Part-time work: the rules to check before your first shift

Begin with your legal work route

Do not begin with the vacancy title. Begin with the wording on your passport or residence document. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals can normally work in the Netherlands without a work permit, although Dutch rules on pay, rest and working conditions still apply. If you hold a Dutch residence permit for study and you are from outside those countries, paid employment normally requires a tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV) obtained by the employer.

For a student residence permit, the employment choice is normally either a maximum of 16 hours a week throughout the year or full-time work in June, July and August. Treat those as alternative routes, not two allowances that can be combined. The limit concerns hours actually worked, so keep your own weekly record even when the employer uses a scheduling app.

• EU, EEA or Swiss national: no TWV is normally required.
• Non-EU student residence permit: the employer normally applies to UWV for a TWV.
• Different residence document: read the work endorsement on the back and verify it with IND before accepting the shift.
• More than one employer: each employer must meet the permit rules that apply to that employment.

Do not work while the permit is still “being arranged”

A verbal promise that the paperwork is easy is not permission to work. UWV says the employer applies for the TWV and can expect a decision within five weeks after a complete application is received. A student TWV is valid for a maximum of one year. Ask for a copy after it is issued and check the employer, your name, the job and the validity dates before the first paid trial, training session or shift.

Build the waiting period into the recruitment plan. Agree a start date that is conditional on approval and do not accept cash work “until the permit arrives.” Working without the required permit or beyond the permitted hours can lead to an employer fine and a report to IND, which may contact your educational institution.

1. Send the employer a clear copy of the work endorsement on your residence card.
2. Ask in writing whether a TWV is required and who will submit it.
3. Agree the hours route: no more than 16 hours a week, or full-time in June, July and August.
4. Wait for the decision and obtain a copy of the permit.
5. Check the permit dates before completing any work, including a paid trial shift.

Separate an internship from an ordinary side job

An employer cannot turn ordinary staff work into an “internship” simply by changing the label. When an internship is required for a programme you follow in the Netherlands, no TWV is normally needed, but the student, employer and educational institution must have an internship agreement. Other placements can follow different permit rules, so obtain confirmation from the institution before starting.

Self-employment is another distinct route. IND states that a holder of a study residence permit may work as a self-employed person while continuing to meet the permit conditions, without a TWV, but registration with KVK, tax obligations and possible Dutch health-insurance consequences still apply. A delivery or freelance platform calling you an independent contractor does not remove those responsibilities. Ask KVK, the Tax Administration and, where necessary, SVB to assess the real arrangement before relying on it.

Get the offer onto one page before saying yes

Ask for the employer's legal name, the entity that will pay you, work location, role, start and end date, hourly rate, guaranteed hours, scheduling window, probation, notice rules and payment date. Also ask which collective labour agreement, or cao, applies. A café, employment agency and delivery platform can create three very different legal relationships even when the practical work looks similar.

Dutch employers must provide the most important employment details in writing. Core information—including the parties, workplace, job, start date, pay, normal or variable hours and call-in arrangements—must be provided within one week after work starts. Information about holiday entitlement, holiday allowance, contract type, notice procedures, pension and the applicable cao must follow within one month where relevant. It is still safer to request and read all of it before the first shift.

• Confirm whether the contract is fixed-hours, min-max, zero-hours, temporary or permanent.
• Ask whether breaks are paid and whether closing or preparation time is recorded.
• Ask whether the advertised rate excludes or includes holiday allowance and holiday hours.
• Check whether travel, work clothing, meals or equipment create deductions.
• Keep the vacancy, offer, contract and relevant WhatsApp or email messages.

Use the current hourly minimum, not an old monthly figure

The Netherlands has a statutory hourly minimum wage. There is no longer one fixed statutory monthly, weekly or daily minimum. The legal floor depends on age and is updated every 1 January and 1 July, so a screenshot from a previous semester can be wrong.

If you turn 21 during the contract, the adult rate applies from your birthday. A cao or the employer's own scale may require more than the statutory minimum. “Market rate” in a TWV application is not permission to pay less than the legal or cao minimum.

