As of 1 January 2025, approximately 255.000 employees in the Dutch hospitality industry will receive a significant pay rise. This increase is part of the new collective labour agreement agreed upon by the hospitality industry employee organisations FNV Horeca and CNV Vakmensen together with Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN). This collective labour agreement contains several important changes and improvements focused on both wages and working conditions, intended to make the sector more attractive and to address staff shortages.
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Collective Labor Agreement for the Hospitality Industry
A CAO Horeca (Collective Labor Agreement) in the Netherlands is an agreement between employers' organizations, such as Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN), and trade unions such as FNV Horeca and CNV Vakmensen. This CAO determines the employment conditions for employees in the hospitality sector and is binding for both employers and employees within the sector.
The CAO offers stability and protection to employees in the hospitality industry, while providing clarity for employers about the costs and conditions of employment. The CAO Hospitality can be declared generally binding, which means that these rules apply to the entire sector, including companies that are not members of KHN.
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Agreements in the collective labor agreement
The collective labor agreement contains agreements on a wide range of employment conditions, such as:
- Salaries and pay increases: The CAO describes the remuneration structure per function group, including periodic increases and annual pay scales. There may be specific increases, depending on the economic situation and the CAO period.
- Working and rest times: The CAO sets out maximum working hours and break times. In 2024, for example, new rules were added to limit the number of mandatory overtime hours, which helps to ensure the work-life balance of employees.
- Vacation days and leave: The collective labor agreement contains agreements on the number of vacation days and the options for other forms of leave, such as sick leave and parental leave.
- Internship allowances and training opportunities: With a view to future personnel, the collective labour agreement often contains arrangements for internship allowances and training opportunities, including a minimum allowance for interns.
- Special Arrangements for part-timers and extras: Because many catering staff work part-time, the CAO provides specific rules for part-time workers, such as agreements on overtime and additional hours. In addition, there are often special provisions, such as compensation for work in the evening or at the weekend.
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Four major changes and improvements
This collective labour agreement contains several important changes and improvements aimed at both wages and working conditions, intended to make the sector more attractive and address staff shortages.
1. Salary increase per job group
Depending on the job group, the new collective labor agreement will provide wage increases between 8% and 12%. For example, employees in lower pay scales, such as job groups IV and V, will receive a 12% increase. The increases will be calculated based on the gross salary as of December 31, 2023, with these salaries being determined per job group in a new table for 2024. However, the new salary structure will not be fully implemented until January 2025.
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2. Improvements in work-life balance
New measures are being introduced to improve work-life balance, including a limit on mandatory overtime. Employees can refuse overtime from an annual limit of 2174 hours (10% above the full-time standard of 1976 hours).
According to the new CAO, overtime hours must be compensated within three months in free time, or paid out immediately if this is not possible. Also according to the new CAO, part-timers have the same regulation for extra hours above the agreed number of hours.
3. Compensation for interns
The new collective labor agreement also focuses on internship allowances, a first step in improving the training climate in the hospitality industry. From 2024, BOL and HBO interns will be entitled to a minimum internship allowance of €350 gross for a full working week. This collective labor agreement measure should ensure that young talents are encouraged to consider a career in the hospitality industry.
4. Establishment of a development platform and wage structure reform
In order to further stimulate professionalization in the sector, social partners are working on a new development platform for training and inflow promotion. This platform is expected to start in July 2024, financed by a premium of 0,2% of the payroll, divided equally between employer and employee.
Furthermore, the new collective labor agreement includes work on reforming the salary and job structure to ensure that salary scales are better aligned with the current labor market.
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Consequences for catering entrepreneurs and consumers
Due to higher personnel costs, hospitality businesses will probably raise their prices to absorb the wage increases. ING predicts that these price increases are inevitable, given the already tight margins and rising costs in the sector.
For consumers, this means that a visit to the catering industry may become more expensive, but for employees this contributes to better working conditions and higher wages.
These extensive collective labor agreement changes are an important step in improving employment conditions within the Dutch hospitality industry and help make the sector more attractive in a time of persistent staff shortages.
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