What changes are there in employment law in 2025?

Changes as of January 1, 2025

End of enforcement moratorium on sham self-employment

The enforcement moratorium on sham self-employment will end on January 1, 2025. The main consequences are:

• As of January 1, 2025, the normal rules for imposing correction obligations, additional tax assessments and fines will apply again for the Tax and Customs Administration in the enforcement of the qualification of the employment relationship for wage tax purposes. The enforcement will primarily focus on the wage tax at the clients' side. The Tax and Customs 
• Administration will take into account the previous enforcement moratorium in the enforcement and will therefore only correct retroactively to the date of the lifting, namely 1 January 2025. 
• With regard to the period before January 1, 2025, the Tax and Customs Administration, taking into account the limitation period of five years, can only impose corrections if there is malice or if a previously given instruction has not been followed (or not sufficiently). In those cases, corrections and additional tax assessments can be imposed up to the moment when there was malice or up to the moment when the Tax and Customs Administration gave the instruction. 
• The government wants to prevent well-intentioned clients from being confronted with fines immediately after the lifting of the enforcement moratorium. Therefore, it has promised to ensure a 'soft landing'. The Tax and Customs Administration will not impose any default and culpability fines for the qualification of the employment relationships in 2025. From 2026, the normal rules for imposing fines will apply. 
• The assessment of model agreements by the Tax and Customs Administration will be terminated. All current approved model agreements will be respected until the end of 2029. Parties can still use them until the end date. However, they only provide certainty if the client and the self-employed person actually work as agreed in the model agreements. If it turns out that a model agreement does not comply with the law and regulations, or no longer complies due to new judicial decisions or new legislation, the Tax and Customs Administration will withdraw the approval. Furthermore, the Tax and Customs Administration can withdraw an approved model agreement if it turns out that the parties do not work according to the conditions in the agreement.

On December 18, 2024, the Tax and Customs Administration published the Enforcement Plan Employment Relationships Tranche 2025. This can be found here.

The government also wants - apart from resuming the enforcement - to create more clarity about the question when one works as an employee or as a self-employed person. This is regulated in the Bill on Clarification of the Assessment of Employment Relationships and Presumption of Law (WVBAR). This codifies the relevant case law on the qualification of employment relationships in a more clear(er) assessment framework. On November 11, 2024, the Council of State published a critical opinion on this draft bill. The Minister of SZW intends to send the bill to the House of Representatives in Q1 2025. In the (draft) annual planning of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, however, it states that this is subject to reservation. It is not clear what this means for the timelines of this bill.

30% scheme becomes expat scheme

From 2025, the Tax and Customs Administration uses the term expat scheme for what has been called the 30% scheme until now.

As of January 1, 2024, the 30% scheme has been scaled back. The maximum amount of the exempted allowance is no longer 30% over the entire duration, but a decreasing percentage of up to 30% during the first 20 months, up to 20% during the next 20 months and 10% during the last 20 months of the duration. This change will be reversed as of 2025. In the Tax Plan 2025, the government proposes another scaling back. The maximum percentage of the exempted allowance will be reduced from 30% to 27% as of 2027. This percentage will then apply for the entire (remaining) period of 60 months. For 2025 and 2026, the maximum percentage remains 30%. In addition, the government intends to increase the salary standard for incoming employees by general administrative order as of January 1, 2027 from EUR46,107 to EUR50,436 and the salary standard for incoming employees under the age of 30 with a master's degree in academic education or an equivalent foreign degree from EUR35,048 to EUR38,338.

The transitional arrangement is as follows:

CO2 reporting work-related personal mobility

Employers with 100 or more employees are obliged to report on the CO2 emissions of work-related personal mobility. This includes both commuting and business travel. Employers must submit the report for 2024 to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) by June 30, 2025 at the latest. Employers can choose to report on the whole of 2024 or only on the second half of 2024. More information can be found on the website of RVO

WW premium and overtime

The premium differentiation in the WW (Unemployment Insurance Act) means that employers pay a lower premium for permanent employment contracts and a higher WW premium for flexible contracts. To offer employers flexibility, an employee may work 30% overtime in addition to the hours of the permanent employment contract. If more than 30% extra is worked on average in addition to the fixed number of hours, the high WW rate will apply for the entire year with retroactive effect. The larger employment contracts where an employee works an average of 35 hours or more per week are exempt from this rule. As of January 1, 2025, this exemption will be extended to employment contracts of an average of 30 hours or more per week. This will increase the internal flexibility of companies.

Abolition of the low-income benefit (LIV) and changes in the wage cost benefits (LKV's)

• LIV: As of 1 January 2025, the LIV will expire. Employers will still receive the LIV for 2024 in 2025. 
• LKV re-employment of disabled employee: As of January 1, 2025, the criteria for the LKV re-employment of disabled employee will be relaxed. As a result, employers will be eligible for this LKV in more cases. 
• LKV older employee: The LKV older employee will be phased out gradually for employment relationships that started on or after January 1, 2024. Part of this is that as of 1 January 2025, the amount of the LKV older employee will be reduced. This LKV will expire as of 2026. For employment relationships that started before January 1, 2024, nothing will change.

