For a plastering business with staff the Finishing Trades agreement applies. That also applies to ceiling and wall, flooring, terrazzo, block laying and natural stone businesses. The Construction & Infrastructure agreement excludes these businesses itself. A business that mainly does separate tiling usually does fall under Construction & Infrastructure.
If your business does more than one type of work, what counts is where most of the wages go. The choice applies to everyone in the business. If you apply the wrong agreement, you pay wages in arrears and can face a penalty from the parties to the agreement.
In short
- Plastering, facade insulation with render, system ceilings and walls, floors, terrazzo, block laying and natural stone: Finishing Trades agreement. Separate tiling and bricklaying: Construction & Infrastructure. Painting and wallpapering: SAVG agreement.
- The Finishing Trades agreement has a 37.5-hour week, pay per job group and per year of experience, 10 rostered days off and 85% sick pay in 2026. Construction & Infrastructure has 40 hours, 20 rostered days off and 100% and 70% sick pay.
- In both, the pension runs through bpfBOUW, with agreement code 02 for Finishing Trades and 01 for Construction & Infrastructure. If in doubt, request a scope investigation from the Fair Finishing Trades Desk.
In this article
- Which businesses does the Finishing Trades agreement cover?
- Why does the Construction & Infrastructure agreement not cover a plastering business?
- Which agreement applies if your business does more than one type of work?
- Where do tilers, natural stone and painting fall?
- What is different for your employees?
- What about pension and funds?
- What goes wrong if you apply the wrong agreement?
- How do you get certainty about your agreement?
Which businesses does the Finishing Trades agreement cover?
For employers in plastering and finishing, ceilings and walls, flooring, terrazzo, block laying and natural stone (Finishing Trades agreement 2026-2027, article 2(1)). It concerns work for others, so for customers and contractors. The scope is the part of an agreement that says which businesses it covers.
The agreement describes the work broadly. Plastering includes rendering, plastering and sanding, by hand or by machine, and also decorative plaster and fixing plasterboard and profiles as a base. Finishing facades with insulation boards, adhesive and reinforcing mesh is also included (Finishing Trades agreement, article 2(2)). That is external wall insulation.
The ceiling and wall sector installs system ceilings, system walls and raised system floors, with the framework and the profiles. The flooring sector makes cement-bound and synthetic floors. The block laying sector places gypsum, aerated concrete and sand-lime blocks (Finishing Trades agreement, article 2(3) to (6)). A business that does supporting work for such businesses for at least 70% of its turnover is also covered (article 2(8)).
The agreement also applies if you are not a member of the employers' association NOA. The minister has declared it generally binding until 31 December 2027 (Government Gazette 2026, 11596). That decision has applied since 18 April 2026 and has no retroactive effect.
Why does the Construction & Infrastructure agreement not cover a plastering business?
Because that agreement excludes it itself. The Construction & Infrastructure agreement does not apply to businesses working predominantly in plastering, finishing and terrazzo or flooring. Natural stone, stone, wood granite and artificial stone, and painting and finishing are also on that list (Construction & Infrastructure agreement 2025-2027, 10.3.1).
Predominantly means: mostly. The Construction & Infrastructure agreement measures this by comparing the amounts paid in wages per type of work (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 10.3.1). That is the wage bill: the total gross pay you spend on that work in a year. The Construction & Infrastructure agreement is also generally binding, until 31 March 2027 (Government Gazette 2025, 28081).
The ceiling and wall sector and the block laying sector are not listed separately. They do fall under the Finishing Trades agreement, so the entry for finishing most likely covers them. Be careful with block laying: the Construction & Infrastructure agreement lists bricklaying, pointing and bonding as its own work (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 10.2.2). For a business that also does bricklaying, that is a borderline case.
Which agreement applies if your business does more than one type of work?
Then the work where most of the wages go counts, and that agreement applies to everyone in the business. That follows from the wage bill test in the Construction & Infrastructure agreement (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 10.3.1). So a plastering business that also does some tiling stays with the Finishing Trades agreement as long as plastering prevails.
