Five months since the last coalition government was sworn in, eight ministers in the previous administration are still without a full time job, according to research by RTL Nieuws.

In total, 11 ministers were out of work in January 2022, of whom three had reached retirement age. Just two are now in full-time work – Stef Blok is a member of the European audit office and Bas van ‘t Wout is working as a strategic advisor.

Former social affairs minister Wouter Koolmees told RTL he was studying the labour market while former justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus says on his LinkedIn page he is ‘in transit’. Sander Dekker is a part time research fellow at local government institute, the Nederlandse School voor Openbaar Bestuur.

Other former ministers have part time jobs and have been, for example, helping put together local council coalitions in the wake of the March local authority elections.

MPs and ministers who lose their seat or their job are entitled to 80% of their salary for one year. Subsequent payments which can last several years are made at the 70% rate.

Ministers are not required to start looking for alternative employment for the first three months but after that they are required to start applying for jobs. Former politicians who get a job which does not pay as much as being an MP can also claim top-up benefits.