Student interns to get legal right to pay, but no minimum wage

All students at vocational schools, colleges and universities are to be given a legal right to payment for their internships, under cabinet plans reported by broadcaster NOS on Friday.

The law will not, however, set a minimum wage. Instead, industry sectors and companies offering internships must make “reasonable” arrangements themselves, education minister Rianne Letschert said. “There is real arbitrariness: one student gets paid, another does not.”

A statutory minimum has been ruled out for now because it is difficult to set for each sector, and amounts pitched too high could prompt some companies and institutions to stop offering internship places altogether. If reasonable payments fail to materialise, a legal minimum will follow, and the minister has promised to monitor compliance “strictly”.

Labour agreements and debates 
Some employers already pay interns under collective labour agreements. But figures from national statistics agency CBS show just 43% of vocational students received any payment in early 2025.

A 2023 survey by ResearchNed put the figure at 75% for hbo college students, while for university students it was 65% for compulsory internships and 91% for optional ones.

Student and youth unions campaigned last year for compulsory internship pay, but then education minister Eppo Bruins said he was not planning to require employers to pay trainees.

Letschert said she expects employers to fall into line. “The labour market is getting tighter and tighter, so companies and institutions have an interest in keeping hold of talent.”

Both houses of parliament still have to debate and approve the legislation, which is due to take effect at some point in 2028.