An exception is a separate department. It can have its own agreement if in practice it works as an independent unit (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 10.3.2). In a business of five or ten people with the same planning and the same vans, that is rarely the case.
The Finishing Trades agreement does not name a percentage itself. Doubts about the scope are assessed by the Technical Office for the Finishing Trades in a scope investigation. A committee of employers and unions then decides (Finishing Trades agreement, article 7 and annex 8).
So keep track per project of what work your people do, and add it up once a year. If your work shifts permanently, for example from plastering to bathrooms with tiles, have the applicable agreement checked again.
Where do tilers, natural stone and painting fall?
Tiles only belong to the Finishing Trades agreement if you lay them in connection with plastering (Finishing Trades agreement, article 2(2)(m)). The Construction & Infrastructure agreement lists tiling and sealant work as its own work (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 10.2.2). A business that mainly does separate tiling jobs therefore usually falls under Construction & Infrastructure.
Natural stone falls under the Finishing Trades agreement, including laying natural stone tiles. Artificial stone counts as natural stone (Finishing Trades agreement, article 2(7)). Natural stone has its own rules, such as an average working week of 37 hours and its own pay table (Finishing Trades agreement, articles 18 and 45).
Painting falls under neither. Painting, wallpapering and glazing belong to the agreement for the painting, finishing, property maintenance and glazing sector, the SAVG agreement for short. That agreement does not look at the wage bill, but at the number of employees per type of work (SAVG agreement, article 1). The Finishing Trades agreement does list whitewash, distemper and silicate work (article 2(2)(i)). If you mix plastering and painting, a scope investigation is advisable.
What is different for your employees?
The working week, pay, days off and sick pay. A full-time week is 37.5 hours under the Finishing Trades agreement (Finishing Trades agreement, article 18(3a)) and an average of 40 hours under the Construction & Infrastructure agreement (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 2.2). So an hourly wage from one agreement cannot simply be compared with the other.
| Topic | Finishing Trades | Construction & Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time week | 37.5 hours (natural stone 37) | average 40 hours |
| Guaranteed wage | per group and per year of experience, plasterer (group 4b) € 20.06 to € 24.31 an hour | per job group A to E, € 18.95 to € 23.78 an hour |
| Rostered days off | 10 a year (natural stone 6) | 20 a year on site |
| Holiday pay | 8%, paid by the employer in June | 8%, part of the individual budget |
| Sick pay | 85% in years 1 and 2, for new sickness from 2027 90% and 80% | 100% in year 1, 70% in year 2, with waiting days |
| Pension | bpfBOUW, agreement code 02 | bpfBOUW, agreement code 01 |
The amounts in the table apply from 1 February 2026 for the Finishing Trades agreement and from 1 January 2026 for the Construction & Infrastructure agreement, for employees aged 21 and over (Finishing Trades agreement, annex 2 article 8 and Construction & Infrastructure agreement, table 4.2). Under the Finishing Trades agreement the guaranteed wage rises with the years of relevant experience, including experience with another employer. So state those years in the employment contract.
The difference is largest for sickness. In 2026 the Finishing Trades agreement pays 85% in both years of sickness and mentions no waiting day (Finishing Trades agreement, article 75). The Construction & Infrastructure agreement pays 100% in the first year and 70% in the second. If an employee reports sick for the second or third time in a year, you do not have to pay wages for the first day (Construction & Infrastructure agreement, 9.1.2 and 9.1.3).
These rules cost more than just the percentage. Research in Germany followed what happened when statutory sick pay fell from 100% to 80% in 1996. The share of employees without a single day of absence rose by 6 to 8%. Employers mainly saved through the lower percentage itself, less through lower absence (Ziebarth & Karlsson, 2010).
That research concerned employees in Germany in the 1990s, not the finishing trades. It does show that the level of sick pay affects behaviour and costs. So when comparing the two agreements, do not calculate with the hourly wage alone.
What about pension and funds?