Test the offer with a real calculation

Suppose a student aged 21 or older is offered 12 paid hours a week at the July 2026 minimum. The base calculation is 12 × €14.99 = €179.88 gross a week. The statutory holiday allowance is normally at least 8% of gross pay, so that week builds approximately €14.39 in holiday allowance. If it is paid on top, the combined gross value is about €194.27 before payroll deductions.

This example exposes misleading “all-in” offers. For someone aged 21 or older, an advertised €15 hourly rate that already includes 8% holiday allowance would leave a base rate below the €14.99 statutory minimum. Ask for a pro-forma payslip and a written breakdown. Net pay cannot be predicted from the headline rate alone because payroll tax, tax credits, pension arrangements and personal circumstances differ.

Read the first payslip line by line

A payslip should show the hourly wage, gross salary, deductions, net pay, the employer and employee names and the payment date. Compare the paid hours with your own record, then check holiday allowance, holiday-hour accrual, overtime or irregular-hours supplements, travel reimbursement and every deduction. The net minimum wage must be paid through a bank account; an employer should never need your bank login or DigiD credentials.

Save each payslip outside the employer portal and keep the annual income statement, or jaaropgave, normally provided near the start of the following year. If a number is unclear, ask payroll for the calculation in writing while the shift roster is still available.

• Hours scheduled are not always the same as hours paid.
• Preparation, mandatory meetings and closing work should not disappear from the record.
• Holiday allowance is normally at least 8% of gross annual pay.
• Statutory annual leave is at least four times the number of hours worked per week, calculated proportionally for part-time work.

Know the rules behind a zero-hours contract

Flexibility does not mean the employer can change every shift without consequence. Under the current on-call rules, a call should normally arrive at least four days in advance in writing or electronically. A cao may shorten that period, but not below 24 hours. If the employer cancels or reduces the call within the applicable notice period, you are normally still entitled to the pay from the original call.

Where the contract is for fewer than 15 hours a week and the working times are not fixed, each call normally produces at least three hours of pay, even if the shift lasts only one or two hours. After 12 months on an on-call contract, the employer must offer fixed hours based on the average worked. Regular hours can also create a legal presumption about the size of the job after three months; obtain advice before making a claim because the facts and cao matter.

• Keep screenshots of calls, changes and cancellations.
• Check that the payslip identifies the agreement as on-call where required.
• Do not confuse “no guaranteed hours” with “no employee rights.”
• Ask how an exam-period availability change must be submitted.

Calculate the real weekly cost

A shift affects travel, study time, taxes and possibly health-insurance obligations or benefits. Do not budget from gross pay alone. Subtract bus fares, bicycle maintenance, required clothing, an extra meal and the cost of arriving home after the last practical connection. Then add unpaid break time and commute time to find the effective value of the full block.

For example, a four-hour paid shift with a 30-minute unpaid break and 40 minutes of travel each way occupies almost six hours. Compare offers by gross pay per occupied hour as well as by legal hourly wage. A slightly lower headline rate near campus can leave more money and usable study time than a late shift outside the city.

Protect rest and study progress

For employees aged 18 and over, the Working Hours Act generally permits no more than 12 hours in a day or 60 in a week, with lower averages over longer periods. It also normally requires at least 11 hours of daily rest and 36 consecutive hours of weekly rest. A shift longer than 5.5 hours normally brings a 30-minute break; after more than 10 hours, at least 45 minutes. A cao and sector-specific rules can affect the details.

Those labour-law ceilings are not a target and do not replace the stricter 16-hour student-employment limit where it applies. Non-EU students with a study residence permit must also obtain at least 50% of the credits for each study year unless the institution accepts a valid reason for insufficient progress. Put lectures, labs, assessment weeks and recovery time into the calendar before offering availability.

• Choose a personal weekly maximum below the legal ceiling.
• Block compulsory classes and exam weeks before the roster opens.
• Decline a pattern that repeatedly removes the required rest.
• Review work hours with a study adviser before missed credits become a residence issue.

