A working student has a paid job alongside their studies that connects to what they want to do later. A real employment contract, fewer hours, more room around exams, and otherwise the same rights as anyone else on the team. It's not a vague in-between status, and it's not a trick to save on payroll.
What's in a working-student contract?
In Dutch employment law, “working student” is not a separate type of contract. You're an employee when there's work under the employer's authority, pay, and personal performance of the work [1]. In practice that usually means a fixed-term contract with a set number of hours a week. It comes with at least the statutory minimum wage [2] and holiday pay and holiday hours: at least 8% holiday allowance and, per year, four times the hours you work in a week [3]. A fixed-term contract ends on the agreed end date; early termination is only possible if that was agreed in writing [4]. Extending it brings in the chain rule and the notice obligation [5][6]. What sets a working-student role apart from an ordinary part-time job? The agreement about room around exams and project weeks. Put it on paper and you won't have to negotiate it later.
Does a working student get the minimum wage?
Yes, just like everyone else. As of 1 July 2026 that's € 14.99 gross per hour from age 21; ages 15 to 20 have lower youth minimum wages by age [2]. Still being enrolled changes nothing about what an employer has to pay. The amounts change on 1 January and 1 July, so check the current table.
Working student, intern or side job: what's the difference?
All three mean “doing something alongside your studies”, but the purpose differs:
- Side job: mainly about earning money, the work doesn't need to relate to your studies. In the third quarter of 2023, working higher-education students most often worked as sales assistants in retail, in hospitality or as shelf stockers [7].
- Internship: mainly about learning, with learning goals and guidance. An intern has no right to the minimum wage and an internship allowance is not mandatory by law [8]. The government wants to change that [9].
- Working-student role: a paid position with an employment contract, relevant to your field and a permanent part of the team.
How many hours does a working student work a week?
There's no legal norm. At VOIDS, working students typically work 4 to 24 hours a week and starters 40. For comparison: working higher-education students (aged 15 to 27) had an average usual working time of 18.7 hours a week in the third quarter of 2023 [7]. In 2024, almost two thirds of working young people in education aged 15 to 27 worked up to 20 hours a week and 14% worked full-time [10]. The more hours, the more the role starts to look like a full-time job, and then the pay should move with it.
What can you expect as a working student?
- Work that teaches you something, not just admin nobody else wants
- A clear point of contact and guidance, even if you're only in two days a week
- Schedule room around exams and project weeks, agreed in advance and not sorted out on the fly
- A salary that fits the work you do, not the fact that you're still studying
- More responsibility the longer you stay
What does a company get from a working student?
Flexible junior capacity for work that recurs but doesn't fill a full job, and the chance to get to know someone before a permanent offer is on the table. For an early-stage company that's a smaller step than hiring a full-time starter right away. For a company further along, it's a way to build a group of people who already know the organisation when they graduate. The arguments, limits and rules are in our article on why work with working students.
Is a working student a way to save on payroll?
No. A working student costs less than a full-time starter because they work fewer hours, not because the hourly rate should be lower. Pay what a comparable junior colleague earns, converted to hours. The statutory minimum wage is the floor [2], not a guideline.
Why this is our starting point
At VOIDS we prefer working students over interns. You get a real salary instead of an allowance, and a role that lasts long enough to leave something behind. When we do place an intern, we hold to at least what the Dutch central government pays its own interns: € 800 a month for a full-time internship, since 1 January 2026 [11]. There is no statutory minimum yet [9]. Work that matters deserves pay that matters, whatever it says on someone's CV.
Sources
- Rijksoverheid: Wat staat er in een arbeidsovereenkomst?, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid (2026): Bedragen minimumloon 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid: Ik heb een nulurencontract. Heb ik recht op vakantiedagen en vakantiegeld? (vakantie-uren: 4 keer de uren per week, vakantiegeld minimaal 8%), accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 667, geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 668a (ketenregeling), geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 668 (aanzegplicht), geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- CBS (2023): Scholieren voortgezet onderwijs werkten derde kwartaal 11 uur per week (met tabellen gebruikelijke arbeidsduur en top 3 beroepen), accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid: Heb ik recht op het minimumloon als ik stage loop?, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid (2026): Kabinet wil stagevergoeding verplichten, accessed 11 October 2026.
- CBS (2025): Werk: Jaarrapport Landelijke Jeugdmonitor 2025, accessed 11 October 2026.
- P-Direkt (Rijksoverheid) (2026): Stage-informatie voor stagiairs (stagevergoeding bij het Rijk), accessed 11 October 2026.
Transparency: VOIDS connects working students with organisations and therefore has an interest in this topic. We back up facts with sources and connect research and trends to our own experience from practice.
