Guides

Guides: what a tradesperson needs to know in the Netherlands

Short practical guides: payslip, VCA, reception housing, collective agreements and your rights on site. With sources and a check date.

How to read a Dutch payslip (loonstrook): gross, wage tax, holiday pay and net

What bruto, loonheffing, premies, vakantiegeld, reservering and netto mean on your payslip, and what to check in the first month.

VCA in your own language: what it is, where and how to get it

Basic VCA (B-VCA) and VOL-VCA: the difference, which languages the exam is available in, where to book, how long the diploma lasts and who pays.

Reception housing (opvang) and work: contribution, living allowance and what pays more

How work affects your stay in municipal reception housing and your living allowance (leefgeld): the principle, the maximum amounts per Rijksoverheid and where to get your own calculation.

CAO Bouw & Infra and Metaal & Techniek: what a collective agreement regulates

What a cao is, what it usually covers (pay, supplements, leave, pension) and where to find current pay scales and terms.

Your rights on site: hours, safety, protective equipment

The general Dutch rules on working time, safety and protective equipment on a building site. Only what the law sets out, with sources.

Dutch for the building site: 60 words with plain-English glosses

A practical glossary: 60 words and phrases you will hear on site, each with a short English gloss. It is not a language course.

After 4 March 2028: the transitiedocument and work

As of 07.11.2026 temporary protection (RTB) has been extended to 4 March 2028. What happens after that date has not been finally decided: below is what is known and what is not.

A Dutch CV in 5 minutes

Six short steps, no registration. The document will be in Dutch and the draft stays in your browser.

Is this legal? Work situations in the Netherlands

Pick a situation: we briefly explain what Dutch rules say, what to do and where to turn.

What you take home

Enter your gross hourly rate and weekly hours: the calculator shows an estimate of your take-home pay under the 2026 rules.

Open the calculator →