Arrange health insurance when work begins

An international student who is only studying is often not insured under the Dutch Long-term Care Act and may use appropriate home-country or private cover. Starting paid work can change that position and can make Dutch basic health insurance compulsory. Paid internships and cross-border situations can be more complicated, so request an SVB Wlz assessment when the answer is unclear instead of guessing from another student's situation.

Contact a Dutch insurer promptly when employment starts and ask from which date coverage is required. If you are at least 18, have Dutch basic health insurance and meet the income and other conditions, you may qualify for zorgtoeslag, the healthcare benefit. Update the Benefits Office when estimated annual income changes; an allowance calculated from an old estimate may later have to be repaid.

Treat payroll tax as a reconciliation, not a mystery

The employer withholds payroll tax and national-insurance contributions and reports the wage to the Tax Administration. The loonheffingskorting payroll tax credit can raise monthly net pay, but it should normally be applied to only one simultaneous income. If two employers both apply it, too little tax may be withheld and the difference can return as a tax bill.

Check the credit on each payslip, save every jaaropgave and read any invitation to file an income-tax return. Students who moved into or out of the Netherlands during the year, have foreign income or work partly as a freelancer can have a more complex return. Use Mijn Belastingdienst or an official appointment rather than assuming that a refund advertised by a commercial service is guaranteed.

Know what happens when you are ill

Ask for the sickness-reporting procedure before you need it. Employees generally have rights to continued pay during illness; the statutory starting point is at least 70% of normal wages for up to two years, with the first year supplemented to the minimum-wage level when necessary. A cao or contract can provide more. For a zero-hours worker, the precise payment can depend on whether the illness falls within a call-up period and whether a regular-hours claim exists.

Report illness through the stated channel and on time. You do not have to give the employer your diagnosis, although you can be asked when you expect to return and what work may still be possible. Medical assessment belongs with the company doctor or occupational-health service, not a shift manager.

Search locally without lowering the standard

University of Groningen students can use UG Career Services for the career database, workshops, CV support, mock interviews and individual coaching. Hanze lists student-job resources through its international student pages. The International Welcome Center North also points to English-friendly vacancies and local sectors, while the Groningen–North Drenthe Work Center at Harm Buiterplein 1 offers questions about work and education; check its current opening hours before visiting.

Use job boards to discover an employer, then verify the employer and terms independently. Hospitality, retail, delivery, customer service and student-assistant work are common routes, but none is exempt from permit, wage, insurance or safety rules. A recruiter who says international students “do not need contracts” is identifying a risk, not offering flexibility.

Escalate a problem with evidence

Start by writing a dated, factual question to payroll or the manager: identify the shift, expected amount and discrepancy, and attach the relevant roster or payslip. Do not hand over originals. If the answer does not resolve underpayment, excessive hours, unsafe work or illegal employment, the Netherlands Labour Authority accepts reports online and by telephone at 0800 51 51; from abroad, call +31 70 333 56 78. Call 112 when there is acute danger.

Work in NL information points provide free explanations about contracts, wages, housing, healthcare and taxes, with multilingual help where possible. Het Juridisch Loket offers free first-line legal information and personal advice for people who meet its financial conditions; its national number is 0800 8020. Your union, legal-expenses insurer, university international office or student legal support may offer another route.

• Keep the contract, TWV, rosters, time records, payslips and bank payments together.
• Write down who said what and when; avoid secretly recording or publishing personal data without legal advice.
• Do not sign a resignation or settlement agreement under time pressure.
• Never pay a recruiter for a promised permit or give an employer access to your bank account or DigiD.

Use a first-shift and first-payslip checklist

1. Before accepting: verify the work route, employer, rate, contract type, cao and realistic weekly time.
2. Before starting: obtain the signed contract and, when required, a copy of the approved TWV.
3. On the first shift: record start, finish and break times and learn the safety and sickness procedures.
4. After each shift: compare your record with the scheduling system while corrections are still possible.
5. At the first payment: match hours, base rate, supplements, holiday allowance, deductions and bank payment.
6. Within the first month: resolve health insurance, payroll tax credit and any missing written terms.
7. Each teaching block: review work hours against deadlines, rest and credit progress.