Yes
1971
1973
1991
Applicable
1992, Dutch Civil Code, Book 7, Section 646(1) Available, in the original version, here. Dutch Civil Code in Book 7 Section 646(1) stipulates that the employer is not allowed to make a distinction between men and women with respect to employment conditions. This includes equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. 1989, Equal Treatment Act (Men and Women), Section 7 Available, in the original version, here. The 1989 Equal Treatment Act (Men and Women) in Section 7 states that, when comparing the pay of a male and a female employee, a comparison must be made with an employee of the other sex who does equal work or work of equal value.
No provisions could be located
The concept of pay is defined in Section 7(2) of the Equal Treatment Act as any remuneration owed by the employer to the employee in return for the labour of the employee. The same definition is used in Book 7 Section 610 of the Civil Code.
The 1989 Equal Treatment Act (Men and Women) in Section 8 states that work must be valued on the basis of a sound system of job evaluation.
There are various soft law initiatives that aim to decrease and close the equal pay gap: - The Foundation for Labour (Stichting van de Arbeid) published the digital guide on Equal pay for men and women on the 21st of September 2020. The Foundation also updates its checklist for equal pay. This checklist is meant for those who create, apply and evaluate systems for the payment of employees, thus trade unions, employers' organisations, employers, HR managers and works councils. It is not obligatory to use the checklist. Further information is available here. - There is a website called loonwijzer' (Wage Indicator) which makes it possible to compare wages. The website also gives substantive information about (equal) pay. The website receives a subsidy from the Dutch Government. Further information is available here. - The social partner organisations together developed a check list in the past for companies to voluntarily scan their pay structure, including job evaluation, and gender pay levels.
National and Sectoral
There is a statutory minimum wage for employees aged 22 years and older that is adjusted every 1 January and 1 July based on the wage developments in collective agreements. The statutory minimum wage of younger workers is set at a lower rate than the general statutory minimum wage. It applies to young employees between 15 and 21 years of age. The government is gradually increasing the minimum youth wage for young workers between the ages of 18 and 21. Further information is available here.
In 2018, Aegon was the first company in the Netherlands to make agreements with the trade unions in its collective labour agreement with a clause on equal pay for men and women. Section 1.5(c) of the Collective Labour Agreement states that the parties to the collective labour agreement believe that men and women should be paid the same for equal work. A study was conducted to find out whether there are any gender pay differences within Aegon. The study showed that there is no average pay difference between men and women who do the same work. In order to be able to make a fair comparison in the survey, matters such as age, work experience, working hours and other background factors were taken into account. For more information, see.
N/A
ILO NORMLEX website ILO NATLEX website