The pension fund is the same: bpfBOUW. The fund's mandatory participation decree names both construction and infrastructure and the finishing trades (Government Gazette 2026, 13666, part A, 2). The pension rules state the same total premium of 25.93% on pay minus the franchise for both (bpfBOUW pension rules 2026, 5.1.3).
The return is different. You state the agreement to bpfBOUW with a code: 02 for the Finishing Trades agreement, 01 for Construction & Infrastructure. Each code has different funds. Under the Finishing Trades agreement these include the Training and Development Fund for the Finishing Trades, a collective accident scheme and physiotherapy (bpfBOUW, premium overview).
For the training fund you pay 2.915% of gross pay as an employer from 1 April 2026 and the employee pays 0.065% (bpfBOUW, premium overview). Under the Construction & Infrastructure agreement the premiums go to a supplementary fund and a separate training fund, among others.
What goes wrong if you apply the wrong agreement?
Then your employee is entitled to what the correct agreement provides, retroactively. A claim for wages becomes time-barred after five years (Civil Code, article 3:308). If a plasterer worked 40 hours a week at Construction & Infrastructure pay, for example, the difference in hourly wage, overtime above 37.5 hours and days off can go back years.
The parties to the agreement check compliance themselves. The Technical Office for the Finishing Trades carries out compliance investigations. If it turns out you do not comply, you get six weeks to put it right. The committee decides case by case whether that must be retroactive. If you do not cooperate in putting it right, the parties to the agreement can claim a penalty of at least € 10,000 per case (Finishing Trades agreement, annex 8, articles 6 to 9).
The pension return also has to be redone. If your business is under the wrong agreement code, you pay premiums to the wrong funds. Payslips, returns and annual statements for that period then have to be corrected.
How do you get certainty about your agreement?
With a scope investigation. Every business may report this for its own business to the Fair Finishing Trades Desk of the Technical Office for the Finishing Trades (Finishing Trades agreement, annex 8, article 3). The desk is on mijnafbouw.nl (Fair Finishing Trades Desk). In the report you describe precisely what your business does.
The committee decides and the Technical Office informs you of the decision in writing. If you disagree, you lodge a written objection within six weeks. The objection does not suspend the decision (Finishing Trades agreement, annex 8, articles 6 and 10).
- Do the investigation before your first employee starts, or as soon as your work clearly shifts.
- State in every employment contract which agreement applies, the job, the job group and the years of relevant experience.
- Record the hours per type of work for each project, so you can show the wage bill per year.
- Check with bpfBOUW that your business is under the correct agreement code.
Sources
- Finishing Trades agreement 2026-2027 and the sector-specific arrangements agreement 2022-2026, version of 22 July 2026. Published by FNV. fnv.nl
- Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (2026). Decision of 14 April 2026 declaring provisions of the Finishing Trades agreement generally binding. Government Gazette 2026, 11596. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Construction & Infrastructure agreement 2025-2027, version 23 April 2026. Published by FNV. fnv.nl
- Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (2025). Decision of 9 September 2025 declaring provisions of the Construction & Infrastructure agreement generally binding. Government Gazette 2025, 28081. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Agreement for the painting, finishing, property maintenance and glazing sector (SAVG) 2025-2028, agreement number 759, version 11 May 2026. Published by OnderhoudNL. onderhoudnl.nl
- Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (2026). Decree of 18 May 2026 amending and partly withdrawing mandatory participation in the industry pension fund for Construction. Government Gazette 2026, 13666. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- bpfBOUW. Pension rules, solidarity contribution scheme, in force from 1 January 2026. bpfbouw.nl
- bpfBOUW Employers. Premium overview 2026 (agreement codes 01 and 02). Accessed 28 October 2026. werkgevers.bpfbouw.nl
- Technical Office for the Finishing Trades. Fair Finishing Trades Desk, compliance. Accessed 28 October 2026. mijnafbouw.nl
- Dutch Civil Code Book 3, article 308. In force on 28 October 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- Ziebarth, N.R. & Karlsson, M. (2010). A natural experiment on sick pay cuts, sickness absence, and labor costs. Journal of Public Economics, 94(11-12), 1108-1122. doi.org