A Dictionary of Dutchness

WW

WW stands for werkloosheidswet or unemployment benefit which was being claimed by around 250,000 people in mid- 2007. To qualify you must have worked for 26 of the last 36 weeks. For two months you get 75% of your last earned salary, thereafter 70% up to a maximum of €185.46 a day (from January 2009). You are entitled to one month’s benefit for every year in work, to a maximum of 38 months. It’s a complicated system but this is hardly surprising as tinkering with the WW is a popular way for governments to cut public spending.