We are receiving many questions about the negotiation outcome in the hospitality sector for a new CLA 2025/2026. Therefore, we have compiled the most frequently asked questions (and answers) for you below.
Do you want to know more or have questions? Contact us.
- What is the duration of the CLA?
The CLA runs from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026 (24 months). - What salary increases am I entitled to?
If you have been employed for 12 months or longer at the time of the collective salary increase, you are entitled to the following salary increases:
- As of 1 January 2025, everyone is entitled to a salary increase of 2.5%. So even if you are above scale*, you are entitled to this increase.
- As of 1 July 2025, all within-scale** employees are entitled to a salary increase of 1%.
- As of 1 January 2026, everyone is entitled to a salary increase of 2.5%. So even if you are above scale, you are entitled to this increase.
It is important to note that you should never earn less than the applicable new basic salary of the job grade you are classified in.
Note: the above agreements do not apply to job grades 1 and 2. These job grades will be merged and will follow the increases of the statutory minimum salary. This means that as of 1 January 2025, salaries in these job grades (also for above scale*) will be increased by 2.75%. The increases as of 1 July 2025, 1 January 2026, and 1 July 2026 are not yet known.
*Above scale means that on 31 December 2024 or 31 December 2025, you earn more than the final salary of your job grade.
**Within scale means that on 30 June 2025, you have a salary equal to or higher than the basic salary but not more than the final salary of your job grade. - Can my employer offset a previously given or promised salary increase?
If your employer gave an extra structural salary increase outside the CLA in 2024, they can offset this with the CLA salary increase(s) in 2025. This also applies to agreements your employer has already made with you for a salary increase in 2025. This salary increase may be offset against the percentage of the CLA salary increase as of 1 January 2025 and 1 July 2025.
If your employer has already made an agreement with you for a salary increase in 2026, this salary increase may be offset against the percentage of the CLA salary increase as of 1 January 2026.
Note: an offset should never result in a negative offset. - The negotiation outcome states that the salary structure will be balanced so that experience continues to pay off. What does this mean?
Due to the increases in the statutory minimum salary recently, the Updates salary structure in the hospitality sector is partially (job grades 1 to 4) underwater. We do not want this, as it means experience is no longer rewarded. Therefore, it is necessary to implement some adjustments. The following adjustments will be implemented once as of 1 January 2025:
- Job grades 1 and 2 will be merged. Compared to the Updates final salaries of job grades 1 and 2, these will be further increased by 6.9% (job grade 1) and 6% (job grade 2), so that employees in these groups have future prospects again.
- The basic salaries in job grades 3 to 5 will be further increased by 5.3% (job grade 3), 5.6% (job grade 4), and 5.3% (job grade 5), so that the salary structure is balanced again and higher positions receive higher rewards.
Note: if you fall under b, you are not also entitled to the regular salary increase that applies as of 1 January 2025. - The agreed salary increases are lower than the FNV salary demand of 7% for 2025. They are also lower than your commitment. How is that possible?
It is true that the FNV salary demand has not been achieved. As an independent union, we follow the FNV line, but if our members believe we should deviate, we do so. The FNV salary demand is based on maintaining and improving purchasing power based on profitability. Unfortunately, profitability, and therefore margins in our sector, are under pressure.
In the CLA hospitality 2024, we agreed on salary increases of 8 to 12%. Thanks to the new CLA, an average of 6% will be added. Additionally, a CLA is not only about salary but also about other themes. We have made new and better agreements on work-life balance and loyalty leave. A negotiation is ultimately about give and take. - What salary increase applies to employers with their own salary structure?
Employers who apply a salary table that deviates from the CLA must increase an employee's actual salary* with the salary increase percentages with which the job grades rise. In this case, given or promised salary increases may also be offset, see the question ‘Can my employer offset a previously given or promised salary increase?’.
*The actual salary is the actual amount you receive for your work, excluding any allowances, bonuses, or other extras. - I read that the periodic system will no longer be binding, what does this mean in practice? Will I no longer be entitled to a periodic increase?
The periodic steps in the salary table will no longer be decisive, only indicative. Your actual salary* may therefore deviate from a periodic amount. This gives employers more room to apply their own reward policy.
Note: the CLA hospitality is a minimum CLA. Your salary must never be lower than the new basic salary of the job grade you are classified in.
Under the Updates CLA, you are entitled to a periodic increase of 2% if you have been employed for at least a full calendar year as a skilled worker** in the same position with the same employer by 1 January. This agreement remains in place. However, the new CLA clarifies that this is a performance-based reward based on assessment. If you meet the conditions for a performance increase as of 1 January 2025, you will receive an additional 2% salary increase in addition to your regular salary increase. Your employer may deviate from this arrangement with the consent of the works council (OR) or PVT in your company.
*The actual salary is the actual amount you receive for your work, excluding any allowances, bonuses, or other extras.
** A skilled worker is an employee aged 18 or older who is skilled. This means you meet at least one of the following conditions:
- You have completed at least 1976 hours of experience in the same position on or after your 18th birthday;
- You have a recognised vocational diploma;
- You are classified in job grade 5 or higher. - As of 1 January 2025, a new job classification system will be introduced. What does this mean for me?
If your job classification is changed due to updated or new reference functions as of 1 January 2025, this will not have negative consequences for you in terms of classification. This means: if classified in a lower job grade, you will retain the classification in the previous (higher) job grade. This agreement will be secured in the new CLA.
