Increase minimum youth wage per July 1, 2019
The government is lowering the age at which employees receive the complete minimum wage from 23 to 21 years. This will happen gradually. Moreover, the wage of employees between 18 and 21 years is increasing. The government takes employers into account who will have to pay more wage to youthly employees.
Action plan
Employers of 22 years and older are entitled to a full legal minimum wage. Employees younger than 22 receive a set percentage of this minimum wage. This is the minimum youth wage. The government is adapting this in two steps.
Step 1
Step 1 went into effect on July 1 2017.
For 18-, 19-, 20- and 21-year-olds, the set percentage of the legal minimum wage increased. The set percentage for 22-year-olds increased to 100%. Since that date, they are entitled to the full legal minimum wage.
Step 2
Step 2 goes into effect per July 1 2019.
For 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds the set percentage of the legal minimum wage increases further. The set percentage for 21-year-olds increases to 100%. They are then entitled to the full legal minimum wage.
Table: minimum wage for a full time work week of 36, 38 and 40 hours (bruto sum per July 1, 2019)
| Full time work week in company | 21 years and above | 20 years | 19 years | 18 years | 17 years | 16 years | 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 hours | € 10,49 | € 8,39 | € 6,30 | € 5,25 | € 4,15 | € 3,62 | € 3,15 |
| 38 hours | € 9,94 | € 7,95 | € 5,96 | € 4,97 | € 3,93 | € 3,43 | € 2,99 |
| 40 hours | € 9,44 | € 7,55 | € 5,67 | € 4,72 | € 3,73 | € 3,26 | € 2,84 |
The hourly wages in this table are rounded upwards. Converting these numbers leads to a slightly higher amount per dag, week or month than the legal minimum wage. The table per month, week and day covers the official amounts.
Table: action plan minimum wage
Age | Before July 1 2017 | Since July 1 2017 | From July 1 2019 |
23 years and above | 100% | 100% | 100% |
22 years | 85% | 100% | 100% |
21 years | 72,5% | 85% | 100% |
20 years | 61,5% | 70% | 80% |
19 years | 52,5% | 55% | 60% |
18 years | 45,5% | 47,5% | 50% |
17 years | 39,5% | 39,5% | 39,5% |
16 years | 34,5% | 34,5% | 34,5% |
15 years | 30% | 30% | 30% |
Table: minimum wage per month fulltime (bruto sum per January 1, 2019 and per July 1, 2019)
Age | January 1 2019 | From July 1 2019 |
22 years and above | € 1.615,80 | € 1.635,60 |
21 years | € 1.373,45 | € 1.635,60 |
20 years | € 1.131,05 | € 1.308,50 |
19 years | € 888,70 | € 981,35 |
18 years | € 767,50 | € 817,80 |
17 years | € 638,25 | € 646,05 |
16 years | € 557,45 | € 564,30 |
15 years | € 484,75 | € 490,70 |
Table: minimum wage per month, week and day (bruto sum per July 1, 2019)
| Age | Per month | Per week | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 years and above | € 1635,60 | € 377,45 | € 75,49 |
| 20 years | € 1308,50 | € 301,95 | € 60,39 |
| 19 years | € 981,35 | € 226,45 | € 45,29 |
| 18 years | € 817,80 | € 188,75 | € 37,75 |
| 17 years | € 646,05 | € 149,10 | € 29,82 |
| 16 years | € 564,30 | € 130,20 | € 26,04 |
| 15 years | € 490,70 | € 113,25 | € 22,65 |
Reason for increase minimum youth wage
Employees younger than 23 years did not receive the full legal minimum wage, but a set percentage of it. The government lowers the age to which the full legal minimum wage applies to 21 years. This happens gradually. The wage for employees between 18 and 21 years also increases.
Reasons for letting the minimum wage apply to employees of 21 years and older:
Parents have a legal caring duty for their children until they are 21 years old. After that, the child needs to take care of himself/herself.
More and more adolescents of 21 and 22 years live by themselves. That means that they have more expenses than adolescents of the same age who live with their parents. With an increased wage, it's easier for them to pay their expenses.
Employers reward their employees more and more on the basis of their education and experience than on the basis of their age. In a few collective employment agreements (cao's) there's already no youth wage scale anymore.
A lot of adolescents already have their diploma when they are 21 and start working full time.
The minimum youth wage for 21- and 22-year-olds did not correspond with the viewpoint that employees need to earn an equal pay for equal work activities.
In a lot of countries, adolescents of 21 years are already entitled to a full legal minimum wage.
Measures for employers
Because of the increase in the minimum youth wage, employers will have to pay more wage to 18-, 19-, 20-, 21- and 22-year-olds. This will lead to higher labor costs, which could, in turn, be of negative influence on the employment opportunities of adolescents.
A few measures to prevent this as much as possible:
Employers get the time to respond to the new situation. These plans are therefore not entered in one, but two steps. After one year, the development in the labor market position of adolescents between 18 and 22 years will be scrutinized. Does it deviate from other age categories? Then the government will take extra measures.
Employers need to start paying 21- and 22-year-olds the full legal minimum wage. The employees who work more than 1248 hours per calendar year are in the position to retrieve a part of the labor costs. This happens through the compensation regulation: Low-income advantage (LIV). From step 1 onwards, this regulation only counts for 22-year-olds. From step 2 onwards, this also counts for 21-year-olds.
Employers need to pay employees between 18 and 21 years a higher minimum wage. They are in the position to retrieve a part of their increased labor costs through the compensation regulation: Reimbursement increase minimum youth wage. From step 2 onwards, this regulation does not apply to 21-year-olds anymore. Employers can then apply the Low-income advantage (LIV) to these employees.
Employers who offer work experience placements do not have to pay the increased minimum youth wage to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds. They do need to pay the minimum wage to 21- and 22-year-olds. They can apply the Low-income advantage (LIV) to these employees and retrieve a part of the labor cost increasement this way..
Legislation
Read more about the plans of the minimum wage in the Wetsvoorstel herziening Wet minimumloon. And the Nota van wijziging wetsvoorstel herziening wet minimumloon.