Living and Working in The Netherlands Cindy Sijmonsma EURES adviser In this presentation I will tell you something about: The Netherlands The labour market Looking for jobs Wages, social security, tax “the Dutchmen” Who does the Netherlands need? What do you need? Living and Working in The Netherlands

The Netherlands 41.526 Km2 26% below sea level Average density of population: 485 per km2 Randstad 1000 per km2 The Hague 5762 per km2 ! the Netherlands is a crowded country, small, only 200 km from east to west and about 300 km from north to south. Many of the 16 million people live in the mid-west part, called de “Randstad”. Is the average density of population 387 a square kilometre, in the Randstad it is about a 1000. (KLIK 2x) Here you will find most of the jobs. And as a consequence it is most difficult to find a place to live in that area. Working & Living in The Netherlands

Labour market Unemployment in the Netherlands is very low at the moment, employers do need workers, but the are still very picky on who to choose. Example of that can be seen in the unemployment rates of elderly people and young workers: the top line shows unemployment in totla, the bottom line the unemployment of young people under 23. They are “cheep” as the legal wages are much lower, depending on age. 15 years old earn 30% of the fixed minimum wages, 20 years old 61%! Working & Living in The Netherlands

Results vacancy-survey 2007 High age is obstruction in finding a job (55+ 1%) Elementary educated often unemployed Temporarily work with a view on a permanent job is most current procedure Working & Living in The Netherlands

In the Netherlands there is need of : Health sector Construction workers, carpenters, masons Gardeners, agricultural and horticultural workers Cooks Electricians Welders, metal workers Warehouse co-worker BA and MA in ICT, Engineering and Marketing Dutch language skills depending on the profession, English or German is a must! Working & Living in The Netherlands

How to find a job? Public Employment Service /CWI = Centre for Work and Income > www.werk.nl Temporary Work Agencies Personal contacts Newspapers > Volkskrant/ Telegraaf Internet Speculative applications  common and successful Working & Living in The Netherlands

Temporary work agencies “Uitzendbureau” Widespread in the Netherlands All kinds of work Often first period in a new permanent job Job seekers don’t pay, employers do Very important: Job seekers never pay fee at a temp agency. If they do want you to pay for administration or other things: don’t trust the agency! Only if you must pay for the accommodation, that might be correct. Working & Living in The Netherlands

How to apply to a job Telephone Letter of motivation accompanied by CV E-mail Application methods: blue collar jobs: less formal, telephone white collar jobs: more formal, written Working & Living in The Netherlands

Letter of motivation Adjusted to the company and the vacancy Not more than one A4 Sell yourself: How can you be of service to the company Ask to be invited for a personal interview Working & Living in The Netherlands

Adjusted to the company/job Curriculum Vitae One/two A4 Personal data Education Experience Hobbies? Adjusted to the company/job Working & Living in The Netherlands

Contracts Permanent labour contract Temporary (Fixed) labour contract Trial period 2 months Temporary (Fixed) labour contract >2 years: trial period 2 months <2 years: maximum trial period 1 month >3 years  permanent >3 in a row  permanent contract Contract with an agency More information at www.werk.nl  Special in the Netherlands: dismissal laws! One of the reasons there are many temporary contracts is the problem employers have dismissing workers with a permanent contract. In the Netherlands employers need to have permission to dismiss an employee before giving notice. Together with the short trial period, employers want to have a chance to find out enough about the new employee! But politics are very keen on changing this system, so it might be different next year. Fixed contracts not more then 3 in a row, the 4th is permanent, unless there was 3 months in between 2 contracts. Also if the contracts are n total more then 3 years it turns into permanent. Working & Living in The Netherlands

Holidays 4 x number of work days a week 2 weeks in a row, rest upon agreement Only 6 bank holidays 8% of the annual salary extra, paid in May Sometimes it looks like people have very many days off. This is because quite often the salary is for 36 or 38 hours, and the workweek is 40 hours. This gives 2 or 4 hours extra a week. Working & Living in The Netherlands

Wages CAO Collective Labour Agreement For different sectors of industry Applies for all workers in the company Temporary work agencies follow this agreement Individual agreement There is a special CAO for temporary work agencies, usually a bit less than the used CAO in the company. It is legal however Working & Living in The Netherlands

