Problems with your pay, schedule or dismissal at your side job?
Even as a student, school pupil or holiday worker you have employment rights. Arslan Advocaten assesses your contract, recalculates missing pay and helps with a conflict with your employer or temporary employment agency.
Call 070 450 0300 Discuss your side job
The first consultation is free of charge and without obligation. For further assistance, we agree the costs in advance.
Written by Onur Arslan, employment lawyer at Arslan Advocaten. Updated on 20 September 2026.
A side job is covered by the same employment law as any other job, with a few specific rules for young people: on working hours and breaks, on the youth minimum wage and on what may and may not be deducted from your pay. This page sets out the questions that come up most often in side jobs, with for each topic the article in which it is explained in full.
Hours worked, not paid
Put your schedule, record of hours, payslip and bank statement side by side. Check the hours worked and paid, the gross hourly wage, allowances and deductions. A difference between your gross payslip and your net bank payment is not automatically wage arrears. Calculate the possible arrears per pay period.
Break deducted from your pay
A break is only a break if you are free to do as you please. Eating behind the counter while you serve customers is working time. In addition, a separate break rule applies to 16- and 17-year-olds.
Fines and deductions from your salary
A till discrepancy, a broken crate of glasses or arriving late: those are three different things, with three different sets of rules. A fine is only valid under strict conditions.
Holiday pay and overtime
Holiday allowance must be paid at least once per calendar year; merely reserving it on the payslip is not payment. Additional limits on working and rest times apply to young people; school time may count towards them. Whether extra hours entitle you to a supplement depends on your contract and collective labour agreement.
Same work, less pay?
The youth minimum wage may be lower than the adult minimum wage. But a distinction based on age within the same position must be justifiable.
Sick during your side job
Even with a small contract you may be entitled to pay during illness. The duration of your contract, your fixed or usual hours, the call period and the collective labour agreement determine for which hours and at what percentage you receive pay. An empty schedule does not necessarily mean that you have no entitlement.
Do you work through a temporary employment agency?
Then the agency is your employer, even though you work in someone else’s shop or warehouse. That determines whom you should approach about your pay and your contract. Also see our help for temporary agency workers. With an on-call contract, you will find the main routes under your rights as an on-call worker.
- Who is your employer when you work through an agency?
- Temporary agency worker dismissed? These are your rights
Dismissal, probationary period and simply being sent home
Giving up or losing a side job follows the same rules as any other job: a probationary period must have been validly agreed, and summary dismissal is subject to strict requirements.
- Dismissal during the probationary period
- May your employer send a message saying you no longer need to come in?
A question about your side job?
If you cannot resolve it with your employer, take a look at our help with employment law. The first consultation is free of charge and without obligation; bring your contract, your schedules and your payslips.
Trial day, induction and arriving early: must that be paid?
The word trial day does not automatically make normal work unpaid. Look at what you actually do: are you working alongside others, serving customers, stocking shelves or following a compulsory induction programme? Then this may be paid work. A short introduction or a genuine selection assignment is something else. Keep the invitation, the instructions, the duration and the work you did. Compulsory preparation and closing work may not simply disappear from your record of hours.
How we help with a conflict about your side job
- First your question and the time limit. Tell us whether you are still working, have reported sick, want to stop yourself or have already been dismissed. Short limitation periods may apply to a dismissal. So do not wait for the next payslip.
- Contract and calculation. We look at your employer, collective labour agreement, age, hourly wage, contract hours and schedules. With agency work, we also take into account the phase and the agency clause.
- A concrete next step. Depending on your case, that may be a written request for an explanation, a wage claim, consultation about your hours or a defence against dismissal. Proceedings only follow after the chances, costs and risks have been discussed.
What you can gather in the meantime
- Your contract and any extensions.
- The payslips and associated bank payments that your question concerns.
- Schedules, clocked hours and messages about cancellations or extra shifts.
- Your own overview per shift: date, start, end, actual break and hours paid.
- Messages about illness, dismissal or the final settlement.
Do you not have a written contract? An oral employment contract can also be valid. Other evidence, such as messages and payments, may then be all the more important. At your first contact, only share the information needed to assess your question.
What does legal help cost for a student?
The first consultation with us is free of charge and without obligation. That does not mean that the full handling of your case is free. We discuss in advance whether your legal expenses insurance can provide cover, whether subsidised legal aid is possible, and which costs apply otherwise. A legal aid certificate (toevoeging) depends on, among other things, income, assets and the case; a personal contribution usually applies. Simply being a student does not automatically entitle you to a legal aid certificate.
With limited wage arrears, we weigh the importance of your claim against the costs of further steps. That way you know what you are getting into. Also read about help with unpaid wages.
Frequently asked questions about employment law in a side job
Do I have fewer rights because I am a student?
No. Your studies do not make your employment contract any less valid. However, rules may depend on your age, collective labour agreement and type of contract, such as the youth minimum wage and the working hours for minors.
May my employer stop scheduling me?
No longer scheduling you does not automatically end your contract. With fixed or guaranteed hours, wages may remain payable. With on-call work, we examine the calls to work, your usual hours and any right to an offer of fixed hours.
Do I have to sign a termination agreement straight away?
No. First have the reason, end date, final settlement and possible consequences for a benefit assessed. Extra caution is needed in the event of illness. Even without a signature, time limits may start to run if your employer has already dismissed you.
Can you help me if my side job is through a temporary employment agency?
Yes. We then assess the temporary employment contract, the collective labour agreement and the phase, in addition to your pay and hours worked. The hirer is not automatically your employer.
Legal sources and contact
The basis is set out in Book 7, Title 10 of the Civil Code. For wage arrears, article 7:625 of the Civil Code is relevant, among other provisions. We also test your situation against the applicable collective labour agreement and the current youth wage and working hours rules.
Arslan Advocaten has offices in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Tilburg and Eindhoven. Assistance in Dutch, Turkish, Polish and English is available. Get in touch about your side job or call 070 450 0300.