As an employee, you will have the opportunity to object to the description and/or evaluation of your function. As of 1 January 2025, a Job Classification Appeals Committee Hospitality (BFH) will be established. Under the CLA hospitality 2024, you could only turn to your supervisor or employer in such a case. Soon you will be able to approach an external committee. - What agreements have been made about promotion?
The CLA hospitality 2024 did not contain agreements about promotion, leading to ambiguities. Therefore, we have made an agreement about this in the new CLA.
When you are promoted to a higher position, you will be classified in the new job grade associated with the business function where you are classified by your employer based on art. 4.1. Your actual salary* will be increased by at least 1%. You will receive this increase from the next salary payment after your promotion. You must never earn less than the basic salary of the new job grade you are classified in.
*The actual salary is the actual amount you receive for your work, excluding any allowances, bonuses, or other extras. - What does the reduction in the skilled worker age to 20 years mean?
A 20-year-old skilled worker* earns 100% of the skilled worker** salary as of 1 January 2025. Under the CLA hospitality 2024, this is only from the age of 21. Furthermore, the scales for 18- and 19-year-olds will be increased by 10%:
20 years: 100%
19 years: 90%
18 years: 80%
The percentage for your age applies from the day you have your birthday.
* A skilled worker is an employee aged 18 or older who is skilled. This means you meet at least one of the following conditions:
- You have completed at least 1976 hours of experience in the same position on or after your 18th birthday;
- You have a recognised vocational diploma;
- You are classified in job grade 5 or higher.
** Under the CLA hospitality 2024, as a skilled worker, you are entitled to the skilled worker salary if you are 21 years or older. Skilled worker salary means you are entitled to 100% of the basic salary associated with the business function where you are classified by your employer. If you are a skilled worker and are between 18 and 21 years old, you earn a derived percentage of the basic salary. - What agreements have been made about internship compensation? |
You will receive a minimum internship compensation of €400 gross per month for a full-time internship week (5 days per week). If you do fewer days per week, you will receive a pro-rata amount:
One-day internship week: €80
Two-day internship week: €160
Three-day internship week: €240
Four-day internship week: €320
Five-day internship week: €400
Note: this only applies if the internship is carried out as part of an HBO or MBO course (vocational training pathway). - What agreements have been made about the work-life balance?
Additional hours
Your employer cannot require you to perform more than 10% additional work within the reference period*. If the number of additional hours exceeds this, you may refuse a request for additional work. For employment contracts with a scope of less than 1040 hours per reference period, a different maximum of 104 hours of additional work applies. If the total number of additional hours exceeds this, you may refuse a request for additional work.
Under the CLA hospitality 2024, there is no restriction on the number of additional hours, but there is a 10% norm for full-timers. By including this provision in the new CLA, the limitation of additional work for part-timers and full-timers will soon be the same.
*A reference period is a period of twelve consecutive months and runs parallel to the holiday year (1 June to 31 May) or a calendar year (1 January to 31 December). The employer may also choose to use another period of twelve months as a reference period. This choice must then be stated in every employment contract and applies to all employees in the company.
Taking time for time
If you work overtime or additional hours, you do so at the request of your employer. These hours are initially compensated in time for time.
In the new CLA, it is agreed that you may indicate to your employer when you want to take these time for time hours. You must make this request in time, namely before the roster is made, but at least 3 weeks in advance. Your employer can reject the request with justification if the business operations oppose it, as may be the case with seasonal businesses.
Holiday accrual on overtime hours
For overtime hours that you are compensated for in money, you will accrue holiday hours under the new CLA. This does not apply if you take these hours as 'time for time'. - What is loyalty leave?
If you work for the same employer (or their legal successor) for 10 years or longer consecutively, you are entitled to extra statutory holiday hours. The number of hours you receive depends on the length of your employment.
Uninterrupted years of service Extra holiday hours per calendar year
≥ 10 years < 15 years 7.6 hours (1 day)
≥ 15 years < 20 years 11.4 hours (1.5 days)
≥ 20 years < 25 years 15.2 hours (2 days)
≥ 25 years+ 19 hours (2.5 days)
Do you work part-time? Then the extra holiday hours are calculated pro-rata. You receive the extra holiday hours on the date you have been employed by your employer for 10 years or longer, in proportion to the remaining holiday year (or calendar year). You then accrue these hours per holiday year (or calendar year). The hours expire 5 years after the last day of the calendar year in which you received these hours.
- What has been agreed about union leave?
Are you active for De Horecabond? Then you make arrangements with your employer about attending national meetings and training and Your career courses. If you need to take unpaid leave days, time-for-time hours, or leave hours for this, you are eligible for an expense allowance. We pay this allowance and then reclaim these costs from the hospitality Your career Platform (social fund).
The CLA hospitality 2024 does not include an agreement about union leave. - The negotiation outcome includes agreements on promoting employee participation. What does this mean in practice?
Employee participation is important for good labour relations and good business operations. The new CLA therefore includes agreements on when your employer must establish a works council (OR) or employee representation (PVT). It also explains what your employer must do if there is no OR or PVT.
By adopting this provision from the works councils Act (WOR), employers and employees are made aware of what is stated in this law. The CLA is more familiar to many than the WOR. Additionally, it is easier to monitor compliance with the CLA.
CLA parties have also agreed to discuss this topic during the term of the new CLA. It is important to explore how we can bring attention to employee participation.