About Seasonalwork.NL

Seasonalwork.NL is a vacancy website and a cv database where employers in the Netherlands from the agricultural sector can get in contact with EU/EER jobseekers. On Seasonalwork.NL you can find both the vacancies of the employers as well the cv's of the jobseekers. Therefore, demand and supply come together in one place. European candidates can create an account on Seasonalwork.NL and register their cv. European candidates who are interested in agricultural work can react on the vacancies and get in contact with the employer. Seasonalwork.NL works together with Eures to get in contact with jobseekers all over EU/EER.

Are you looking for a job in the agricultural sector in the Netherlands? You can find it on Seasonalwork.NL. The vacancies are safe and trusted, Seasonalwork.NL only offers legal work.

At www.seasonalwork.nl you will find interesting vacancies and useful information about working and living in the Netherlands. Seasonalwork.NL is offering:

  • Online cv registration
  • Interesting vacancies
  • Legal job in the agricultural sector
  • Seasonal work, but also year-round
  • A job directly with the employer

 

What can I do as a jobseeker?
A jobseeker can register their cv online on the website. When a jobseeker has entered his or her cv online it will be published on the website but is only visible to agricultural employers with an account of Seasonalwork.NL. Seasonalwork.NL advises that jobseekers enter the cv as completely as possible. Important parts are:

  • Personal information
  • E-mail address
  • Phone number
  • Work experience
  • Language skills

 

Candidates with a complete cv have more chance to be found by the employers. The employer selects the candidates. The employer will contact the candidates and make an appointment with them. You also have the option of independently contacting an employer to apply or inquire about the job activities. Have a look at the link for some handy tips for candidates; Tips for candidates.

Interested in working in The Netherlands?
Register and add your cv to the database. When interested, the employer will contact you by E-mail. So, keep your profile as complete as possible! Please be aware that this site is only meant for agricultural work!

 

About The Netherlands 

The Netherlands is situated in the north-west of Europe and is surrounded by the North-Sea, Germany and Belgium. Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and Dutch is the spoken language. Many Dutch people can also speak English and/or German. About 17 million people live in the Netherlands in an area of 41.526 km2. More than 19% of the surface consists of water. The land is protected from the water by means of a system of dikes and waterworks. This means that the Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

The Netherlands has a moderate maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers. The climate is influenced by the North Sea, which moderates the temperature throughout the year, with temperature fluctuations increasing towards the east. In the winter months, it can freeze considerably, with average temperatures between  0 and 10 degrees. Summers are moderately warm, with average maximum temperatures around 24 degrees. Hot days are also possible in the Netherlands with temperatures up to 35 degrees. The Dutch economy relies mainly on a very highly developed agricultural and horticultural sector, the services sector and international trade. Despite being quite a small country, it is world’s sixth largest exporter and investor.

Farmers
More than half of the total area and two-thirds of the land area of ​​the Netherlands is used for agriculture and horticulture. In the period 1980-2019, there was a significant increase in scale in agriculture and horticulture. While the number of farms decreased by 63 percent, the area of ​​agricultural land decreased by 10 percent. In other words, we see that there are less farms in the Netherlands, but that the existing companies are getting bigger. In total 55,000 agricultural and horticultural companies are located in the Netherlands.

The provinces of South Holland, North Brabant, North Holland and Limburg have the most labor-intensive agricultural and horticultural companies. Here you will find greenhouse horticulture companies, open cultivation (such as horticulture, flower bulbs and arboriculture) and mushroom companies. Many labor migrants work in these companies for a short or longer period.

Working in the Netherlands
When you want to work in the Netherlands there are some obligations that you have to comply with.

ID-proof

When you come to the Netherlands to work, it is mandatory to have a valid and not damaged ID-card or passport. Make sure the ID-card or passport is valid during your whole stay in the Netherlands.

Civilian Service Number (BSN)

When you start working for the first time in the Netherlands, you are obliged to request a Civilian Service Number (Dutch: BSN). The BSN number is a personal number for the contact between the civilian and the government. Everybody who starts working in the Netherlands, has to give their BSN-number to the employer. The employer needs this number to pay the salary. If you need to go suddenly to the doctor or the hospital, your BSN number will be required.

