Online Consultation: Temporary Unemployment Benefit Regulation BES

At present, there is no general benefit in the Caribbean Netherlands for employees who lose their jobs. This regulation changes that. With this regulation, the Dutch government aims to ensure that people can financially bridge the first period after dismissal.

This is a temporary regulation. The intention is to gain experience with it. After that, a permanent unemployment law can be developed. The target date for the temporary regulation to take effect is 1 January 2027, and it will remain valid until 1 January 2032 at the latest.

The regulation applies to people who work on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba, receive wages from an employer, and lose their job.

Please note: The Temporary Unemployment Benefit Regulation BES does not apply to civil servants, as different rules apply to them.

You lose your entire job	You must lose your entire job. If you work fewer hours per week but remain employed, you are not entitled to benefits.
You do not lose your job through your own fault	You do not lose your job through your own fault, for example if: Your temporary contract expires. You and your employer agree to end the contract, and the initiative to terminate the contract comes from the employer. Your contract ends at the employer’s request through the dismissal committee. You have a zero-hour contract and are not called in for work for more than 2 weeks.

Please note: If you resign voluntarily, you are not entitled to benefits.

In the 10 months before your dismissal, you must have worked at least 26 weeks.
In each of those weeks, you must have worked at least 1 hour.

The following weeks also count:

• Weeks of paid leave;
• Weeks in which you were ill and received wages or sickness benefits;
• Weeks in which you took care leave or emergency leave.

This means that employees with temporary contracts or multiple short consecutive contracts may also meet the condition.

You are not entitled to benefits if:

• You are 65 years of age or older;
• You no longer have a valid residence permit.

You will receive 75% of your average wage over the 6 months before you became unemployed. This is referred to as the “monthly wage”.

Included in the calculation	Gross wages; Overtime pay; Wages during illness; Benefits under the BES Sickness Insurance; Benefits under the BES Accident Insurance; Wages during leave.
Not included in the calculation	Holiday allowance; Bonuses; 13th month payments; Tips; Benefits in kind.

You will receive the benefit for a maximum of 3 months.

The benefit starts:

• On the 1st of the month if your job ends between the 1st and the 14th;
• On the 15th of the month if your job ends between the 15th and the end of the month.

If you start working again while receiving benefits, your new wages will be deducted from the benefit.

Part of your income (25% of the monthly wage) will not be deducted.

You will never receive more than the monthly wage in total.
The monthly wage is the average wage over the 6 months before you became unemployed.