Negotiating a Contract

After a strenuous selection process (see earlier post!) you finally got an offer?

Congratulations!

Let's see what you can expect from a work contract in the Netherlands and what benefits you can negotiate. These information will help you to understand if what they are offering is good and what else you could ask for.

Standard Benefits

A basic contract, on top of the salary, includes the following benefits:

• Holidays: a minimum of 20 days of paid holiday p/y
• Commuting allowance: up to 100% public transport reimbursement or a certain refund per km if you drive your car to work (up to 60 km per day)
• Pension plan (to which you contribute in a small percentage, around 4%)
• Discount on the health insurance package if you choose the one suggested by your company (there is no public health assistance as in Italy, you have to pay for your own insurance - around 110 € per month for a basic insurance)

Differences with the Italian work contract

There are a few differences with the Italian contract that are worth knowing:

• There is no TFR (the amount paid by Italian companies when you leave the job, either because you quit or retire)
• There are very few bank holidays in the Netherlands! New Year’s Day (1 January), Easter Monday, Queen’s Day (30 April), Ascension Day (40 days after Easter), Whit Monday or Pentecost (7 weeks after Easter), Christmas and Boxing Day (25 and 26 December).
• There are no fixed hourly leaves: you cannot just say "On Friday I am gonna take two hours off". You need to have a personal / familiar / health committment and you have to explain what it is. But in many companies you can ask your boss to stay longer every day and take a short Friday or a few hours off.
• Maternity leave: 16 weeks at 100% of the salary (4 to 6 weeks before the delivery and 10 weeks after the delivery)*. Before the delivery you are also entitled to paid leaves to receive antenatal care (analysis, medical appointments and stuff).

*in Italy you have 22 weeks at 80%

Other special leaves:

• Marriage (including obtaining licenses): 2 days 

• Your 25th and 40th wedding anniversary: 1 and 2 days respectively

• Marriage of your own children, parent or siblings: 1 day

• Birth of your own child (for the father): 2 days

• Death of a family member (partner, parents, children, siblings, parents-in- law): from date of death until funeral

• Death of a relative (grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, brother- and sister-in-law): 1 day

• Taking an exam: travel time and the duration of the exam

• House moving: up to a maximum of 2 days per year, if required

Salary

Let's now discuss the thing that you are most interested in...the salary!

I was very uncertain about what would be a fair salary, and it's difficult to get a clear idea as it really depends on a lot of different factors.

For example, the cost of living can change dramatically between cities, with Amsterdam being the most expensive and Utrecht the second most expensive. It also depends on your field of expertise and your years of experience.

These are the average salaries in the Netherlands for the year 2013 (source):

women: €29,221 - €51,534

men: €34,858 - €65,512

As you can see, 30K is the minimum you should ask, even if you are very junior!

A Software Engineer starts at 35K, if it's senior 45 - 50k. A Project Manager earns around 50k. Managers start at 60-70k.

Taxes & Net Income

How much will you actually pay in taxes?

› 33% on the first 18.628 euros (1,85% taxes & 31,15% social security contributions)

› 41,95% on the next 14.808 euros (10,8% taxes & 31,15% social security contributions)

› 42% on the next 22.258 euros (tax only)

When calculating your net monthly income, bear in mind that:

• There are 12 monthly pays + 1 "Vacation Pay" in June (8% of gross salary)
• If you want to calculate your monthly net income, you should therefore do it WITHOUT including the vacation pay (i.e. 40K > (40K - 3,2K) = 36,8K)

So, for our 40K example, you would be getting a monthly net income of 1919 € (plus the Vacation Pay, which is also taxed). Remember that this does not include the health insurance.

You can find more information about the Dutch tax system here.

The biggest expense you'll have is the accommodation: rent prices for a (decent) studio start at a monthly 700 € in Utrecht and even 900 - 1000 € in Amsterdam. A room in a shared apartment can cost 400 - 600 € or more in Utrecht, and 600 - 800 € or more in Amsterdam. The price usually includes all bills.

30% Ruling

If you will be getting a gross salary of 50K or more, you can apply for the 30% ruling, which is a sort of tax "discount" that is allowed to skilled immigrants, to make up for the expenses that they need to cope with when living in a foreign country. Basically, only 70% of your gross salary gets taxed and the remaining 30% is tax free!

You can find many information about the 30% ruling here.

If you are eligible for the ruling, remember to ask the employer to sponsor you before signing the contract: the application must be signed jointly by you and the employer, and the employer must specify in the employment contract that they are going to apply for the 30% ruling for you.

If you apply within 4 months since the day you start working in the Netherlands, when you are granted the ruling this will be retrospective and they will refund the extra taxes you paid from the beginning. If you apply later than 4 months, the ruling will become effective as of the first day of the month following the month of application.

The ruling is granted by the government, therefore even if the company accepts to apply for you, this does not guarantee that you will be getting the discount.

Hope this was helpful! If you need more information or there is anything missing in this article that you would like to know about, please write in the posts :)

Linda

Application & Selection Process

This post is for those who wish to apply for a job in the Netherlands while living in a different country. How should you apply? What should you expect?