A BSN-number can be requested at the following cities: Alkmaar, Almelo, Amsterdam, Breda, Den Haag, Doetinchem, Eindhoven, Groningen, Goes, Heerlen, Leeuwarden, Leiden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Venlo, Zwolle.

To request a BSN number you have personally report yourself at the municipality. Make sure that you have a valid ID-card or passport; otherwise the municipality can not give you a BSN-number.

A BSN-request is free of charge.

Health insurance

In the Netherlands it is mandatory to have a Dutch health insurance for all people who live and/or work here. Make sure that you arrange a health insurance for the time that you work here. Not having health insurance risks receiving a fine. You also have the risk of high medical costs, for example if you need treatment or have to stay in a hospital.

It is your own responsibility to take out Dutch health insurance. You can arrange this yourself with a Dutch insurance company, but it is much better and cheaper if the employer arranges it for you. Many Dutch employers arrange health insurance for foreign employees through LTO Arbeidskracht. LTO Arbeidskracht is the largest Dutch agricultural and horticultural organization that organizes tailor-made health insurance for labor migrants.

The employer will deduct health insurance contribution from your wages if you have authorised  your employer to arrange the health insurance. On the payslip, you will see the amount of health insurance contribution is paid.

At the end of the year, your employer can apply for healthcare benefits via LTO Arbeidskracht. You may receive a large part of the paid health insurance contribution back into your account. The amount of healthcare allowance depends on your annual income and is determined by the Dutch Tax Authorities.

Accommodation

In the agricultural sector, there is a lot of seasonal work and therefore varying needs for labor during the year. Due to this, the employers are often depending on temporary foreign employees. These seasonal workers are often accommodated at the farm. Average accommodation costs are between € 35,- and € 75,- per week. In these accommodations there is often shared bathrooms, kitchens and multiple persons sleeping in one room.

Bank account

In the Netherlands from 1 January 2016 it is prohibited to pay employees' wages in cash. The employer must pay the salary to the employee's personal bank account number. This bank account number has to be in your name. It is not allowed for your salary be paid to a bank account number of for example, of your sister or cousin. The salary payment is only allowed on a joint bank account in case it is an AND/OR-account and it is named on all the concerned employees (husband/wife or partners).

The Dutch government has made it mandatory that it has to be checked whether the salary is actually paid to the employee.

Your employer can transfer the money to a foreign bank account number. Therefore, make sure that you have a personal bank account number before you come to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands it is very difficult to open a temporary bank account in your name.

Other information
More information about working in the Netherlands can be found here.

The brochure provides information to find your way in the Dutch society. What kind of things do you have to arrange? And what rights do you have? This consists of all information about living, working, taxes, registration in the Community Basic Administration Personal information (Dutch: GBA) and the health care in the Netherlands.

 

Agriculture Jobs

Picking strawberries in the greenhouse or under polytunnel
Period:                               March - December
Contract:                           about 10 months
Working conditions:       light work with high temperature
Working hours:                Depending on the weather, start at 06.00 – 07.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSDgdJ6zHwY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_VSC7LkFE8

Asparagus
Period:                               March - June
Contract:                           about 8 - 10 weeks
Working conditions:       Physically quite heavy
Working hours:                depending on the weather and time of the season, start at 06.00 – 07.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcTk4NxssmE

Vegetables
Period:                               March - October
Contract:                           about 20 weeks
Working conditions:       Physically quite heavy, in all weather conditions there is outside work which have to be done in a kneeling position.
Working hours:                Depending on the weather and time of the season. Start at 07.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHqVTGWp3fw  (harvest lettuce)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz_-M5PwhVg  (harvesting red cabbage)

Harvesting flowers in the greenhouse
Period:                               March - December
Contract:                           about 10 months
Working conditions:       Many tasks are in a standing position
Working hours:                Start at 06.00 - 08.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ScX4GJVKc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v34yUNQvYGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbV7ogpQTuc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rdJZ0z0Brg

Harvesting flowers in the field
Period:                               May - October
Contract:                           about 20 weeks
Working conditions:       Many tasks are in a standing position
Working hours:                Start at 06.00 - 08.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-DaoyKsgk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzv2hMBgIs0 

