Why would you want to work for us in The Netherlands?
- Holland is high-quality life, high-tech economy, which has been experiencing a growth spurt in the IT sector, and as a result, there is a persistent shortage of local talent for IT roles.
- The Dutch government has created incentives to stimulate immigration of highly qualified employees. With an equivalent of 3-years bachelor education and a suitable salary, immigration is welcomed, as does the Dutch society in general as immigration has been an aspect of Dutch society for centuries. Holland is consistently the best L2 English spoken country in the world, which facilitates integration of newcomers greatly.
- If you already have an EU nationality, we can employ you directly if you qualify. But if you come from outside the EU, we use the EU Blue Card to facilitate the immigration process which makes it predictable and quicker than other processes, like a private immigration process. (bureaucracy). Education accreditation, legalization of personal papers (around 215 euros, 2 weeks) and the EU Blue Card can take up to 90 days, but as the programme is not too popular, it can be faster as well. (As quick as 40 days) The Blue Card cost is around 290 euros.
- We pay in the top 18% of the IT and Consultancy professions, so that governmental acceptance is on that level is guaranteed. We seek a long-term relationship with our Associates as we don’t like seeing consultants leave because a ‘collegue in the business’ pays a little bit more. We are not cheapskates. We like everybody to be happy and productive.
- When performance (in hours or rates we can charge to end-clients) exceeds expectation, we also share bounty, and bonusses are available.
- As a immigrant into Holland you may be eligable, at the discretion of the Tax Authorities, for a 30% reduction in wage-taxes, resulting in significantly increased take-home pay. We will apply for this ruling, and if no prior registration in Holland is present, is mostly awarded.
- The Dutch really like a good life-work balance, and especially in the higher educted jobs, this results in dedication to work in the workplace, keeping work hours totals limited. We like to be effective, work no more than 8-8.5 hours a day, and go home, keeping part of every day for private life and development.
We expect our consultants to be comfortable with this, and show professionalism on the job. That includes not spending too much time fraternizing with personnel of the end-client, or talking about the financial situation. Not exactly a taboo subject, but frequently source of jealousy, which we like to avoid. Being in the top 1 of 5 earners and 30% tax reduction is, to say it mildly, a source of friction sometimes. - The work we seek is always in the so-called ‘Randstad’ area between Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam. Each roughly 60km from eachother. This keeps commuting time acceptable, and this is the ‘economic heart’ of the country, with 80% of all large end-clients being there. It is recommended to seek lodgings / rent a house in this area. Rental costs of unfurnished houses tends to be in the 1000-1500 euro per month range, the highest expenditure you will have of course. Groceries can vary, but I would say 200-250 per week serves a family well.
- The standard salary will be, depending on when the job starts, about €60.000-70.000 a year. But with higher levels of experience and expectation of segment of the economy, this may end up being higher. With normal income / wage taxes bracketed from roughly 30% and 40% to 52%, a normal take-home pay would be around €3700. (Source: https://www.berekenhet.nl/werk-en-inkomen/nettoloon.html) with a basic government-based pension being built up from the tax payments.
With the 30% ruling granted, the take-home net pay for you would be roughly €4.000 – 4,400 per month. The average income in The Netherlands is €1700 per month, net. The average IT take-home pay is around €2600 net. - To confirm, this will be a permanent position in the firm and as an Associate, you will be contracted out to our end-clients; You wil get 22 workdays leave, plus 8 national holidays that are compulsory. Keep in mind that if those national holidays are in the weekend, like e.g. Christmas on a Sunday, this will not entail an extra free day. Expectation is around 1700 productive hours per year, which you will find, is not excessive.
- Regarding sick days. We have looked into other countries’ sick days regulations, but they are a little bit different than in NL. Per law, as long as you are sick, you are sick. And salary has to paid up till a certain maximum in case of serious medically indicated, continued work disability. But sickness happens, and that is for the employer to bear, such is the law. These risks are for the employer. A doctor has to be involved and confirm the illness at regular intervals. Unwillingness to work is a different matter, and will result in termination. Given the circumstances, we have rarely experienced anything like that of course!
Also, if you don’t get well, all kinds of institutions are going to be involved. Insurance, governmental, healthcare inspectors. We also get into trouble, because we can’t keep our personnel healthy (“what are you doing to reintegrate the employee with the labor market…”) So you find that Dutch employment law is not as rough as in the English world, here the worker is better protected.