The process really isn't different from Italy or any other country in Europe, but I thought that it's always helpful to be prepared and know what's going to happen. This is my personal experience, and has all been live-tested for you by me :)

1. Looking for a job

Being part of the European Union, applying for a job in the Netherlands from one of the member countries is now very easy and common.

You will find a lot of job postings on major websites like linkedin.com or monster.com, and applying online is a standard procedure. Don't be scared by job descriptions written in Dutch: unless specified, recruiters are very likely to consider international candidates as well.

You can also apply on the corporate website of a specific company, although it is preferable to apply for an available posting: open applications are generally lost in cyberspace.

Your CV should be in English of course, unless you master Dutch!

Don't forget to include a cover letter explaining why you are applying for a job abroad, and specifically why you would like to work in the Netherlands. It's never a good idea to talk about personal matters at this stage, and bear in mind that Dutch people are generally quite reserved with strangers, so even if the reason for your relocation is joining a family member, don't say it! Tell why you appreciate their country (and hopefully you do, as you are willing to work there... :)).

2. Selection Process.

Dutch recruiters are very accurate and reliable: if they are not interested, they will always tell you. It's definitely remarkable, so you're not left in agony...

The selection process is usually divided in 2 to 3 steps: phone call, interview and test.

For some jobs, there may be more than 1 phone call, test or interview, but it depends on the seniority and nature of the role.

A) The Phone Call

If your profile is interesting to the recruiter, you can expect a first contact by email or - more likely - phone call.

WARNING: The phone call will be very long and detailed, and they will ask you a lot of things about your past and current jobs, your skills and expectations: so be prepared! It's always a good idea to study your career's strong points and set your professional goals, so that you are able to comfortably discuss all of this in English without notice.

The person calling will be an HR person, so they won't get too technical, but they will also ask you stuff like "what's your notice period" or "what's your salary expectation". Be sure you know the answer!*

The phone call is so important because it will give the recruiter a lot of information and will help form the first impression of you. If this is negative, then it's very hard to get an interview (shit). But if it's positive, then you will be on top of the applicants list! So be confident, and also try to build your PR skills (they never hurt).

*see next post for useful info ;)

B) The Interview

As you are living abroad, the first interview will probably be held via Skype, WebEx or or join.me to write off travel expenses in case you are not THE ONE.

First of all: install the tool they wish to use in advance, test it and know how to use it :)

Second: connect a little earlier than the agreed time (like, 15 minutes).

Third: make sure that you are in a quiet place where you can relax and talk freely for as long as it's needed (so definitely not the office!). Take a few hours off work if needed, as these interviews can get quite long. Also, look for a nice background: a white wall is always better than a pile of dirty clothes or a nude poster, but if you are looking for a work in the design / art / fashion field, a good looking and tastefully decorated room is desirable.

The interview will be usually divided in 2 parts: the first one is with the HR, the second one with your future boss and possibly someone else from the team. There may be a third part with the boss of your boss (Good sign! Means they already like you!).

C) The Test

Either because you are a foreigner, or because they are less trustful than Italian companies, Dutch employers are generally very likely to ask you to undergo a test. If you are a software developer, they will ask you to write some code; if you are a copywriter, you will have to write some sort of text; and so on.

You HAVE TO accept and take the test, unless you have a very serious reason not to do so (and I can't think of one, if you really want the job), or you will be automatically out of the games. If you have some urgent or unexpected commitment to attend, tell them as soon as possible and ask for the test to be postponed. The test is usually a written assignment to be taken at home.

If you have ANY doubts about the test and how you should do it, ask the HR guy as soon as possible. Do not try to contact your future manager or team unless you've been told so: the HR will contact them for you if needed.

Want to make a big impression? Search the web and their corporate website to find out what the style of the company is, and use it in your assignment: you can generally discover a lot just by reading the "About Us" section. Don't be informal if they are formal, don't be long if they are short, and try to reflect their brand identity.

Not sure if this applies to web developers as well though :)

Respect the deadline (of course) and possibly send the test back 1 to half a day before it. However do not be too early, it shows that you have taken your time to review your test and that you are a meticulous employee.

Always watch out for typos (run a spell-checker just in case) and ask someone you trust to read it and suggest possible improvements (it's not cheating, you would do that at work, too!). Make sure the layout is neat and clear.

When you send your test back, include some notes and explain your choices - we all think in a different ways and others may not be able to understand why you chose an option instead of another. Also, if you motivate your choices in a logical way, the company will be able to tell how you think and - very importantly - a mistake may be forgiven.

D) The On-site Interview

If your company is in a hurry, they may make you an offer even if they haven't met you in person (this happened to me). Generally, however, they will want to meet you before they take a final decision.

If they invite you for an interview, it is legitimate to ask them to pay for any travel expense. Of course if you are very junior, they might not be willing to pay, at least not for everything. Be confident and just ask them to take arrange your visit: there is nothing wrong in this. But don't be too strict - unless yours is a very rare profile, they are likely to find someone else in the Netherlands, so you may need to come to terms.

For example they can pay for the flight and you can pay for the accommodation or (if you are spending the weekend over) you can pay for the extra nights other than the interview's night. These costs may be refundable later, so don't worry about them too much.

Hope you find this useful! The next post will be about the negotiations and what you can expect from a Dutch contract in case you're hired ;)

Linda