Picking strawberries in the field
Period:                               May - August
Contract:                           about 20 weeks
Working conditions:       Physically quite heavy, many hours in a kneeling posture
Working hours:                Depending on the weather, start at 06.00 – 07.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjuq9bctUS0

Picking Apples / pears
Period: August - October
Contract: about 8 weeks
Working conditions: Physically quite heavy
Working hours: start at 8.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw7NEJu_8wI

Tree nursery
Period:                               March- May and September - December
Contract:                           3 months to 8 months
Working conditions:       Physically quite heavy
Working hours:                depending on the weather and time of the season, start at 07.00 am.

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK2LR14TmJE 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EwaClR7CB0

Sorting flowers bulbs
Period:                               October - December
Contract:                           about 4 - 8 weeks
Working conditions:       light work
Working hours:                start at 08.00 am

If you want to know more about working conditions see the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KP0z7AkHLo

 

Salary

For the work that you do in the Netherlands it is taken into account, among other things, the function, work experience, age and the educational level of the employee. The salary is calculated on a start time period, for instance month, four weeks or per hour.  Everyone who is legally employed in the Netherlands must receive a payslip. The document shows all the components of earnings and the final amount paid. Regardless of whether a person works on a permanent or temporary contract, e.g. through an employment agency. This document is most often sent by email, but can also be on paper. In addition to the payslip, the ET scheme is also often referred to. The ET Scheme stands for Extraterritorial Costs. The ET Scheme is a tax scheme that makes it possible for foreign employees with temporary work in the Netherlands to receive tax-free reimbursement for costs incurred while doing temporary work abroad. The ET Scheme is used to reduce taxable wages. Have a look at the link for more information.

 

When you work in the Netherlands you will at least earn the legal minimum wage. It is not allowed for the employer to pay less, more is of course possible. The Dutch government determines the amount of the minimum wage twice per year (January 1st / July 1st).

If you are below 21 years old then you have the right for the minimum youth wage.

For more information about the legal minimum wage and the minimum youth wage, click here:

https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/minimumloon/bedragen-minimumloon
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/minimumloon/vraag-en-antwoord/wanneer-minimumloon

 

Gross & Nett salary
In the Netherlands we often talk about gross and nett salary. You find these amounts on different places in your contract, the collective agreement and on your payslip. The amounts are different from each other, due to various deductions from wages, such as income tax, social security contributions, pension, housing costs and health insurance contribution.

What is exact the difference between the gross and nett salary?

Gross salary
This is the salary where no taxes and social insurances area subtracted. This is also the amount as agreed upon in your contract. Dependent of the amount of your salary a certain percentage of your salary is subtracted. If you become ill, get unemployed or retire a settlement is paid out of this money. The settlement is in most cases paid out by the Dutch government.

Nett salary
This is the salary that is left after the income tax, compulsory contributions, pension, housing costs, and health insurance have been deducted from the gross salary. In most cases, this is the salary that is deposited into your bank account.

In all cases, the gross wage is therefore higher than the net wage. Because there are various factors that influence wages and wage tax, there is no huge percentage that describes the net wage. The amount of the net salary depends, among other things, on your age, country of origin and the number of hours worked.

 

 

Collective Labour Agreement

There are various collective labor agreements in the agricultural sector (or cao’s) in the Netherlands. Cao’s are collective agreements between employers, employee organisations and trade unions, regarding Employment contract, conditions of employment and other: wages, overtime, supplements, work times, probation, notice period and retirement. The government is not part of these agreements.

More information about the most common individual cao’s in the agriculture sector in the Netherlands can be found here:

 

European Employment Services

EURES - European Employment Services - is a cooperation network designed to facilitate the free movement of workers within the European Economic Area; Switzerland is also involved. Partners in the network include public employment services, trade union and employers' organisations. The network is coordinated by the European Commission.

The main objectives of EURES are:

  • to inform, guide and provide advice to potentially mobile workers on job opportunities as well as living and  working conditions in the European Economic Area
  • to assist employers wishing to recruit workers from other countries
  • to provide advice and guidance to workers and employers in cross-border regions