Wages Legal minimum wage, depending on age 23 and older fixed minimum wage Monthly €1.356,60 Weekly € 313,05 15-22 years old: lower percentage Indication of net wages 23 and older € 1160,- Income tax and social contributions Between 34 and 52%, depending on income If worked< 1 year, partly refund possible Wages youth employees   Gross minimum wages youth employees  age  % monthly weekly Per day  22 85%  1.153,10 266,10 53,22 21 72.5%  983,55 226,95 38,51 20 61.5%  834,30 192,55 38,51 19 52.5%  712,20 164,35 32,87 18 45.5%  617,25 142,45 28,49 17 39.5%  535,85 123,65 24,73 16 34.5%  468,05 108,00 21,60 30%  407,00 93,90 18,78 Tax: over € 0.0 – € 17.319 41,95% over € 17.319 - € 31.122 42 % over € 31.122 - € 53.064 52 % over € 53.064 Working & Living in The Netherlands

Social Security Old age pension Health insurance Unemployment benefits 2% per annum worked in the Netherlands Health insurance Register with a Dutch health insurer Unemployment benefits Sickness insurance Social allowance, Might not be given to other nationalities Child benefit, must be applied for Pension: 2%per annum worked in the Netherlands + possible private insurance Health: partly paid by your salary, reimbursed by employer. Still a contribution must be made by yourself, for every insured person over 18 years old in your family if they live in the Netherlands Unemployment benefit is compulsory, the employer pays most, and part is deducted from your salary. Same is applicable for sickness insurance, so if you are unfit to work because of sickness, you get paid most f your salary anyhow. Social allowance will be a problem, the community is not due to pay social allowance. Asking for it may cause your compulsory departure from the Netherlands. Child benefits are paid according to Dutch regulations, possibly also for children living in Hungary, but you must apply for it at the SVB No separate legislation for industrial accidents and occupational diseases. Working & Living in The Netherlands

Living and Working – Registration Obtain a BSN at tax office or municipality (Burgerservicenummer= fiscal number) Bring necessary E-forms Staying >3 months: register at the city administration Check for addresses: www.belastingdienst.nl taxes www.werk.nl working in the Netherlands http://eures.europa.eu living&working www.ind.nl work permits BSN: in case of registration at municipality Sofinumber Tax office in case of work <4 months or cross border working Working & Living in The Netherlands

How to find accommodation? Seasonal work: The employer must provide accommodation Regular jobs: Rent and buy Private agencies Public organisations (Woningcorporaties) Rental of furnished houses Cities  countryside Public organisations: Need for registration, system of ‘points’/urgency declaration Houses rented or bought you still have to pay gas, water, electricity etc. Rental of furnished houses: Often for 3 years, quite expensive and mainly via private agencies In cities: rare and expensive Countryside: easier to find and cheaper Working & Living in The Netherlands

‘The Dutchman’ How to cope with: Last year the Argentinean wife of our crown prince said she looked for “the” Dutch identity, but could not find it. Indeed, as probably in Hungary, all 16 million Dutch are different individuals, but still there are some typical things to say about the Dutch Working & Living in The Netherlands

How to cope with: ‘The Dutchman’ Rudeness or “being open and direct”? Dutch always seem to “know better” Poldermodel: meetings Work and home are different worlds Every hour is planned, as well work as free time Being in time is very important Maybe most typical for the Dutch is there open and direct way of communicating. They can be very direct, in a way many people from abroad just think they are very rude. Also they always know better, or so they think. The Netherlands has 16 million football coaches. Dutch do live with a diary, every hour is planned, So if you are expected to arrive for a meeting at 10, o o’clock, don’t be late. Also don’t visit them by 6 PM because they will have dinner then and most of the Dutch don’t expect uninvited guests for dinner. This doesn’t seem to be very hospitable, but Dutch just are used to make an appointment to eat together, and than they are very hospitable. Working & Living in The Netherlands

How to cope with: ‘The Dutchman’ Hierarchy Food habits Traffic Open curtains Birthdays In many companies employer and employees work together on a first name base. Still you must respect the boss for what he/she is! As for food habits: Dutch usually take a box with some slices of bread to work for lunch. And milk is accepted at lunch and breakfast as a healthy drink, also for grown ups. There are many foreign restaurants, but at home it is quite often meat, vegetables and potatoes. The traffic in the cities seems to be very hectic. Mainly because of the many bicycles that seem to stick to no rule at all. So be careful wit them. And do stick to the maximum speed, don’t call hand held and don’t park where you are not allowed to, as the fines for traffic offences are very high! One of the most made remarks by foreigners is: you Dutch always have your curtains open. That is thrue, but please don’t peep to strikingly! If you visit a Dutch family (invited that is), bring some flowers for the hostess and at a birthday a small gift. Birthdays are a family matter, a celebration with all family, friends and neighbours is usual. And you will only be offered 1 piece of cake! Working & Living in The Netherlands

Questions? Thank you very much for your attention! Working & Living in The Netherlands