News item | 17-06-2022 | 16:15
The cabinet wants to make work more rewarding and is introducing an extra increase in the minimum wage for the first time since its introduction in 1969. The increase in the minimum wage will take effect next year and will be done in three steps. This means that the minimum wage in 2023 is expected to increase by 2.5% to 11.94 euros gross per hour for a 36-hour working week. In the Spring Memorandum, the cabinet also decided to increase all benefits linked to the minimum wage, such as the AOW, social assistance and the Wajong Act. This is what the Ministers Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment and Schouten for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions write in a letter to the House of Representatives.
The coalition agreement ‘Looking at each other, looking ahead to the future’ states that the government will increase the minimum wage in steps by a total of 7.5% by 2025. This will bring the minimum wage (according to current expectations) to 13.18 in 2025. euros gross per hour. Due to the high inflation, the government has decided to start this increase earlier. That is why the minimum wage will rise by 2.5% next year (2023) to 11.94 euros gross per hour for a 36-hour working week. The adjustment of the minimum wage is regulated by an Order in Council (AMvB) instead of an amendment to the law. An Order in Council can be realized more quickly and also means that all benefits linked to the minimum wage, such as social assistance and the Wajong, increase automatically.
Minister Van Gennip: ‘I think it is important that work pays off. People who are committed to contributing to society should also be left with something. High inflation is making it increasingly difficult for many people to make ends meet. The increase in the minimum wage – and its entry into force earlier – will help with that.’
Statutory minimum hourly wage
The minimum wage is currently set on a monthly basis. Therefore, an employee who works 40 hours a week has a lower minimum hourly wage than someone who works 36 hours a week. To change this, the PvdA and GroenLinks previously submitted a private member’s bill for a statutory minimum hourly wage. This proposal was embraced by the cabinet in the coalition agreement and recently also adopted in the House of Representatives. The statutory minimum hourly wage will be introduced on January 1, 2024. As a result of the proposal, the minimum hourly wage will then be the same, regardless of the length of the working week. As a result, working more hours always leads to a higher income.