Pharmacies cao. What an employee really costs you.
A pharmacy assistant in scale 6, step 5, on €20.67 per hour costs you about €57,700 per year in 2026, 1.49 times the gross wage. Per productive hour that is €36.67. Below you see where that comes from, and you calculate it for your own employee.
Calculate your employeeThe Pharmacies cao in brief
What the cao means for the employer, as of 27 October 2026.
| Who it covers | Community pharmacies, including a pharmacy in a health centre and pharmacy chains. Hospital pharmacies and dispensing GPs are not covered. Pharmacists themselves are not covered either. Employed pharmacists have a separate cao. |
|---|---|
| Term | 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2027 |
| Generally binding (AVV) | Yes, for two years from the end of August 2025, so until the end of August 2027 (Government Gazette 2025, 26256). Also if you are not a member of the WOA or ASKA. |
| Working week | 36 hours on average |
| Salary | A pharmacy assistant in scale 6, step 5, earns about €3,235 per month |
| Wage increase | 8% on 1 September 2025 and 8% on 1 January 2026. In 2027 wages rise with the OVA. |
| Pension | PMA. Employer 18.96%, employee 9.48% (latest published premium, 2025) |
| Pension base | 12 times the monthly salary times 1.12, up to €137,800, minus the franchise of €19,172 |
| Funds (employer) | Pharmacy industry fund (SBA): 0.35% of the payroll (latest known rate) |
| Holiday pay and end-of-year payment | Holiday allowance 8%, end-of-year payment 4% from December 2026 (2% in 2025) |
| Hours off | 180 holiday hours per year, which is 25 days of 7.2 hours. Anyone aged 55 or over on 31 December 2022 keeps more hours. |
| Sick pay | 100% in weeks 1 to 26, 90% in weeks 27 to 52, 80% in weeks 53 to 78, 70% after that |
| Whk premium | In the calculator 1.81% in 2026 and 2.09% in 2027 (sector 35 Health, small employer). Your sector is on your assessment notice. |
Sources: Pharmacies cao 2024-2027 as declared generally binding (Government Gazette 2025, 26256), Pharmacy industry fund cao, PMA premiums and base, salaristabel.nl for scale 6, UWV. Rounded, not a payslip.
Example calculation 2026
A pharmacy assistant in scale 6, step 5, on €20.67 per hour, permanent contract, small employer, 5% sickness.
| Gross wage (20.67 per hour, 36 hours) | €38,694 |
|---|---|
| Holiday pay | €3,096 |
| End-of-year payment and other cao payments | €1,548 |
| Employer contributions (WW, WIA, Whk, Zvw) | €7,549 |
| Pension (employer share) | €4,582 |
| Cao funds | €135 |
| Sickness insurance (2.5%) and other costs | €2,083 |
| Total per year | €57,688 |
| Times the gross wage | 1.49 |
| Productive hours per year | 1,573 |
| Cost per productive hour | €36.67 |
| Cost per billable hour (15% non-productive) | €43.14 |
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Frequently asked questions
A pharmacy assistant in scale 6, step 5, costs about 57,700 euros per year in 2026, 1.49 times the gross wage of almost 39,000 euros. That is because of the holiday pay, the end-of-year payment, the PMA pension and the employer contributions.
Two thirds of the premium: 18.96% of the pension base. That base is 12 times the monthly salary times 1.12, minus the franchise of 19,172 euros. For this pharmacy assistant that is about 4,600 euros per year. The employee pays 9.48%.
In 2025 it was 2% of the annual salary without holiday allowance. From December 2026 it is 4%. For this pharmacy assistant that is about 1,500 euros per year. The payment counts towards the pension.
Yes. The cao has been declared generally binding for two years from the end of August 2025. That applies to every community pharmacy, also an independent pharmacy with a few assistants.
At 36 hours per week there are about 1,879 paid hours. After 25 holidays, 6 public holidays and 5% sickness about 1,573 remain. Per productive hour this pharmacy assistant then costs 36.67 euros.
In 2027 wages rise with the OVA, the percentage the government sets each year for health care, with a later recalculation. The Whk premium goes from 1.81% to 2.09%. The cao runs until 31 December 2027. As soon as the OVA and the PMA premiums are known, we will update this page.
At the wage from the example, €3,224.52 gross per month, the employee keeps about €2,630.63 net per month in 2026. €194.39 comes off for pension, funds and insurance, and €399.50 payroll tax. Work it out for your own employee with the gross to net calculator.
Your employee properly arranged
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