Netherlands WW Unemployment Calculator

This WW uitkering calculator estimates the Dutch unemployment benefit (WW) for employees and expats who lose their job in the Netherlands in 2026, in plain English. It applies the UWV rules for the daily wage, the 75% and 70% payment rates, the 2026 maximum daily wage of €309.91 and the duration earned from your work history. Figures checked October 2026.

Quick answer: WW pays 75% of your daily wage for the first 2 months and 70% after that, for 3 to 24 months. On €4,000 a month plus 8% holiday allowance, the WW uitkering calculator gives €3,240 gross a month at first, then €3,024. The 2026 maximum is €5,055.41 a month, then €4,718.38.

What Is the WW Uitkering?

The WW uitkering is the Dutch state unemployment benefit, paid by the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) to employees who lose at least 5 working hours a week (or half their hours if they worked fewer than 10) through no fault of their own. It is insurance, not welfare: your savings and your partner's income do not matter, only your past wages and work history.

In plain words: daily wage = your social insurance wage (sv-loon) over the year before you became unemployed ÷ 261, capped at €309.91. WW monthly wage = daily wage × 21.75. You receive 75% of that for the first 2 months and 70% from month 3. Because 261 ÷ 12 is exactly 21.75, the WW monthly wage is simply your yearly wage divided by 12, including the holiday allowance you built up.

How Much WW Will I Get?

Expect about 81% of your gross monthly salary for the first 2 months and about 76% after that, once the 8% holiday allowance is counted, unless the cap applies. Take Marta, a Polish logistics planner in Tilburg earning €4,000 gross a month, made redundant in October 2026. Her year's wages with holiday allowance are €51,840, so her daily wage is €51,840 ÷ 261 = €198.62. Her WW monthly wage is €4,320, which gives €3,240 gross a month for 2 months and €3,024 from month 3.

Marta has 12 years of work history, 5 of them before 2016. All 5 early years and the next 5 count for 1 month each, and her last 2 years count for half a month each, so she gets 11 months of WW. Used in full, that is €6,480 plus 9 × €3,024, a total of €33,696 gross. The cap starts to bite on a base salary of about €6,241 a month, once the 8% holiday allowance is added.

How Long Does WW Last in the Netherlands?

WW lasts 3 months if you only meet the weeks requirement, and 1 month for each year of work history if you also meet the years requirement, up to 24 months. Years after your tenth year of work history count for half a month if they fall in 2016 or later.

Work history	Years before 2016	WW duration
Only meets the wekeneis	Any	3 months
6 years	0	6 months
10 years	0	10 months
16 years	6	13 months
20 years	10	15 months
30 years	20	24 months (maximum)

How to Use the WW Uitkering Calculator

Step 1: Enter Your Salary

Type your average gross monthly salary over the last 12 months, before tax and pension. Leave the holiday allowance box ticked if the figure is your base salary, so the 8% is added in line with how UWV builds the daily wage. Overtime and shift pay that appear in your sv-loon also count.

Step 2: Enter Your Work History

Enter the number of full calendar years in which you were paid for at least 208 hours, in the Netherlands or another EU country, and how many of those were before 2016. Your work history overview on Mijn UWV shows the years UWV has on record.

Step 3: Confirm the Requirements

Tick the weeks requirement if you worked in at least 26 of the 36 weeks before your job ended, and the years requirement if you were paid for 208 hours in at least 4 of the last 5 calendar years. The 2026 cap is filled in and can be changed when UWV updates it.

Step 4: Read Your Result

The WW uitkering calculator shows your gross benefit for the first 2 months, the amount from month 3, your daily wage, the number of months and the total. If you are working out how long your savings need to last after WW ends, the emergency fund calculator turns your monthly costs into a target buffer you can plan around.

Who Can Get WW in the Netherlands?

You can get WW if you were employed, are insured under Dutch employee insurance, lost hours without it being your own fault, are available for work and meet the weeks requirement. Resigning yourself or being dismissed for urgent reasons usually means no WW. These points matter most for expats:

• Apply to UWV within one week of your first day without work, and register as a jobseeker on werk.nl.
• WW is gross: UWV deducts wage tax, so your net payment depends on your tax credits.
• Income from work while on WW is offset against the benefit, so report every hour to UWV.
• If your WW is below the social minimum, you may qualify for a UWV supplement under the Toeslagenwet.
• Your WW holiday allowance and the pay you received in May are separate: the Netherlands holiday allowance calculator shows what your employer still owes when you leave.

Unlike the flat rate UK Jobseeker's Allowance, the Dutch WW is earnings related, and it works much like other European unemployment benefit systems, in that it replaces a share of past wages for a limited time, and EU work periods can count towards the weeks requirement with a U1 form. Some collective agreements add a private top up (PAWW) for longer work histories.

Key Netherlands WW Unemployment Terms Explained

These Dutch benefit terms explain the rules used by the Netherlands WW unemployment calculator, helping you estimate payments and understand what UWV will check in your claim.

UWV

The Employee Insurance Agency, the Dutch public body that assesses and pays employee insurance benefits, including WW. It checks your wage records and work history and expects claimants to register and keep looking for work while receiving payments.

Dagloon

The daily wage on which WW is based, derived from the wages subject to social insurance earned in the year before unemployment. It is capped at a statutory maximum, so very high earners receive the same benefit as those at the cap.

SV-loon

Short for sociale verzekeringsloon, the wage figure subject to Dutch employee insurance contributions, as reported by employers to the tax authorities. It includes the holiday allowance you built up and forms the base for calculating the daily wage.

Wekeneis

The weeks requirement, the basic WW condition that you worked in enough weeks of a recent period before losing your job. Meeting only this test gives the shortest benefit duration, regardless of how long your career has been.

Jareneis

The years requirement, a second WW test checking that you were paid for a minimum number of hours in most recent calendar years. Meeting it unlocks a duration based on your full work history instead of the short basic period.

Arbeidsverleden

Your work history in calendar years as counted by UWV, which sets how many months of WW you receive. Years before 2016 and the earliest years of a career count more generously than later years.

Frequently Asked Questions