduction of a minimum hourly wage means an additional increase of 5.6% for fashion, shoes, sports, jewellers, perfumeries, tobacco and convenience stores and garden centres and 2.7% for the home furniture sector. The adjustment to a statutory hourly wage does not affect the working week, which will therefore continue to exist as 38 or 37 hours per week according to the collective labour agreement.
Calculation of the monthly wage
There is currently a lot of fuss about the monthly minimum wage. There is no longer a formal minimum wage per month. But the government does recognize that it is not always desirable to vary the minimum wage monthly, depending on the number of workable hours per month. A minimum wage per month is therefore permitted, but the government’s knowledge document describes a new calculation method:
Number of workable days per year * (hours per week / days per week) * 13.27 euros / 12 months. And the end result is rounded up to two decimal places.
In other words, in 2024: 262 * ( 38 / 5 ) *13.27 /12 = 2201.94 euros per month with a 38-hour working week.
This differs from the current method of calculating the monthly wage, which is based on 164,67 hours per month for a 38-hour working week and leads to a salary of €2185,17 per month. If you still apply the current method as of 1 January 2024, it may be so that a correction is to be applied when the employee leaves the service or at the end of the year. We recommend to also consult your payroll provider for advice. We will give a further update on this topic when we have more information.
For wages higher than the statutory minimum wage the calculation of the CLA can still be applied.
