A working student costs a company less in total than a full-time starter, because you buy fewer hours. That isn't the whole story: employer costs, flexibility and risk differ too, and those decide whether a working student is cost-efficient for your situation. Always check amounts and percentages at the source.
What's the direct cost difference between a working student and a full-time starter?
The biggest difference is in hours. An illustration at the minimum wage of € 14.99 gross per hour (as of 1 July 2026, from age 21 [1]): 20 hours a week is € 299.80 gross per week, 40 hours is € 599.60, excluding holiday pay and employer costs. The hourly rate needn't be lower; you just buy less time.
Are employer costs also lower for a working student?
Largely proportionally, but not entirely. The government's business portal lists as mandatory costs, among others, the minimum wage, at least 8% holiday pay and the payroll taxes: contributions for national insurance and employee insurance schemes and the income-related contribution under the Health Insurance Act; a pension scheme is only mandatory via an industry pension fund or collective agreement [2]. For 2026 the Tax Administration lists a low AWf (unemployment) premium of 2.74% and a high one of 7.74%. The low premium applies to a written contract for an indefinite period that isn't an on-call contract; a fixed-term contract therefore generally falls under the high premium. Exception: for an employee younger than 21 who is paid at most 48 hours per four weeks or 52 hours per month, the low premium always applies [3]. Which premium applies to you depends on the contract type and age; check with your payroll administration.
How does the risk differ between the two?
A fixed-term contract ends on the end date [4], whereas an employer can't simply terminate a permanent contract: for business-economic reasons or long-term incapacity for work, for example, UWV permission is needed [5]. In that respect a working-student contract is more flexible. But with a fixed-term contract too, a transition payment may be due on non-renewal: one third of the monthly wage per year of service [6], and the chain rule and notice obligation apply to fixed-term contracts [7][8]. The employer's notice period is, by law, one month for employment of less than five years [9].
When is a working student less cost-efficient than it looks?
If you underpay a working student relative to the level of the work, you save a few euros an hour on paper. Now work out what it costs when someone leaves: recruiting and onboarding all over again. Paying below the minimum wage isn't allowed anyway [1].
A simple calculation to run yourself
- Work out the hourly rate separately from the number of hours: is it comparable to what a full-time junior colleague earns?
- Count payroll taxes and contributions, including the difference between the low and high AWf premium for your contract type
- Count recruiting and onboarding time, not just the salary
- Include any transition payment on non-renewal
- Look at the nature of the work: is it structural enough to justify a starter down the line, or does it fit better as fewer hours over a longer period?
Why this is more than a cost question
A working student isn't a price argument against a starter but a different way of organising the same kind of work, with a different risk profile. So don't choose on price, and be just as critical of underpayment as of the wrong contract type for the work at hand.
Sources
- Rijksoverheid (2026): Bedragen minimumloon 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Ondernemersplein (Rijksoverheid): Stappenplan personeel aannemen, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Belastingdienst (2026): Premiedifferentiatie WW: lage en hoge AWf-premie, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 667, geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Rijksoverheid: Wanneer eindigt mijn arbeidsovereenkomst?, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 673 (transitievergoeding), geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 668a (ketenregeling), geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 668 (aanzegplicht), geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 672 (opzegtermijnen), geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
Transparency: VOIDS connects working students with organisations and therefore has an interest in this topic. We back up facts with sources and connect research and trends to our own experience from practice.
