Mourning leave gets legal basis
Usually nothing is regulated
Legally, nothing is currently regulated for mourning leave. A Panteia study used a random sample to look at the 105 largest collective bargaining agreements that cover 80 to 85 percent of employees. In 21 collective bargaining agreements, there was some form of bereavement leave. This means that four of the five largest collective bargaining agreements did not include a bereavement leave arrangement.
Reporting sick?
The situation of employees who are struggling with the loss of a loved one and therefore cannot (yet) return to work is now often accommodated in leave arrangements that are not specifically intended for that purpose. Many times these employees feel compelled to call in sick. A number of them sometimes struggle with this because they are not actually sick and thus do not experience recognition of their situation. Visiting a company doctor and the tension that this entails can be experienced as burdensome when returning to work.
Duration and conditions for taking mourning leave
Statutory bereavement leave is used in the event of the death of a partner if the employee is caring for one or more minor children, or the death of a minor child. Employees in this situation are given the opportunity to take paid mourning leave at least once the weekly working hours. The employer is required to pay for this leave.
The leave can be taken flexibly from the day after the funeral until one year after the death of the loved one.
It is possible to deviate from the minimum duration in favor of the employee or to make the mourning leave apply in more situations. Employers can, however, argue that there is a compelling business interest that prevents inclusion.
Financial impact
The financial impact on employers is estimated at four million euros per year. In all likelihood, some of these costs are already incurred by employers, but are now accommodated in sick leave or existing non-statutory bereavement leave arrangements.
Sales tax number
You use the sales tax number only for your contacts with the tax authorities, such as for your returns. For sole proprietorships, this number partly consists of the entrepreneur’s BSN number. Partly for privacy reasons, you do not use this number to your customers.
VAT identification number
The VAT identification number is used when dealing with customers. You should also find this number on your customer’s invoices and on their website. You can check this number via this site.
Your own VAT ID
If you want to check a number, you must also enter your own VAT ID. If you have lost this number, you can find it out via the Tax and Customs Administration website. To do so, go to myzakelijk.belastingdienst.nl, log in with DigiD and click on ’turnover tax’ and click on ‘VAT identification number’. Here you will find both VAT numbers.
Attention! To apply the zero rate to a so-called intra-Community supply (ICL) to a VAT entrepreneur in another EU country, there are a number of obligations you must comply with. One of these is the use of the correct VAT identification number. It is therefore important to always check carefully whether you have your customer’s correct number.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Employers’ organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland had discouraged the additional increase, as the minimum wage has already been raised substantially and thus causes sharply rising wage costs.
Previous increases
In 2023, for example, the minimum wage increased by more than 10%. As of Jan. 1 of this year, it increased again by 3.75%. Also, as of that date, the minimum wage was also based on a 36-hour work week. Employees who contractually work more than 36 hours therefore gained more than 3.75% as of Jan. 1, 2024.
Please note!
The increase in the minimum wage also affects benefits, such as AOW pension and welfare.
1. Fixed budget under work-related expenses scheme decreasing in 2024
With effect from 1 January 2024 the fixed budget under the work-related expenses scheme has been reduced to 1.92% on the first € 400,000 of the wage bill (2023: 3%). It will remain at 1.18% on the excess amount of the wage bill.
2. Customary salary for DGAs in 2024
The standard amount under the customary salary scheme for a DGA and his/her co-working partner is increasing to € 56,000 in 2024 (2023: € 51,000). This scheme applies to anyone who has a substantial shareholding in a company (or whose partner has such a substantial shareholding) and also works for that company. They must receive a salary that is ‘customary’ for such work. The standard amount of € 56,000 is one of the elements used to assess what is customary.
3. Increase in travel allowance in 2024
This year the exempted travel allowance for the costs of business travel, including commuting, has increased to € 0.23 per kilometre. This allowance applies to all forms of transport and therefore also to kilometres travelled by bicycle or moped, for example. The increase to € 0.23 per kilometre is also applicable to a DGA who is employed by his/her company.
