Working remotely in the Netherlands

The popularity and prevalence of working remotely has increased massively in the Netherlands since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020. The majority of jobs now include some kind of flexibility as to how and where employees can work, and in the Netherlands, the rights and obligations of both employers and employees are governed by various laws. 

This page looks at two types of remote work in the Netherlands:

• Working remotely from the Netherlands for a foreign company
• Working from home in the Netherlands (hybrid/remote working for a Dutch company)

What is remote work?

Remote work is a work arrangement where employees do their jobs outside of a traditional work setting like an office, instead working from home, a coworking space, or somewhere else. 

It's popular among employees because of the flexibility it offers, while for employers it can reduce overhead costs (e.g. renting an office space), save on travel time, and lead to better employee satisfaction. 

Generally speaking, there are two options when it comes to remote work: 

• Hybrid working
• Remote working

Hybrid working

Hybrid working is when you work partly from home and partly from the office or another location. 

Remote working

Remote working is when you work entirely from home (or even abroad), and are not expected to go to the office at all. It is sometimes also called teleworking.

Is remote working common in the Netherlands?

Remote and hybrid working are very common in the Netherlands. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), over 5 million people in the Netherlands worked from home sometimes or all of the time in 2023, representing 52 percent of the entire labour force - the highest proportion in any EU country. 

It’s worth noting that hybrid working is much more common than remote working in the Netherlands, and the proportion of people who work fully remotely has fallen every year since 2021. In 2023, around 1,3 million people said they worked from home all of the time, while 3,8 million worked from home some of the time (i.e. for no more than half of their working hours). 

The industries that are most likely to offer remote work, according to the CBS, include the ICT, creative, linguistic, managerial, business and administrative sectors. 

Working remotely from the Netherlands for a foreign company

In today’s globalised world, it’s becoming increasingly common for people to want to work remotely from the Netherlands for a foreign company. For instance, if your spouse moves to the Netherlands for work, you might want to keep your current job and work remotely. 

Believe it or not, this is possible - it just can be a little complicated. 

Broadly speaking, you have three options: 

• You set up as an independent contractor in the Netherlands
• Your foreign employer sets up to pay Dutch taxes and social security contributions
• You work with an employer of record (EOR)

The same options apply if you want to work for a Dutch company in a country outside the Netherlands. 

Setting up as an independent contractor

If you want to work from the Netherlands for a company based abroad, you could think about pursuing self-employment. This way you can work from the Netherlands and have clients based in different countries.

You’d need to get the appropriate permits, register with the tax authorities (it would be worth speaking to a tax advisor) and draw up contracts with your clients. Be warned, also, that the Netherlands has strict rules on what qualifies as “freelancing” and may accuse you of “bogus self-employment (Schijnzelfstandigkeit)” if you only have one client. That could see your client asked to backpay taxes and social security contributions. 

Is there a digital nomad visa in the Netherlands?

Unlike some other European countries, the Netherlands does not have a dedicated digital nomad visa. If you are from the EU/EEA or Switzerland, then you can of course work freely in the Netherlands, but if you are from outside the EU, the best option you have is to apply for a self-employment residence permit. 

Setting your employer up to pay taxes and social security in the Netherlands

The second option is for your employer to set up a local entity to hire you and pay taxes and social security contributions in the Netherlands. They would need to do this to employ you because, under EU law, employees become subject to the local social security system in the place where they work. 

Exceptions can be made if 25% of your working hours are spent in your home (EU) country, but generally this means that someone working in the Netherlands needs to be set up for taxes and social security contributions in the Netherlands.

This would require your employer to set up a legal entity in the Netherlands, register with the Dutch tax authorities (Belastingdienst), and pay them contributions. Not many foreign employers will be willing to do this because of the high costs and administration involved. Plus, if you need a Dutch employer to sponsor your visa, this is a no-go. 

Working with an employer of record

Your final - and probably best - option is to set up with an employer of record (EOR). 

