In short: Warehousing and logistics is the biggest entry sector in Dutch agency work: no language, no
trade required — but you need to cope with the pace, the shifts and the cold. From July 2026 the pay is
at least €14.99 gross per hour (age 21+), and on top come the allowances — evening, night, weekend,
shift and cold allowances — which since 2026 are due to you under the client company’s rules. This
article tells you which shift patterns to expect, which allowances apply, what to ask the agency before day
one, and what to check on your payslip.
What the work actually is
The three main types of logistics work you meet as an agency worker:
- Distribution centre (distributiecentrum, DC): the warehouse of a retail chain or web shop. Order
picking (orderpicken) with a hand scanner or by voice (pick-by-voice), packing, palletising,
loading and unloading. A huge hall, many kilometres of walking per shift. - Chilled and frozen warehouse (koelcel, vriescel): fresh food, meat, vegetables. The chilled area is
typically 0–4 °C, the freezer below −18 °C*¹ — the employer supplies the clothing, and a separate
cold allowance is usual. - Transport, cross-dock, parcel sorting: depots of parcel companies and hauliers, often at night,
because the trucks come and go at night.
What the ad doesn’t say but you should count on: the work is standing and moving — eight hours on
your feet, repetitive lifting, and in peak season (November–December for web shops) compulsory overtime or
Saturdays. If you can take that, logistics is predictable and transparent work; if not, the first two weeks
will show it.
Shift patterns — what to expect
Logistics runs in shifts, because the warehouse doesn’t stop. The most common patterns:
- Two-shift (2-ploegendienst): early and late, e.g. 06:00–14:30 and 14:30–23:00, alternating weekly.
- Three-shift (3-ploegendienst): the above plus nights (roughly 23:00–07:00).
- Nights only (nachtdienst): parcel sorting, cross-dock — higher allowance, but not everyone lasts.
- Weekends (weekenddienst): in more and more DCs, Saturday is a working day.
Under the Dutch Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) a shift is at most 12 hours, a week at most
48 hours on average over 16 weeks, and between two shifts you are entitled to at least 11 hours of
rest*². If your roster breaks this regularly, that isn’t “the Dutch way” — it’s a breach.
Ask before you sign: how many hours does the contract guarantee? On an agency contract (especially in
phase A, with an uitzendbeding) the “38–40 hours” in the ad is often not a guaranteed number but the
usual roster — if work is slow, you get fewer hours and are paid for fewer*³. Ask it literally:
“Hoeveel uren zijn gegarandeerd?”
Allowances: what comes on top of €14.99
The base: the statutory minimum wage is €14.99 gross per hour from 1 July 2026 for age 21+ (it was
€14.71 in January 2026; the next rise is 1 January 2027). Most logistics ads pay somewhat more — you see the
actual range in the ad’s “Hourly wage” field, and the jobSCAN monthly data article sums it up per sector.
Since 2026, allowances follow the client company’s rules. From 1 January 2026 the agency-work CAO
abolished the old “inlenersbeloning” system: the agency worker’s total package must now be at least
equivalent to what the client company gives its own employee doing the same work — pay, leave and
allowances together. So it isn’t the agency’s CAO that decides your night allowance; it’s which CAO the
warehouse you work in falls under.
Example — the transport and logistics CAO (cao Beroepsgoederenvervoer, 2026):
| When | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Night hours (21:00–05:00) | +19% |
| Saturday | +50% |
| Sunday | +100% |
| Overtime | +30% |
| Two-shift pattern | 8.75–10% |
| Three-shift pattern | 13.75–15% |
| Cold allowance (cold store) | €42.14 per 4 weeks |
But: not every warehouse is on this CAO. A retail chain’s DC may fall under the retail CAO, a web shop’s
warehouse under its own scheme, with different percentages*⁴. So the question to the agency isn’t “how much
is the allowance” but: “Welke cao geldt bij de inlener, en wat is de ploegentoeslag daar?” The agency has
to answer that — your pay depends on it.
Papers, kit, training
- Forklift (heftruck, reachtruck): there is no state “licence”, but the employer must demonstrably
train you before putting you on a truck — in practice that’s the heftruckcertificaat*⁵. If the ad
asks for forklift skills, ask who pays for the course and whether the certificate is in your name (then
it goes with you to the next job). - VCA: the basic safety exam, requested by many logistics and manufacturing companies. Not a legal
requirement but a client’s condition; usually the agency arranges it. - Protective equipment: under the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) safety shoes, hi-vis vest and cold
clothing are supplied by the employer, free of charge — they can’t be deducted from pay. If the agency
deducts a “deposit”, ask for the reason in writing. - Induction (inwerken): the first 1–3 days are learning — scanner, routes, safety. That is paid working
time.
The first week — what to watch
- Go through your first payslip (loonstrook): hourly rate, hours worked, and the allowance on a
separate line (“toeslag”, “ploegentoeslag”, “onregelmatigheidstoeslag”). If you worked nights and
there’s no such line, ask in writing. - Your roster (rooster) should be in writing or in the app, in advance — “come in at 22:00 tomorrow”
is not a roster. - Distance from housing to work: logistics DCs are often on industrial estates with no public
transport. Ask who provides transport and at what cost — the cao Beroepsgoederenvervoer contains no
transport obligation; it’s an arrangement with the agency*⁶.
What to do now
- Ask the agency — before signing — which CAO the client falls under and what the shift and night
allowances are there. In writing. - Clarify the guaranteed hours, and whether overtime and weekends are compulsory in peak season.
- After the first payment, compare the payslip with the roster: hours, allowance line, deductions.
Whatever is wrong is easier to fix in month one than six months later.
Related listings: Warehouse and logistics jobs on jobSCAN →
In the listings, the “Hourly wage” and “Shift” fields show what to expect; the “Housing” field shows
whether the advertiser provides accommodation.
* Notes — where there is no exact or citable figure:
*¹ Chilled and frozen warehouse temperatures are general industry practice, not a legal requirement — they differ per site.
*² The main Arbeidstijdenwet rules (12 h per shift, 48 h per week averaged over 16 weeks, 11 h rest) are the statutory baseline; CAOs and shift-work exceptions may deviate. The exact rule that applies to you comes from the CAO.
*³ The absence of guaranteed hours is a general feature of phase A contracts with an uitzendbeding; whether your contract guarantees hours can only be seen from the contract text.
*⁴ Which CAO a given warehouse falls under is not in any public database — you have to ask the agency. This article does not detail the retail and web-shop warehouse CAOs.
*⁵ The forklift training duty rests on the “specific expertise” requirement of the Arbobesluit; the law does not prescribe a certificate format, the market accepts the heftruckcertificaat. This article does not cite the exact legal provision.
*⁶ Transport conditions differ per agency and client; there is no general rule.
Sources: Flexnieuws — Per 1 juli 2026 stijgt het wettelijk minimumuurloon naar € 14,99 (2026-04-25) · Randstad Werkpocket — CAO uitzendkrachten 2026–2028: alle wijzigingen op een rij (2026) · cao Beroepsgoederenvervoer — CAO beroepsgoederenvervoer & transport 2026 (2026) · JEX — Alles over de cao ABU voor uitzendkrachten in 2026–2028 (2026) · Rijksoverheid — Arbeidstijdenwet: werktijden en rusttijden (2026)
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