Global PEO and Payroll in the Netherlands

Expanding into the Dutch market doesn’t always require setting up a local legal entity. For international businesses needing to hire and pay talent in the Netherlands compliantly, a Global PEO and Payroll solution offers a faster, lower-risk alternative.

Acumen International enables foreign companies to engage local employees in the Netherlands without a branch or subsidiary. We act as the legal employer, managing everything from employment contracts and tax filings to work permits and ongoing compliance, while you retain full control over day-to-day work and performance.

What Is a Global PEO?

The term PEO (Professional Employer Organisation) originated in the United States to describe a co-employment arrangement, where HR and employer functions are contractually split between two entities. Today, the term is used more broadly in international contexts, often interchangeably with Employer of Record (EOR), to describe a service model where a third party legally employs a worker on behalf of a client company.

In the Netherlands, however, co-employment is not a recognised legal structure. Dutch labour law requires that each employee has a single legal employer responsible for contracts, payroll, and statutory obligations. Under a Global PEO model, Acumen International acts as that sole legal employer in the Netherlands.

You, as the client, retain operational control: defining the role, managing day-to-day work, and evaluating performance. We handle the formal employer duties required by Dutch law, including:

Drafting and signing local employment contracts
Registering the employee with tax and social security authorities
Administering payroll, tax withholding, and benefits
Managing immigration processes and work permits
Ensuring compliance with Dutch labour regulations and collective agreements (if applicable)

This model allows companies to hire and pay employees in the Netherlands without setting up a local entity, while remaining fully compliant with local employment law.

Who Uses Global PEO and Payroll in the Netherlands?

Our Global PEO and Payroll solution supports companies facing structural or jurisdictional barriers to compliant hiring in the Netherlands. Use cases include:

1. Entity-Free Market Entry
Companies expanding into the Netherlands without a local legal entity can legally hire and pay employees through our Employer of Record structure, avoiding delays, overhead, and permanent establishment risk.

2. Talent-First Hiring
Organisations that identify a key candidate in the Netherlands, before setting up hiring infrastructure, use our services to secure that hire compliantly, then decide whether to scale or localise further.

3. M&A and Workforce Transition
Acquirers use our PEO model to retain and stabilise employees inherited through a Dutch acquisition or carve-out, especially when local entities are not yet operational or alignment is still in progress.

4. Remote and Distributed Teams
Companies building international teams engage Dutch professionals remotely, using our infrastructure to ensure payroll, benefits, and taxes are correctly managed, whether for one hire or a full division.

5. Immigration-Linked Projects
Employers needing to sponsor foreign nationals into the Netherlands, especially for technical, project-based, or regulated work, use our combined PEO and immigration services to handle work permits, payroll, and tax compliance under a single legal arrangement.

6. High-Control or Sensitive Roles
Where IP, audit exposure, or government-facing roles are involved, companies prefer to use a formal employment model with full local compliance rather than relying on freelance or contractor engagements.

Whether you are onboarding a senior strategic hire, transitioning contractors to employees, or maintaining a post-acquisition workforce, Acumen International ensures your team in the Netherlands is fully compliant, correctly structured, and operational from day one.

Full-Scope Employment Support in the Netherlands

Our Global PEO and Payroll services in the Netherlands go far beyond contract and payroll. We support the entire employment lifecycle, with local accuracy and tailored delivery.

Employment Setup and Onboarding

Drafting Dutch-compliant contracts
Registration with tax and social security authorities
Criminal background and education checks
Employee data setup in HR and payroll systems
Initial onboarding and probation tracking

Payroll and Benefits Administration

We handle monthly payroll execution in full compliance with Dutch tax, social security, and labour law. As legal employer, Acumen International is responsible for:

Running monthly payroll and issuing employee payslips
Calculating and remitting employer social security contributions
Withholding income tax and employee contributions correctly
Managing holiday allowance (8% statutory minimum)
Administering mandatory and optional employee benefits
Ensuring registration with the Belastingdienst and social security bodies
Providing annual wage statements (e.g. jaaropgave)
Managing leave, sick pay, and parental entitlements
Preparing compliant final settlements at termination
Maintaining full compliance with Dutch CLA and tax requirements

Before onboarding, we provide a clear total employment cost breakdown, so you understand the gross salary, employer contributions, and all local obligations in advance. All payroll activity is managed and submitted under our legal responsibility as Employer of Record.

Immigration and Global Mobility

Work permit and visa sponsorship for foreign nationals
Dependent visa support
Sponsor licence application (if required)
Local address registration and relocation assistance

HR Compliance and Lifecycle Management

Time and leave tracking in line with Dutch rules
Monitoring of working hours and rest periods
Handling dismissals, resignations, and mutual separations
Severance calculation and final settlement
De-registration with local authorities upon exit.

Payroll Components and Compliance in the Netherlands

Dutch payroll is legally formalised, tightly integrated with the tax and social security systems, and subject to mandatory monthly reporting. Foreign employers must understand not just the salary structure, but the full scope of employer liabilities, statutory contributions, and real-time compliance obligations.