AOW age unchanged in 2030

The AOW age for 2025-2027 is 67 years and for 2028 and 2029 67 years and three months. Minister Van Hijum (Social Affairs and Employment) has announced that the AOW age in 2030 will remain unchanged at 67 years and three months. For more information, see the website of the central government.

Indexations

• Increase in minimum (hourly) wage

As of 1 January 2025, the minimum wages per hour will be indexed as follows:

• Increase in maximum transition payment

In 2025, the maximum transition payment amounts to EUR98,000 gross (2024: EUR94,000 gross) or a maximum of one year's salary if the salary is higher than that amount.

• Tax-free home working allowance

The tax-free home working allowance will be increased to a maximum of EUR2.40 per day in 2025 (2024: EUR2.35).

• Increase in WNT remuneration maxima

For 2025, the general remuneration maximum under the Act on the Standardisation of Top Incomes (WNT) has been set at EUR246,000 (2024: EUR233,000). The WNT limits the remuneration of top officials in the (semi)public sector. Lower maxima have been set for the sectors of education, culture, media, housing corporations, health care and development cooperation. For health insurers, a higher maximum applies. On topinkomens.nl, an overview has been published of the WNT remuneration maxima for 2025. The new Implementation Regulation WNT 2025 and Policy Rules WNT 2025 have also been published. These regulations have been amended on some points. For example, the premium for directors' liability insurance is excluded from the remuneration and an explanation is given of the consequences of the WNT for a (fixed) compensation for damages due to irregular termination agreed between the parties or awarded by the court.

• RVU threshold exemption

The RVU threshold exemption amounts to EUR2,273 gross per month in 2025 (2024: EUR2,182 gross per month).

• Maximum pensionable salary

The maximum pensionable salary as of January 1, 2025 remains unchanged and is provisionally set at EUR137,800 gross (2024: EUR137,800 gross). For more information, see the website of the Tax and Customs Administration. The final determination still has to be published.

For an overview of the (other) tax changes in the field of labour and income as of January 1, 2025, see the Tax and Customs Administration's Newsletter on Wage Tax and National Insurance Contributions 2025.

Other (expected) legislative changes

In 2025, a number of important labour law bills are expected to be submitted to the House of Representatives. The following timelines can be derived from the (draft) annual planning of the Ministry of SZW:

• Bill on admission of the provision of labour

This bill, which is already being processed by the House of Representatives, introduces an admission system for temporary employment agencies and other companies that provide labour. The minister will investigate in the coming months which organisation will implement this law. The original entry into force of this bill was intended as of January 1, 2026 and enforcement of the admission obligation as of January 1, 2027. This timetable is no longer feasible. The minister aims to share the new timetable with the House of Representatives in January 1, 2025.

• Bill on more certainty for flexible workers

This draft bill contains various measures to give flexible workers more certainty about their income and schedule and to prevent unfair competition on labour conditions. On November 11, 2024, the Council of State published a critical opinion on this draft bill. The Minister of SZW intends to send the bill to the House of Representatives in Q1 2025. However, in the annual planning it states that this is subject to reservation. It is not clear what this exactly means for the timelines of this bill.

• Bill on clarification of the assessment of employment relationships and presumption of law

This draft bill clarifies when one works as an employee and when as a self-employed person. On November 11, 2024, the Council of State published a critical opinion on this draft bill. The Minister of SZW intends to send the bill to the House of Representatives in Q1 2025. However, in the annual planning it states that this is subject to reservation. It is not clear what this exactly means for the timelines of this bill.

• Bill on implementation of EU Directive on Pay Transparency

The EU Directive on Pay Transparency aims to combat wage discrimination and help close the gender pay gap in the EU. The implementation bill will be sent to the House of Representatives in Q3 2025.

• Compensation scheme for transition payment

The government intends to limit the compensation for employers in case of dismissal due to long-term incapacity for work to small employers (less than 25 employees). The bill will be sent to the House of Representatives in Q4 2025.

• Bill on implementation of EU Directive on Platform Work

The EU Directive on Platform Work aims to improve the working conditions of persons who perform platform work. The implementation bill will be sent to the House of Representatives in Q4 2025.

• Bill on modernisation of the non-compete clause

This draft bill provides for a tightening of the rules regarding the non-compete clause, with the aim of balancing the free choice of employment of employees and the protection of the business interest of the employer. The bill will be sent to the House of Representatives at the earliest in Q4 2025.

Bill on compulsory insurance for loss of income due to incapacity for work for self-employed persons

This draft bill regulates a compulsory insurance against loss of income due to incapacity for work for self-employed persons. The Minister of SZW intends to send the bill to the House of Representatives in Q3/Q4 2025.