If you take on a mechanic, the collective agreement for the motor vehicle and two-wheeler sector applies to him. The minister has declared that agreement generally binding. That means it also applies if you are not a BOVAG member. You pay at least the wage from the agreement table, 8% holiday allowance, pension contributions to the Metal and Technology Pension Fund (PMT) and 0.95% to the sector's social fund.
In a worked example with a monthly wage of € 3,174 that comes to just over € 44,000 a year, still without the employer contributions for employee insurance. A work-based apprentice, who works four days and goes to school one day, is cheaper and qualifies for a subsidy, but needs supervision.
In short
- The motor vehicle and two-wheeler agreement is generally binding. Even without BOVAG you pay the agreement wage and register your mechanic with PMT.
- The PMT contribution is 27.98% of salary above € 19,172, of which you as employer pay at least 17.70%. You pay 0.95% to the social fund.
- A work-based apprentice qualifies for up to € 2,800 in subsidy per study year, often less. With staff you also need a risk assessment.
In this article
- Does the agreement apply if you are not a BOVAG member?
- What wage must you pay a mechanic?
- What does the PMT pension cost?
- What is the social fund and what do you pay into it?
- What does a mechanic cost a year in total?
- Is a work-based apprentice a cheaper start?
- What must you arrange for safety once you have staff?
Does the agreement apply if you are not a BOVAG member?
Yes. The Minister of Social Affairs declared the agreement generally binding on 10 September 2025 (Government Gazette 2025, 28099). Generally binding means the agreement applies to all employers in the sector, not only to members of the employers' organisation.
The agreement runs from 1 February 2025 to 31 October 2027. It applies among other things to repairing and servicing motor vehicles and to selling cars and parts to the public. It is a minimum agreement: you may give more, not less (collective agreement for the motor vehicle and two-wheeler sector 2025-2027, article 1).
What wage must you pay a mechanic?
At least the amount from the agreement's salary table. Which salary group a mechanic falls into follows from the agreement's job classification. Within that group the wage rises with years in the job. From 1 February 2026 all monthly salaries rose by € 128 gross, and from 1 January 2027 another 2.5% is added (agreement, salary tables and article 46).
An example: in salary group E with 4 years in the job the monthly salary is € 3,174 (table from 1 February 2026). The normal working week is 38 hours on average, and the hourly wage is 0.607% of the monthly salary. On everything the employee earns, he receives 8% holiday allowance (agreement, articles 23 and 73).
What does the PMT pension cost?
Participation in the Metal and Technology Pension Fund is compulsory for the garage sector. That duty is set out in a ministerial decision, the compulsory participation order, which expressly mentions repairing and servicing cars (Government Gazette 2015, 11859). Even without BOVAG membership you and your employees must therefore be registered with PMT (agreement, article 95).
In 2026 the contribution is 27.98% of salary up to € 99,321, after deducting a franchise of € 19,172. The franchise is the part of the salary on which no contribution is paid. You as employer pay at least 17.70%, the employee at most 10.28% (PMT, calculating contributions).
In the example the annual salary without holiday allowance is 12 times € 3,174, which is € 38,088. Minus the franchise, € 18,916 remains. Your share is then 17.70% of that, about € 3,348 a year, and your mechanic pays about € 1,945. Whether the holiday allowance counts is set out in the pension rules. Your payroll administration works it out exactly.
What is the social fund and what do you pay into it?
The social fund is the Foundation Fund for the Motor Vehicle and Two-Wheeler Sector. You pay 0.95% on the maximum annual salary, as the financing rules describe it. Of that, 0.25 percentage point goes to the early retirement scheme, the RVU, in principle until the end of 2027 (Government Gazette 2025, 40615).
Money also comes back from the sector's funds. The training fund OOMT, for example, gives € 75 off the e-certificate for working safely on electric cars, for employees under this agreement (OOMT, e-certification). Ask with every course what the fund reimburses.
