May I still ask what an applicant currently earns?

Asking about current salary is still permitted for now

At present, an employer in the Netherlands may still ask a job applicant what they currently earn or have previously earned. Directive (EU) 2023/970 prohibits this question in Article 5(2), with no threshold based on employer size — this prohibition will therefore soon apply to everyone who recruits staff, from sole traders to listed companies. However, that prohibition is contained in a European directive, and a directive does not automatically apply in the relationship between an individual employer and a job applicant. National legislation is needed for that, and it does not yet exist in the Netherlands: the Act implementing the pay transparency directive was submitted to the House of Representatives on 21 May 2026 and must still pass both chambers.

The situation is different for the public and semi-public sectors: those employers can already be directly bound by the directive. And for everyone, the transposition deadline of 7 June 2026 has now passed, which means that judges must interpret existing Dutch law as far as possible in the light of the directive. Anyone who asks about current salary now does not breach an applicable Dutch law, but is working against a direction that is already established. Anyone who now structures their recruitment process accordingly will not need to rebuild it later.

Why this topic is still evolving

The prohibition itself is set out in Article 5(2) of Directive (EU) 2023/970 and has no threshold. The fact that it does not yet apply to private employers in the Netherlands follows from the status of the Act implementing the pay transparency directive: it is under consideration by the House of Representatives, and only after approval by both chambers and entry into force — the government is aiming for 1 January 2027 — will the prohibition also be enforceable here between employer and job applicant.