The word “Werkstudent” comes from German. In Germany, working alongside your studies is common and the Werkstudent has a recognised status with its own arrangement in social insurance: the Werkstudentenprivileg [1]. In the DZHW student survey (reference year 2021), 63% of students in Germany worked alongside their studies [2]. What does that status involve, and what can you do with it in the Netherlands?
What does the Werkstudentenprivileg involve?
Under German law (§ 6 para. 1 no. 3 SGB V), students at a university who work for pay during their studies are exempt from compulsory health insurance [3]. According to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, the exemption in health, long-term care and unemployment insurance applies if the student's time and effort go predominantly to studying; that is assumed for a working week of at most 20 hours, regardless of pay [1]. With more than 20 hours the exemption only applies if that is due to work at weekends or in evenings and at night in a contract of at most 26 weeks. Work done only in the semester break is exempt [1].
Fixed hours, clear expectations
The 20-hour limit in Germany is a legally relevant upper limit for the contribution exemption, not a casual habit [1]. An agreement on hours per week is therefore a given there. In the Netherlands too, a clearly agreed number of hours, with an explicit agreement on how it combines with studies, works better than vague “come in whenever it suits” arrangements.
Is the German model arranged differently from the Dutch one?
Yes. The German Werkstudentenprivileg is an arrangement in German social insurance that exempts students from certain contributions under conditions [3][1]. In the Netherlands we have, in tax law, the student and pupil scheme, under which an employer withholds no or less payroll tax [4].
What you can borrow as a Dutch employer
- Treat the role as structural, with its own place on the team
- Agree a fixed number of hours instead of loose, shifting availability
- Build a growth path toward a full-time role instead of leaving it at one role
- Pay in line with the level of the work, not the status of “student”
And in the Netherlands?
Working higher-education students (aged 15 to 27) had an average usual working time of 18.7 hours a week in the third quarter of 2023 [5]. That's almost half a working week. Set such a role up as a real role.
Sources
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Lexikon: Werkstudentenprivileg, accessed 11 October 2026.
- DZHW (2023): Ergebnisse der „Studierendenbefragung in Deutschland“ (22. Sozialerhebung), Presseinformation BMBF/DZHW/DSW, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Gesetze im Internet (Bundesministerium der Justiz): Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB) Fünftes Buch (V), § 6 Versicherungsfreiheit, accessed 11 October 2026.
- Belastingdienst: Ik werk in loondienst, accessed 11 October 2026.
- CBS (2023): Scholieren voortgezet onderwijs werkten derde kwartaal 11 uur per week (met tabellen gebruikelijke arbeidsduur en top 3 beroepen), accessed 11 October 2026.
