The Dutch Professional Association of Psychologists (the NIP) strives to ensure the best possible employment conditions for professionals working as psychologists. 

NIP services on terms of employment
Members of the NIP can count on assistance and advice regarding wages and employment conditions. Members can contact us with any questions about:

• terms of employment you are about to commit to,
• the possibilities of further training courses within your contract,
• conflictual situations with your employer or
• the meaning of certain regulations of the collective labour agreement
• NIP-members can also make use of our overview of the various salary scales applied by  employers in the Dutch healthcare system.  The salary scales derive from the different collective labour agreements implemented by General Hospitals, Academic Hospitals, Universities, the Mental Healthcare sector, and the disabled- and youth care sectors.

For any other questions or personal advice on contracts and wages you can contact the NIP on info@psynip.nl. But before you do so you might find an answer to your question in the following text in which we set out some general information about the Dutch system of contracts and wages.

Temporary labour contract
A temporary contract has a set starting date and an ending date. The contract ends automatically and legally on the agreed date without a dismissal procedure. This can be at the end of a project or on the agreed date.

In Holland employees working on temporary contracts are protected by the so-called ‘flex-wet’ (law on flexible labour). This law grants employees who work on repeated temporary contracts for the same employers the right to get a permanent contract.

Permanent labour contract
According to the most recent amendments of the law a temporary contract will proceed to a permanent contract when:

• you have worked on four temporary contracts for the same employer and those contracts follow one another with less than a three month break.
• When you have worked on two temporary contracts but the total time you have worked for the same employer is longer than three years (four years for employees younger than 27). 
• When a three year contract is extended by a temporary contract longer than three months.

In all these three cases you have the right to demand a permanent contract.

A solid labour agreement
Before you sign a contract it is worth checking if all the standard elements are taken into account. A good contract establishes:

• The duration of the agreement (temporary or permanent)
• The amount of working hours per period
• Arrangements about holidays (the amount of days and how to apply for them)
• Salary and payment of expenses
• Description of the duties of the function
• Place of work
• Starting date and ending date.
• Work placement agreement
• Work Placement Contracts are not the same as a labour contract. Work placements are meant for apprentices to gain work experience during a university degree course. The apprentice does not carry out productive labour and does not receive any salary. However expenses (such as travel costs give rise to compensation.

Working under a Collective Labour Agreement
Most Dutch employers work according to collective labour agreements (CAOs), which specify collective agreements concluded between employers, employers’ organisations, employees and employee organisations regarding wages and other conditions of employment. If your employer applies a Collective Labour Agreement you can derive your rights from this document.
The terms of employment your employer will offer you depend on what the arrangements of the Collective Labour Agreement are. These arrangements apply to the primary labour conditions such as wages and working hours. Employers are obliged to provide you with a copy of the Collective Labour Agreement when you enter into a contract. Beware that this often happens after you have signed your contract. But to be able to make a well informed decision on the terms of your contract you should read them prior to agreeing your contract. All Collective Labour Agreements are published online.

However, not all employers make use of the collective agreements. Your employer does NOT apply a Collective Labour Agreement. If your employer does not make use of a Collective Labour Agreement, you can rely on legislation concerning all the rules and regulations that apply to terms of employment.

Employers are not obliged to apply a Collective Labour Agreement when their branch has no legal binding to a Collective Labour Agreement. In that case Collective Labour Agreements can help you to give you a rough idea what to aim for when you start you negotiation about your salary or benefits. It is noteworthy that deals on individual labour conditions can consist of more than your salary only.  Sometimes employers choose to give extra forms of income by compensating for:
- Training and retraining
- Travel costs for commuters
- Travel costs for official journeys
- Pension contributions
- Extra holiday allowances
- Holiday contribution (with a legal minimum of 8% per annum)
- Use of company equipment such as a mobile phone, laptop or a car

There are also employers who choose to pay more but do not include (the above mentioned) secondary labour conditions. However, both employer and employee are allowed to negotiate  any terms of the labour agreement as long as the outcome lies within the bounds of existing laws and regulations 

A Collective Labour Agreement can be entered into per company and per business sector. The CAO must be registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. If a Collective Labour Agreement has been declared universally binding for your sector, you are obliged as an employer to comply with it. Employers must state in the individual employment contracts whether a Collective Labour Agreement applies.
 
Job description
Another point you must pay attention to is your job description. In the Netherlands for each job a well defined job description has been formulated and is linked to a valuation system. This system includes a variety of elements such as work experience, age and your tasks described in your job description.  Dutch incomes depend on how you and the job you are going to take on are placed on this weighing scale.

The valuation system used within the Collective Labour Agreement of the mental healthcare, healthcare for the disabled, nursing, general care, home care and hospitals is called the ´FWG 3.0´. Based on this system basic trained psychologists are often placed in group 60 (functiegroep 60). The healthcare psychologist is placed in scale 65 or 70 and the clinical psychologist, the clinical neuropsychologist and psychotherapist are rated 70 or 75.

According to the collective labour agreement, the minimum rate for healthcare psychologists in training should be scale 60.  Since 2003 academic hospitals employ the FUWAVAZ/ system.  In this system the healthcare psychologist is placed in group 11 and the clinical psychologist in group 12.
 
If you need more information on collective labour agreements and wages contact us on: info@psynip.nl or use the contact form in the left section of this page.

For Dutch speaking visitors of this site check the website of ‘de Federatie van Beroepsorganisaties’: http://www.fbz.nu/