4. Expansion of exemption for public transport
From 2024 simpler rules will apply to tax-free public transport season tickets. As of this year it no longer matters whether such a season ticket is purchased by the employer and made available (employer retains ownership) or supplied (employee acquires ownership) to the employee or whether it is purchased by the employee and subsequently reimbursed. The only condition is that it is also used for business purposes, e.g. commuting. If that is the case, a specific exemption applies to a public transport season ticket that has been made available, supplied or reimbursed. The amended rules also apply to the making available, supply or reimbursement of an off-peak pass.
5. Introduction of statutory minimum hourly wage
From 1 January 2024 a statutory minimum hourly wage applies, amounting to € 13.27 per hour for employees aged 21 and above. This means that the salary scales in many collective labour agreements will need to be adjusted and recalculated, as there are no longer any fixed monthly, weekly or daily amounts.
Please note: The statutory minimum hourly wage that applies, in view of the employee’s age, must be indicated on the payslip, along with the period to which the payslip relates.
6. Untaxed volunteer’s allowance increasing to € 2,100 in 2024
You can grant volunteers who perform voluntary work within your organisation an allowance that will not be taxed by the Tax and Customs Administration. On 1 January 2024 the level of the maximum untaxed volunteer’s allowance increased to € 2,100 per year and € 210 per month.
The volunteer’s allowance must not exceed the maximum amounts and the volunteer must not carry out the work in question as part of his/her profession. The Tax and Customs Administration assumes that the work is not carried out on a professional basis if the maximum hourly allowance in 2024 amounts to € 5.50. For volunteers under the age of 21 this maximum hourly allowance is € 3.25 in 2024.
7. Changes to 30% scheme
The 30% scheme is a tax facility under which, subject to strict conditions, up to 30% of the salary may be paid free of tax to employees recruited from abroad. This scheme has been restricted with effect from 2024. In 2024, for example, the 30% scheme can only be applied to a salary not exceeding € 233,000. This maximum does not apply in 2024 if you were already applying the 30% scheme for the employee concerned in the last pay period of 2022.
The 30% scheme is also being scaled back with effect from 2024. For the first 20 months you will be able to pay 30% of the salary free of tax as an expense allowance. This will then fall to a level of 20% for the next 20 months and to 10% for the 20 months after that. This does not apply in 2024 if you were already applying the 30% scheme for the employee concerned in the last pay period of 2023.
The application of the 30% scheme is subject to a number of conditions. One is that the employee has specific expertise that is scarce or not available at all on the Dutch labour market. An employee is considered to meet this specific expertise requirement if his/her pay is above a set salary standard. In 2023 the employee’s salary had to amount to at least € 41,954, but this is rising to € 46,107 from 2024. No salary standard applies to employees who work at a research institute in scientific research or education or employees who are doctors in training to become a specialist (AIOSs). In the case of incoming employees who are under the age of 30 and have obtained a master’s degree a salary standard of € 31,891 applied in 2023. This is rising to € 35,048 in 2024.
8. Compulsory reporting on employees’ business travel and commuting
From 1 July 2024 employers who employ 100 or more people will be required to report on the business travel and commuting journeys of their employees. The employers concerned must report, for example, the total number of kilometres that their employees have travelled for business and commuting purposes, but also the annual total of kilometres travelled, broken down by mode of transport and fuel type. The data for 2024 must be submitted by 30 June 2025 at the latest.
9. Increase in homeworking allowance and other standard amounts
In 2024, subject to certain conditions, you can pay your employees an untaxed allowance of € 2.35 per day (2023: € 2.15) for the additional costs associated with working from home. The standard amount set for the value of meals in company canteens (or similar areas) or at staff parties in the workplace is also rising in 2024. In 2023 this was € 3.55 per meal and in 2024 amounts to € 3.90 per meal.
10. Increase in salary assessable for contributions
In 2024 the maximum salary assessable for contributions is increasing to € 71,628 from € 66,956 in 2023. For employees with an assessable salary above € 66,956 an employer may therefore owe higher contributions, even though the contribution percentages for certain employee insurance schemes have fallen compared with 2023. The contribution payable under the Healthcare Insurance Act (Zvw) may also rise for employees and DGAs with an assessable salary above € 66,956. The maximum healthcare insurance contribution payable for employees in 2024 amounts to € 4,706 (an increase of € 233 compared with 2023). In the case of DGAs the maximum level of this contribution in 2024 is € 3,811 (an increase of € 175 compared with 2023).
