Nursing and Home Care (VVT) cao. What an employee really costs you.
A care worker in FWG 45, step 4, on €24.69 per hour costs you about €70,200 per year in 2026, 1.52 times the gross wage. Per productive hour that is €45.02. Below you see where that comes from, and you calculate it for your own employee.
Calculate your employeeThe Nursing and Home Care (VVT) cao in brief
What the cao means for the employer, as of 27 October 2026.
| Who it covers | Nursing and care homes, home care and district nursing, small-scale housing for older people, domestic help, day care and youth health care. A small home care company that makes a profit is also covered. Disability care, mental health care and general practice have their own cao. |
|---|---|
| Term | The 2025-2026 cao ran until 31 August 2026. The new cao runs from 1 September 2026 to 1 September 2028. |
| Generally binding (AVV) | The 2025-2026 cao was generally binding until 31 August 2026 (Government Gazette 2025, 25154). No generally binding declaration has been published yet for the new cao. If you are a member of ActiZ or Zorgthuisnl, the cao applies to you. |
| Working week | 36 hours on average |
| Salary per month from 1 July 2026 | FWG 35 step 4 €2,981.98, FWG 45 step 4 €3,864.43, FWG 55 step 4 €4,627.30 |
| Wage increase | New cao: 3.6% on 1 June 2027 and 3.6% on 1 June 2028 |
| Pension | PFZW. Retirement and partner pension premium 25.9%. Employer 12.95%, employee 12.95%. |
| Pension base | Salary including holiday pay and end-of-year payment, up to €137,800, minus the franchise of €17,283 |
| Funds (employer) | AO VVT 0.03% of the payroll. You also spend at least 2% of the payroll on training and development. |
| Holiday pay and end-of-year payment | Holiday allowance 8%, end-of-year payment 8.33% in November |
| Holiday hours | 237.4 hours per year at 36 hours: 144 statutory, 58.4 extra and 35 additional extra. A public holiday on a working day is also taken from these hours. |
| Irregular hours allowance | 22% to 60% of the hourly wage, depending on the time and the job group |
| Sick pay | 100% in the first year, 70% in the second year |
| Whk premium sector 35 Health | 1.81% in 2026, 2.09% in 2027 (small employer) |
Sources: VVT cao 2025-2026 (April 2025 version), negotiated result VVT cao 2026-2028 of 25 June 2026 and the amended agreements of October 2026 (FNV), VVT salary table from 1 July 2026, ActiZ salary information 2026, Government Gazette 2025, 25154, UWV. Rounded, not a payslip.
Example calculation 2026
A care worker in FWG 45, step 4, on €24.69 per hour, permanent contract, small employer, 5% sickness.
| Gross wage (24.69 per hour, 36 hours) | €46,220 |
|---|---|
| Holiday pay | €3,698 |
| End-of-year payment and other cao payments | €3,850 |
| Employer contributions (WW, WIA, Whk, Zvw) | €9,366 |
| Pension (employer share) | €4,725 |
| Cao funds | €14 |
| Sickness insurance (2.5%) and other costs | €2,344 |
| Total per year | €70,216 |
| Times the gross wage | 1.52 |
| Productive hours per year | 1,560 |
| Cost per productive hour | €45.02 |
| Cost per billable hour (15% non-productive) | €52.97 |
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Frequently asked questions
A care worker in FWG 45, step 4, costs about 70,200 euros per year in 2026, 1.52 times the gross wage of just over 46,000 euros. That is because of the holiday pay, the end-of-year payment of 8.33%, the PFZW pension and the employer contributions.
12.95% of the pension base: the salary including holiday pay and end-of-year payment, minus the franchise of 17,283 euros. For this employee that is about 4,700 euros per year. The employee also pays 12.95%. Above a salary of 79,409 euros a premium for the WIA excess pension is added: 3.4%, of which you pay half.
The previous cao was generally binding until 31 August 2026. No generally binding declaration has appeared yet for the new 2026-2028 cao. Without one, the cao only applies to members, or if you agree it in the employment contract. Once it is declared generally binding, it applies again to all employers in the sector.
At 36 hours per week 237.4 hours per year: 144 statutory, 58.4 extra and 35 additional extra hours. That is almost 33 days of 7.2 hours. A public holiday on a working day and short leave are also taken from these hours.
At 36 hours per week there are about 1,879 paid hours. After the holiday hours (almost 33 days, including public holidays) and 5% sickness about 1,560 hours remain. Per productive hour this employee then costs 45.02 euros. With meetings, reporting and travel the hours with clients are lower still.
Wages rise by 3.6% on 1 June 2027 and by another 3.6% on 1 June 2028. The Whk premium for the sector goes from 1.81% to 2.09%. As soon as the PFZW premiums for 2027 are fixed, we will update this page.
At the wage from the example, €3,851.64 gross per month, the employee keeps about €2,870.53 net per month in 2026. €415.36 comes off for pension, funds and insurance, and €565.75 payroll tax. Work it out for your own employee with the gross to net calculator.
Your employee properly arranged
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