News item | 16-12-2024 | 15:51
In 2025, a number of rules will change in the area of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. Below you will find an overview of the changes.
Minimum hourly wage
The minimum hourly wage increases due to indexation. The minimum hourly wage for employees aged 21 and over will increase from €13.68 to €14.06 gross per hour. Fixed minimum youth wages apply for employees aged 15 to 20. The minimum youth hourly wages are derived from the statutory minimum hourly wage.
Benefits
All benefits increase through indexation. This includes, among other things, the Participation Act benefits (assistance), IOAW, IOAZ, AOW, ANW, Orphan’s benefitWajong, WW, IOW, WIA, WAO, Sickness Benefits Act and Benefits Act.
Child benefit, childcare allowance and child-related budget
Parents receive higher reimbursements as a contribution to the costs of children. This concerns child benefit, childcare allowance and child-related budget.
Families with an income between approximately €29,400 and €159,200 will be reimbursed for a larger share of childcare costs. As an example: a family with one child in daycare and a joint income of € 45,000 now receives 87.3% of the costs up to the maximum hourly price. In 2025, they will be reimbursed for 96.0% of the costs up to the maximum hourly price.
The maximum hourly prices for childcare will increase. This means that the maximum hourly price for day care is € 10.71, for after-school care € 9.52 and for childminder care € 8.10.
The child budget will increase by a maximum of €75 per child. Child benefit increases due to indexation.
State pension age
The state pension age remains 67.
Childcare language requirements
For pedagogical employees in daycare, a language requirement applies from 1 January. They must have at least level 3F or B2 for oral language skills. This involves speaking, having conversations and listening. The preschool education pedagogical staff must also master level 3F for reading skills.
Free school meals
Free school meals will continue to be available in 2025 for students who need it most. The free school meals program will also be continued in the Caribbean Netherlands.
Lifting the enforcement moratorium
The Tax Authorities will again fully enforce bogus self-employment. Companies and organizations that hire people as self-employed persons for work that is not done independently, but where someone is managed, can in turn be subject to a fine and additional taxes. By fully enforcing labor law again, the government wants to combat exploitation, ensure fair competition between companies and guarantee the sustainability of social security. There is a transition period of 1 year during which employers and workers will not receive a criminal fine if they can prove that they are taking steps against bogus self-employment.
Low-income advantage disappears
The low-income benefit (LIV) that employers receive for people with a low income will expire on January 1.
Changes in wage cost benefit
Employers can receive the wage cost benefit for older employees and employees with a work disability. For older employees (56 years and older), the wage cost benefit will be phased out. This means that the wage cost benefit for older employees for employment relationships that started on or after January 1, 2024 will be reduced (as of January 1, 2025) and abolished (as of January 1, 2026). The wage cost benefit will continue to apply for employment relationships that started before January 1, 2024.
In addition, the criteria will be expanded from the wage cost benefit for relocating an employee with a work disability. With the extension, employers will be eligible for wage cost benefits in more cases when they partially reassign an employee with a work disability to their own position or (fully or partially) elsewhere in the company.
Unemployment insurance premium and overtime
The costs of overtime in the unemployment insurance premium are reduced with large permanent contracts. To offer employers flexibility, an employee may work 30 percent overtime in addition to the hours of the permanent contract. If an employee, in addition to the fixed number of hours, works more than 30 percent overtime on average, the high unemployment rate applies retroactively for that entire year. Larger employment contracts where an employee works an average of 35 hours or more per week are exempt from this rule. This exception will be extended to contracts with an average of more than 30 hours per week.
Transition compensation
Indexation increases the transition payment upon dismissal. The maximum compensation will be €98,000 in 2025.
Caribbean Netherlands
It’s legal minimum wagebenefits and child benefits on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be increased due to price developments in 2024. For Bonaire the minimum wage will increase by 2.5% to $ 10.35 per hour, on St. Eustatius by 3.1% to $ 10.41 per hour and on Saba by 2% to 10.30 per hour. From January 2025, AOV beneficiaries with full accrual will receive $1,525 per month on Bonaire, $1,534 on St. Eustatius and $1,517 on Saba. In addition, social assistance and other benefits will also be adjusted. Child benefit will also increase. Parents and caregivers will now receive $231 per month per child on Bonaire, $223 on St. Eustatius and $230 on Saba. To compensate employers for the higher wage costs due to the increase in the statutory minimum wage in 2024, employer premiums will be reduced by 1.6% as of January 1, 2025.