Under a Global PEO arrangement, Acumen International acts as the legal employer in the Netherlands, handling all payroll functions on your behalf — from employment contract setup and tax registration to monthly filings and final settlements.

1. Gross Salary and Holiday Allowance

All salaries in the Netherlands are structured around a gross monthly base, agreed in the employment contract. On top of that, employers must pay a holiday allowance, typically:

8% of gross annual salary, paid either monthly or as a lump sum in May/June
This is mandatory under Dutch law, not a bonus.

13th/14th salaries: In the Netherlands, a 13th and sometimes a 14th salary are not legally mandated. However, many employees receive a 13th salary or “year-end bonus” in December, based on a collective labor agreement (CAO) or their employment contract.

All employees are legally entitled to a separate “holiday allowance” (vakantiegeld) of at least 8% of their gross annual salary, which is typically paid in May or June. This is a statutory benefit and is distinct from any 13th or 14th salary.

2. Employer Contributions

As the legal employer, you are responsible for a range of statutory contributions. These are paid to Dutch authorities and are not deducted from the employee’s salary. They include:

Unemployment Insurance (WW): Covers the employee in case of redundancy
Disability Insurance (WIA, ZW): Covers long-term illness or injury
Healthcare Contribution (Zvw): Employer share of basic health coverage
Childcare Contribution: Helps fund national childcare subsidies
Pension contributions: May be mandatory depending on the sector or agreed contractually

These employer costs typically add 20–25% to the base gross salary, depending on the role and sector.

3. Employee Deductions (Withheld from Salary)

From the employee’s gross salary, you must deduct:

Wage Tax (Loonbelasting): Income tax, based on progressive tax bands
National Insurance Contributions (AOW, ANW, WLZ): For state pension, survivor benefits, and long-term care
Employee share of Healthcare Contribution (Zvw): Withheld and reported by the employer
Employee pension contribution: If part of the contract or sectoral agreement

These deductions are then remitted to the Dutch tax authority each month.

4. Payslips and Leave Tracking

Payslips must be issued monthly and must clearly show:

Gross salary
Deductions (taxes, social security, pension)
Net salary paid
Holiday accrual and leave balances
Any bonuses, commissions, or expense reimbursements

You’re also responsible for tracking statutory leave (minimum 4x weekly working hours per year) and managing sick pay, which is paid by the employer for up to 2 years at a minimum of 70% salary (usually topped up by contract or CLA).

5. Monthly and Annual Reporting Obligations

All Dutch payroll must be reported to the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax authority) using the loonaangifte system. This is a monthly digital wage tax return that includes:

Employee earnings
Tax and contribution breakdowns
Identification numbers and employment details

At the end of each year, you must also issue:

A jaaropgave (annual wage summary) to each employee for their personal tax return
Employer-level reporting, including totals for payroll, taxes, and benefits
Tracking of any fringe benefits under the Work-Related Costs Scheme (WKR), which allows limited tax-free extras like mobile phones or travel reimbursements

Why the Netherlands?

The Netherlands offers a highly skilled, multilingual workforce and is a strategic entry point into the EU market. However, employment law is formalised and employee protections are robust. Employers must comply with:

Dutch Civil Code employment regulations
Collective labour agreements (if applicable)
Strict rules on dismissal, probation, and fixed-term contracts
Income tax, social contributions, and end-of-service pay regulations
Statutory holiday, sick pay, and parental leave entitlements

Hiring without proper local understanding or infrastructure can quickly lead to compliance failures. Our team ensures that every hire is correctly structured, documented, and maintained, whether you’re expanding permanently or engaging talent on a shorter-term basis.

Tailored for Cross-Border Employers

Whether you’re entering the Dutch market for the first time or scaling existing operations, Acumen International provides a compliant, flexible employment solution. Our Global PEO and Payroll services give you control, clarity, and continuity, without the overhead of legal entity setup.

Acumen International supports foreign businesses with no Dutch entity to:

Onboard local or foreign employees in full compliance
Avoid permanent establishment (PE) risk from misclassified employment
Access specialised Dutch talent for R&D, commercial, or operational roles
Transition freelancers to employees legally
Extend contracts post-acquisition in M&A transactions.

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Planning Employment Costs with the Global Payroll Calculator

Dutch employment costs extend well beyond gross salary. Employers must account for statutory allowances, social contributions, payroll tax rules, and collective agreement obligations, each of which can materially affect the final cost of employment.

To support transparent decision-making, we provide access to the Global Payroll Calculator, a tool built to help international employers estimate the true monthly cost of employment in the Netherlands and 190+ other jurisdictions.

The calculator helps estimate:

Gross-to-net and net-to-gross salary cost based on Dutch tax and social security rules
Holiday allowance, employer contributions, and CLA-related charges
Optional components such as benefits, bonuses, and 13th-month salary
Currency conversion and local compliance thresholds.

Whether you’re planning a single hire or scoping out multi-country headcount, the Global Payroll Calculator gives you an accurate view of what compliant employment will cost before you make a commitment.

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