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Angelos' Story: How to avoid mistakes while searching for work in the Netherlands

04-11-2024
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Gabriel

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Angelos' Story: How to avoid mistakes while searching for work in the Netherlands

Getting a student job in the Netherlands often seems to be a challenge, especially as an international. Some students are therefore happy to take any job offer they can get ignoring the downsides. Dutch laws and regulations can be tricky. That is why we want to share a few don’ts with you after Angelos shared his story working in a restaurant in Arnhem. 

ANGELOS WAS EUPHORIC GETTING A STUDENT JOB AS A DELIVERY CAR DRIVER.

Having a part time job in a field where he had contact to people during the lockdown was nice, until he realised that he did quite a few mistakes that students should be aware of. Get to know how to avoid those mistakes while searching for English speaking jobs in the Netherlands:

1. Know your minimum wage

The older you get, the more money you earn. The amount of money one earns also depends on the number of hours one works. The wages are regulated by law and can be checked on the government.nl website. Angelos did the mistake of not checking it before and got paid less than the law would have prescribed.

 

2. Always get a work contract

If no contract is signed, the employer and employee do not have a legal agreement. Therefore, the work that is being done is illegal and no rights as well as benefits such as holiday and evening wage come into effect. Due to not signing a contract, Angelos was not able to have proof for working there when he did not get paid his salary. Furthermore, suing is employer for the 100 euros he owes him was useless as the process of suing would have cost more.

 

3. Get a health insurance on time

In the Netherlands employees all have to get a health insurance after three months of the start of the contract. You have to pay the health insurance yourself, but it can get partly refunded with health care allowance. Angelos learned that lesson and got insurance after getting a job with proper paperwork.

 

4. Check If you can have duo

DUO is the student finance in the Netherlands. Depending on your contract and hours you might be able to get financial support from the state. You could look into that if you work 56 hours per month, and you are a student. It might not have applied to Angelos or all students, but if you can get DUO it is worth looking at it. 

5. Make use of your skills

Coming from abroad has great benefits, which can be used as an advantage. Language skills are one of them. Also, apart from that, students can make use of the skills the gain during their studies. With the help of International Students Work, Angelos for example found a job in a solar panel manufacture matching with his degree.

 

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"Find work through somebody who inspires some trust and helps you with a new country and new system.’’ - Angelos

Overall, Angelos learned from his bad first working experience in the Netherlands. He only worked at the restaurant for 2.5 months but got in more trouble than he knows. Angelos reached out to International Students Work in March 2021 when he also got a proper work agreement and currently gaining experience in the field of his future profession.

Every international students in the Netherlands should be well informed and should not have taken any job without looking into it. International Students Work provides assistance for international students to find English speaking part-time jobs in the Netherlands. Find out more about how we can help you here.

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