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Understand · Payroll glossary

What is the reference monthly wage?

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The reference monthly wage is your pay converted to full-time: it is used to calculate the work bonus when you work part-time. In Dutch: refertemaandloon (referteloon).

Definition of the reference monthly wage

For part-time work, your actual pay is converted to what it would be for a full timetable. The work bonus is calculated on that amount, then reduced in proportion to your working time: a well-paid half-time job therefore does not get the bonus intended for low wages.

Other rules (notice, unemployment, illness) also use a ‘reference pay’, calculated differently: always check which rule is meant.

Worked example

You work half-time for €1,500 gross. Your reference monthly wage is €3,000: full-time, the bonus would be €110.54. Half-time, you receive half of it, €55.27, and not the maximum bonus for a full-time salary of €1,500.

In Dutch: refertemaandloon (referteloon)

On a Dutch-language payslip (loonbrief), the reference monthly wage is called ‘refertemaandloon (referteloon)’; on a French-language one (fiche de paie), ‘salaire de référence’.

Dutch term taken from: National Social Security Office (NSSO).

Not to be confused with…

  • Gross salary: the amount set in your contract, before any deduction: it is the starting point of your payslip.
  • Part-time work: a timetable shorter than full-time, with pay and rights in proportion; since 1 June 2026, it must be at least 1/10 of a full-time job.

Calculate it for your situation

What you really lose in net pay at four-fifths or half-time, with or without an allowance from the National Employment Office (NEO).

What if I switch to four-fifths?

Related terms

  • Work bonusFrom gross to net · in Dutch: werkbonus
  • Part-time workContract, working time and career · in Dutch: deeltijdse werknemer

Sources

Parameters in force on 1 October 2026. Each parameter links to its source, the official one where it exists; a secondary source is flagged as such.