The most important changes in 2023
Increase in minimum wage
In 2022 most Dutch households were affected by rising energy prices and inflation. This has on the one hand an effect on people’s purchasing power, but it may also lead to payment problems for employees, benefit recipients and pensioners with a low income. Therefore the cabinet decided to raise the statutory minimum wage by 10.15 percent as of 1 January 2023 in one go. What does this mean for employers? Because of the change employers have to pay higher wage costs. In addition employer contributions for employee insurance schemes will become more expensive. It is important that you make sure that from 1 January 2023 you pay your employees the correct minimum wage. That way you avoid underpayment and fines.
CO2 registration requirement
The government wants to reduce CO2 emissions in 2023. As of 1 juli 2023 employers are required to report the CO2 emissions of employees. Note: this concerns business travel or commuting. The goal? A reduction of CO2 emissions from work-related travel by employees. The registration obligation applies to 'large employers': when 100 or more people work within your organization. Then you must annually provide data on the number of kilometers for business travel and commuting. You must also state which means of transport and fuel employees use for this. Incidentally, you do not have to calculate this yourself. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency is working on a supporting digital platform.
Law: work where you want
The House of Representatives adopted the bill 'Work Where You Want Act' on 5 juli 2022. The aim? The 'Flexible Working Act' (Wfw) is being amended with regard to the rules for employees' requests for a different place of work. Employees will have more say over the place where they want to work. An employer can only refuse a request to structurally work more or less from home if this is reasonable and fair. Currently, as an employer you can still refuse a work-from-home request without needing a valid reason. After the entry into force of the 'Work Where You Want Act', it will be less easy to refuse a work-from-home request. Incidentally, the bill applies to employers with ten or more employees – small employers are excluded. The Act is expected to enter into force in 2023, but the exact date is not yet known.
Increase of the maximum tax-free travel allowance
The maximum tax-free travel allowance for commuting has for years been €0,19 per kilometer. Per 1 januari 2023 this amount will be increased to €0,21 per kilometer and per 1 januari 2024 to €0,22 per kilometer. Employers can therefore reimburse employees €0,21 per kilometer in 2023 without having to pay payroll tax on this. Do you pay more than 21 cents per kilometer? Then you must pay wage tax on the excess or designate it as final levy wage within the free space.
Act amending future pensions
In a labor market where people often change jobs, the current pension system does not work very well. Most pension funds use a defined benefit arrangement in which participants receive a conditional pension entitlement. The problem is that it is currently unclear what participants actually contribute in money, what assets they build up and what this will yield. In addition, life expectancy is rising and more pension money is needed, while funds are less often able to meet their obligations. With the ‘Act amending future pensions’ the cabinet wants to solve these problems. From now on all pension funds must use a defined contribution scheme. Young and older employees will pay the same pension premium and take part in one collective pension pot. Returns are distributed across all participants of the pension fund. Pensions will be able to adjust more easily to the economy. The new rules apply from 1 juli 2023, if the law passes the House of Representatives and the Senate. There will be a transition period ending on 1 januari 2027. By that time all adjustments by social partners and pension administrators must be completed.