An employer of record is a company that employs employees on behalf of another company. Normally, the client company is based in a different country to the employee. The employer of record then steps in to handle all employment-related matters like salary, work contracts, paid holidays and insurance, in exchange for a monthly fee from the client company.

This means less administrative headaches for the employer, and gives the employee peace of mind that they are fully compliant with Dutch and international regulations and that they are covered by Dutch employee benefits like health insurance, pensions and sick leave.

Employer of Record in the Netherlands

The following companies offer employer of record services in the Netherlands: 

• PayingIt International
• TOSS
• MILES
• All About Flex

Working from home in the Netherlands

This section looks at working remotely in the Netherlands for a Dutch employer.

With more than 50 percent of the Dutch workforce working from home some or all of the time, you’ll almost certainly find jobs in the Netherlands that offer hybrid working conditions. It’s important to understand the rights and obligations that come with remote work in the Netherlands, so you know what to expect, and what is expected of you. 

Do employees in the Netherlands have a right to work from home?

Employees in the Netherlands do not have a legal right to work from home. 

Generally speaking, the Dutch government implements policies to encourage hybrid working. However, it primarily wants remote work to be facilitated via individual agreements between employers and employees, rather than via blanket legislation. For instance, a piece of legislation known as the “Work where you want act” (Wet werken waar je wilt) that would have essentially obliged employers to accept requests to work from home was rejected by the Senate in 2023.

Instead, remote work is regulated by several pieces of legislation in the Netherlands, including:

• The Flexible Working Act (Wet flexibel werken) 
• The Working Conditions Act (Arbowet)

The Flexible Working Act (Wet flexibel werken) 

The Flexible Working Act, which entitles employees to request adjustments to their working conditions, also applies to remote work. 

According to the act, employees who have worked for their employer for six months or more may submit a written request to their employer to work (partly) from home. You can also request to work partly from abroad, as long as the country is within the European Union. 

Employers are encouraged (but not obliged) to approve reasonable requests and should only refuse when they have good reason, for instance:

• Working from home would disrupt the work schedule
• The work cannot be done outside the office
• The home workplace is not safe or suitable for work

Note that the Flexible Working Act only applies to companies with 10 or more employees. 

Once you submit your request, your employer is obliged to respond in writing within a month. 

The Working Conditions Act (Arbowet)

The Working Conditions Act also applies to remote work. It stipulates that employers have a duty of care to provide a good and safe home workplace for their employees if they are asking them to work from home. This includes:

• Lending or reimbursing the cost of work equipment such as computer screens, office chairs and keyboards
• Educating employees who work from home about how they can do their work safely and healthily
• Conducting a risk assessment and evaluation (RI&E) to consider the health and safety risks employees may encounter while working from home and how to counteract them

Can employers monitor employees who work from home?

Dutch employers are not permitted to monitor their employees who work from home, unless it is strictly necessary to achieve business objectives. Employers must always comply with the EU’s General Data and Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can find out more on the Dutch Data Protection Authority website.

Work from home allowance (thuiswerkvergoeding)

Working from home costs employees more than being in the office - for instance for energy, internet and tea and coffee (not to mention toilet paper!). In 2022, the government therefore brought in a work from home allowance (thuiswerkvergoeding). 

The work from home allowance allows your employer to give you a tax-free allowance of 2,40 euros per day (in 2025) for each day you work from home. Your employer also benefits, as they do not have to pay payroll tax on the allowance. 

However, it’s worth saying that the work from home allowance is optional. Your employer is not obliged to pay it. 

How it is paid depends on your work patterns: if you work a set number of days per week from home, your employer will likely offer a fixed compensation; if your home and office days vary, you might work on a billing basis. 

Note that the home office allowance is linked to the travel allowance. Employees cannot receive the tax-free work from home allowance and the tax-free travel allowance on the same day. If, for instance, you work half a day in the office and half a day from home, you must choose which allowance to claim.