What does a mechanic cost a year in total?
In the example of € 3,174 a month about € 44,500 a year, before the employer contributions for employee insurance and the social fund. Those contributions depend on your sector, the type of contract and the payroll total. Have your payroll administration work out the exact amounts before you make an offer.
Good mechanics are scarce. In the second quarter of 2026 there were 7,700 open vacancies in the automotive sector, and UWV names car mechanics first among the occupations with many vacancies (UWV, automotive sector). So expect an experienced mechanic to ask for more than the minimum in the table.
Is a work-based apprentice a cheaper start?
The wage is lower, but the apprentice takes time. BBL is the work-based learning route of MBO: working and learning at the same time. For apprentices aged 16 to 20 the agreement has lower amounts. In salary group C that is € 1,831 a month for an 18-year-old (table from 1 February 2026).
An apprentice aged 17 or over with a work-based learning contract has the weekly school day paid in full, with four days of work and one day at school. Since the 2025/2026 study year this applies to all levels. If the apprentice stops earlier than agreed, he repays the wages for the school days (agreement, article 88).
For each placement you can apply for the work-based learning subsidy, up to € 2,800 per study year. With many applications RVO divides the budget proportionally, so you often receive less. For the 2026-2027 study year you apply from 2 June to 17 September 2027. RVO checks the recognition as a training company with SBB, and you must hold the placement agreement for each apprentice (RVO, work-based learning subsidy scheme).
Whether training pays off depends mainly on what the apprentice already produces during the training and whether he stays afterwards. Research on Germany and Switzerland, the only countries with regular data on this, shows that a large share of training firms have recouped their costs by the end of the training. Firms often keep the best apprentices, which makes training a way of recruiting skilled staff (Muehlemann and Wolter, 2014).
What must you arrange for safety once you have staff?
A risk assessment, the RI&E. In it you record in writing which risks the work poses for your employees, with an action plan setting out measures and deadlines (Working Conditions Act, article 5). In a garage this covers among other things the lift, exhaust fumes, hazardous substances and high-voltage work.
With at most 25 employees you do not need to have the risk assessment checked by an expert, if you use a tool registered with the minister (Working Conditions Act, article 14). The sector has such a risk assessment for every business under this agreement, with versions per sub-sector (OOMT, sector risk assessment).
If you have staff and no risk assessment, a fine follows straight away. The standard amount is € 4,500, and a business with fewer than 5 employees pays 10% of it, so € 450 (Policy rule on fines under working conditions legislation). With a repeat offence or an accident it becomes more.
Sources
- Decision declaring the motor vehicle and two-wheeler agreement generally binding, 10 September 2025, Government Gazette 2025, 28099. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Collective agreement for the motor vehicle and two-wheeler sector, 1 February 2025 to 31 October 2027, articles 1, 23, 46, 73, 88 and 95 and salary tables. fnv.nl
- Amendment of compulsory participation in the Metal and Technology Pension Fund, Government Gazette 2015, 11859. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- PMT, Calculating contributions (2026), accessed 22 October 2026. pmt.nl
- Decision declaring the social fund agreement for the motor vehicle and two-wheeler sector generally binding, Government Gazette 2025, 40615. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- OOMT, E-certification, accessed 22 October 2026. oomt.nl
- UWV, Labour market information for the automotive sector, accessed 22 October 2026. uwv.nl
- RVO, Work-based learning subsidy scheme, accessed 22 October 2026. rvo.nl
- Muehlemann, S. & Wolter, S.C. (2014). Return on investment of apprenticeship systems for enterprises: evidence from cost-benefit analyses. IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 3, 25. doi.org
- Working Conditions Act, articles 5 and 14. wetten.overheid.nl
- OOMT, Sector risk assessment, accessed 22 October 2026. oomt.nl
- Policy rule on fines under working conditions legislation, in force from 11 February 2025. wetten.overheid.nl