News item | 02-06-2026 | 06:55
Every employee in the Netherlands is entitled to at least the statutory minimum wage. However, there are situations in which it cannot be determined whether this wage has actually been paid. This mainly occurs among migrant workers. There will therefore be a law that ensures that employees will still receive the minimum wage in that case. From now on it is also the employer who must prove that the minimum wage has been paid. Instead of the employee or the Labor Inspectorate having to prove that there has been underpayment. This is what Minister Vijlbrief of Social Affairs and Employment writes in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Minister Vijlbrief: “An employer must always ensure a fair wage and safe work. Everyone in the Netherlands is entitled to this, no matter where you come from. This law will better protect employees against employers who underpay their staff.”
The Labor Inspectorate monitors compliance with the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act. Due to inadequate administration at the employer, it is not always possible to determine whether there has been underpayment. In these cases, the Labor Inspectorate may impose a fine for failure to provide the requested information or to provide it on time. But because underpayment cannot be determined, these employees do not receive the wages they are entitled to.
Reverse the burden of proof
Minister Vijlbrief wants to ensure that people get what they are entitled to in two different ways. This must be regulated by law through a so-called legal presumption. The burden of proof is reversed through the legal presumption.
If the Labor Inspectorate suspects that employees are being paid too little and the employer does not provide the requested administration, it may calculate a fictitious underpayment of wages. She can then oblige the employer to pay this money. In this way, the legal presumption helps employees to actually receive their wages.
Also in court, it is the employer who will soon have to prove that the statutory minimum wage has been paid. At this time, the burden of proof still lies with the employee. Employees experience that it is difficult to prove that there is underpayment. Especially when the employee has received few documents from the employer.
Follow-up
The introduction of the legal presumption is an additional instrument that can help vulnerable employees to actually receive their earned wages. The legal presumption was also one of the recommendations of the Boosting Team for the Protection of Labor Migrants. In the coming months, the minister will further develop the legal presumption into a bill.