Dutch Pay Transparency Laws: Understanding The EU Pay Transparency Directive

Starting in 2027, employees in the Netherlands are expected to receive a new right, one that many have been quietly wanting for years: a much clearer view of what colleagues in similar roles are paid, thanks to the EU Pay Transparency Directive.

What the Dutch pay transparency law does mean is that staff will be able to request average compensation information for people who do the same or essentially equivalent work. Job applicants also get more certainty, because salary ranges will become required in job offers, and employers will no longer be allowed to ask about your past salary beyond a certain point.

For expats, this can be massive. It can already feel confusing when you are new here; holiday allowance, pensions, collective labor agreements, etc., etc., and phrases like “market conform salary” make it tricky to know if the offer is fair or not. With this rule, hiring and pay may get a tad more transparent.

Why Is All This Happening?

Not yet enshrined in Dutch employment law, this shift stems from the EU Pay Transparency Directive, adopted in 2023. The main idea is pretty plain: equal pay for equal work, or work that is equivalent.

That principle is already in place, but in practice, pay gaps still persist. All over the EU, women earn around 13% less per hour than men. The Netherlands is very close to that level, in fact.

One reason the gaps keep popping up is that salary information is often kept out of view. If nobody knows how pay is actually set, unfair differences can stay hidden for years. The new rules aim to make pay structures more visible and also harder to use as a shield.

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What Rights Will Expat Employees Have Under The EU Pay Transparency Directive?

Starting in 2027, people working in the Netherlands will be able to ask their employer for insight into pay levels within the organization.

You will be able to request:

• the average salary for coworkers doing the same work, or carrying out similar duties
• a split-up of that average according to people’s gender
• clear information on how salaries, as well as pay raises, are determined

According to the EU Pay Transparency Directive, your employer must provide this information within two calendar months.

This does not mean you can see someone’s payslip. Instead, it shows whether your pay matches that of others performing similar duties. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I getting paid fairly?” but you only had hallway banter to rely on, this can actually help you.

What Will Change For Job Applicants?

Job seekers get something too. Employers will have to disclose the salary, or at a minimum, the salary range, for a role before the negotiation stage. So in practice, the salary range should appear in job advertisements or be shared early on in the process. It also saves time. If a company budget is much lower than what you assumed, you know sooner, before you go through interviews, and any test or ‘task’ that takes the whole weekend.

Employers will also no longer be allowed to ask candidates about their previous salary. Prior pay, especially from another country, shouldn’t be a factor for your Dutch salary. A role should receive the correct reward for what you actually do, your capabilities, the level of responsibility, and market value. It should not be based on what you earned before.

What Employers Have To Do Soon

Employers will have to make their pay systems more objective and also more open.

Employers must be capable of explaining how the following is calculated:

• Initial salaries
• Salary growth prospect
• Pay linked to promotions
• Why similar roles can and may differ still

These points need to be clearly written, gender-neutral, and framed in terms of measurable criteria. Some types of employers may need to publish salary rules for the organization, for example, via interrnal communication, so employees can readily view them.

For bigger employers, there are extra duties to perform. If an organisation has over 100 employees, it must report pay differences between men and women at certain times and show this to its employees and specific authorities.

If a pay gap of 5% or more appears across comparable roles and the employer doesn’t have a strong enough reason, the business must take action, such as conducting a pay assessment with the relevant representatives, and aim to close this discrepancy.

In other words, beginning in 2027, the Dutch pay transparency law gives expat workers more power to understand, compare, and challenge pay decisions. For expats navigating a new job market and employment law, this can make a difference.