A Rotterdam restaurant must stop all work for two months from 12 August 2026 after repeated minimum-wage breaches. It cannot serve guests, offer collection orders, or have another business continue its work. The order followed unpaid wage arrears and further underpayment.
Why this matters
Inspectors found underpayment and employment without a required work permit in 2024. In 2025, the employer received a fine above €33,000, a closure warning, and an order to pay arrears. Reinspection found arrears unpaid and workers underpaid again. Warnings last five years. Another breach can halt sales and drain cash. From July 2026, the minimum wage for workers 21 and over is €14.99 an hour. A contract or collective agreement may set more.
Example
A restaurant roster shows a worker finishing at 10:30 p.m. The kitchen closes later, and the manager changes the hours in a message. Payroll still uses the original shift. The payslip and bank payment match each other, but not the hours worked. The correction ends when the worker receives the difference and payroll records show the revised hours.
XTROVERSO tips
- Trace one payroll period. Select several workers. Compare the contract, work status, roster, actual hours, wage calculation, payslip, and bank payment for each person.
- Close every wage correction. Give each correction an owner and a deadline. Keep the calculation, payment proof, updated payroll record, and message to the worker together.
- Check rates and paid hours. Confirm the current hourly minimum, contract rate, allowances, leave, sickness hours, overtime, and any collective agreement requirements.
- Keep work-permit files current. Match each worker’s role and employment period with the documents in the file. Recent labour-law fines can also affect TWV applications.
- Test the staffing plan. Put lawful payroll costs beside menu prices, opening hours, expected sales, and margin. Change a plan that relies on unpaid or unrecorded hours.
Talk with XTROVERSO about reviewing payroll records, wage corrections, or employment controls
The data, sourcing, and analysis behind this article were conducted by Paolo Maria Pavan. AI was not used to identify sources, build the factual basis, or produce the analytical judgment contained here. AI was used only as a drafting aid. The final English text was personally reviewed, edited, and approved by Paolo Maria Pavan before publication.
References
- Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie — Restaurant in Rotterdam moet werkzaamheden twee maanden stilleggen
- Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie — Preventieve stillegging
- Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie — Boetes onder de WML
- Rijksoverheid — Bedragen minimumloon 2026
- UWV — Voorwaarden voor een TWV
- CBS — Conjunctuurenquête Nederland, tweede kwartaal 2026
- CBS — Economie groeit met 0,4 procent in tweede kwartaal 2026
- Rijksoverheid — Voorgestelde bescherming tegen onderbetaling
