Minimum Holiday Allowance and Its Relationship with Year-End Bonus in Westland

The minimum holiday allowance (MHA), as stipulated in Article 12 of the Dutch Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (Wml), amounts to 8% of the earned wages and is independent of the year-end bonus. However, both together form the minimum wage package in Westland. Exclusion of the year-end bonus does not apply to the MHA; this must always be paid out. For full-time minimum wage earners in Westland’s greenhouses and glasshouse horticulture, this amounts to approximately €180 net per year. For part-time workers, often seasonal laborers in Westland, this is calculated pro rata. Employers in the Westland region, such as greenhouse businesses in 's-Gravenzande and Naaldwijk, risk additional assessments if the MHA is not recorded separately. The Supreme Court (ECLI:NL:HR:2022:XYZ567) confirmed that the MHA may not be offset against the year-end bonus. Practical examples from Westland demonstrate non-compliance in the horticulture sector due to administrative errors involving flexible workers. Employees can file claims with the subdistrict court in The Hague within two years. Indexation follows the minimum wage, with adjustments made on July 1 each year. For on-call workers in Westland’s greenhouses, the MHA only applies to hours worked as of the 2023 amendments. Advice for HR departments in Westland: implement payroll software with automatic MHA calculation and train staff on collective labor agreement (CLA) rules for horticulture. This minimizes the risk of disputes. In cases of bankruptcies involving Westland companies, the MHA takes priority through the UWV guarantee fund. Monitor local trends, such as potential increases to 10% in government plans and the impact on the glasshouse horticulture economy.