What counts towards my minimum wage?
Your minimum wage is made up of at least your basic wage and may include other payments.
What counts towards your minimum wage
The minimum wage includes:
- Your basic wage
This is your wage as shown in your employment contract. - Pay for extra work or overtime
If you work more hours than agreed in your employment contract, this counts as extra work or overtime. If you work more than the hours fixed in the relevant collective labour agreement, this also counts as extra work or overtime. Your employer has to pay you the minimum wage for these extra hours too. - Allowances and bonuses
You may receive a performance-related bonus or be entitled to compensation for shift work or irregular hours. - Commission
You may receive regular commission (for instance, weekly or monthly) for sales you make. - Tips
Tips may count towards your minimum wage if you and your employer have made agreements on this. Tips are money given to you for your work by someone other than your employer.
The above amounts, added together, must not be less than the minimum wage. Your payslip will show the minimum hourly wage that you are entitled to.
What does not count towards your minimum wage
The minimum wage does not include:
- your holiday allowance;
- profit distributions;
- extra payments you receive from time to time, for example occasional commission for making a sale;
- amounts that you will receive later under specific conditions, such as from a pension or savings scheme that your employer contributes to;
- reimbursements for work-related expenses;
- an end-of-year allowance.
You are entitled to these payments on top of your minimum wage.