Same Hourly Rate, Different Money in the Bank: How Dutch Pay Really Works
12 October 2026
It is one of the most common questions we hear: "My friend and I earn the same per hour. Why does he get more money every week?"
The answer is that the hourly rate only decides the first line of your pay. Everything between that line and your bank account can be different, even for two people doing the same job at the same rate.
Once you know the path your pay takes, the difference stops being a mystery, and you know exactly what to ask before you accept a job.
Your pay goes through nine steps
Every Dutch temporary worker's pay follows the same order. The numbers change from job to job; the order never does.
- Base pay: your hourly rate × your normal hours.
- Plus surcharges: extra pay for overtime, shifts, nights or weekends, but only for the hours that qualify.
- Plus holiday pay: at least 8% of your gross wage. Some agencies add it to every weekly payment; others save it and pay it later, often in May.
- Plus paid-out leave: any holiday days or reserved hours paid out in this period.
That gives your gross wage (bruto). Then the deductions start:
- Tax-free allowance for costs abroad: some agencies use a scheme called the ET-regeling, which pays part of your wage tax-free as a reimbursement for the extra costs of working away from home. This can make a real difference to your net pay.
- Payroll tax (loonheffing): how much depends on your pay and on whether the tax credit, the loonheffingskorting, is applied.
- Pension: since 1 January 2026, temporary workers aged 18 and over build a pension through the StiPP fund from their first working week, and a small part is deducted from their pay.
That gives your net wage (netto). Then, if they apply to you:
- Housing: your weekly rent, if you live in accommodation arranged through the agency.
- Transport, insurance and other costs: travel, health insurance and any other agreed deductions.
What is left is the amount you actually see in your bank account.
The same rate, two different weeks
Here is an example of two people, both earning €15.00 an hour gross, both working 40 hours. The figures are illustrative, not a quote: real tax and pension amounts come from your payslip.
| Worker A | Worker B | |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay | €15.00 × 40 = €600 | €15.00 × 40 = €600 |
| Surcharges | None: day shifts only | 16 night hours at +25% = +€60 |
| Holiday pay | Saved for later: €0 this week | Paid weekly, 8% of €660: +€53 |
| Gross this week | €600 | €713 |
| Housing | −€110 | −€95 |
| Transport | −€25 | €0, walks to work |
Before tax, Worker B is already €113 ahead on gross and pays €40 less in housing and transport. Tax, pension and the ET-regeling then widen or narrow the gap, depending on how each agency applies them.
Nobody did anything wrong here. The gap comes from night hours, when holiday pay arrives, and a different set of deductions. The hourly rate was never the whole story.
Five things that change your weekly transfer most
1. How many of your hours carry a surcharge. "+30% shift bonus" sounds big, but if it applies to 8 of your 40 hours, your week goes up by 6%, not 30%.
2. When holiday pay is paid. Paid weekly, it raises every transfer. Saved up, it arrives as a lump sum later. Same money, different timing.
3. Whether the tax credit is applied. The loonheffingskorting can only be applied by one employer at a time. If you have a second job, or it was not requested, less of your pay reaches you each week.
4. The ET-regeling. Whether your agency uses it can change your net pay noticeably, even at the same gross rate.
5. The deductions package. Housing, transport and insurance differ between agencies. Housing costs for temporary workers are capped by law, but even a €15 a week difference adds up to €60 a month.
Questions to ask before you accept a job
- What is the gross hourly rate, and is it the employer's own pay scale?
- How many hours a week can I expect, and which of them carry a surcharge?
- Is holiday pay paid weekly or saved?
- What will be deducted for housing, transport and insurance?
- Is the tax credit applied here?
A good recruiter gives you an estimated weekly range and tells you what it assumes. Be careful with anyone who promises you an exact net amount before you have even seen a payslip.