Dutch pay slips are so complicated and contain so much jargon most workers do not understand what they mean, according to research by jobs website Nationale Vacaturebank.nl

Some 87% of the 583 people polled said they did not understand what the deductions on their pay slips were for, 45% did not understand the terminology and 22% never checked their pay slip in the first place. And almost two thirds said they had no idea how much of their gross salary they lost in taxes and premiums.
‘A high number have no idea what their net salary is every month, which is surprising considering that is what they have to live on,’ said website publisher Florence Schmit.
The government is working on a simplified pay slip system, news agency ANP said.