Your Student Employment Agreement: How to Check It Before You Sign
A student employment agreement must be in writing, drawn up separately for each student, and must exist at the latest by the time you start working. It is always concluded for a fixed term and may never run longer than 12 months. The first three actual working days automatically count as a trial period, during which you and the employer can stop without notice. Article 124 of the law of 3 July 1978 lists what must legally be included in the agreement, from your job description to your work schedule. If the written agreement or the Dimona declaration is missing, you may end the agreement at any time, without notice period and without compensation.
Does this feel familiar?
You've found a student job, the first shift is in your calendar, and then someone slides three pages in front of you asking you to sign. It's busy, you want to make a good impression, so you sign.
Most of the time, it works out fine. But those three pages determine your work schedule, your pay, your notice period, and whether your hours will be properly deducted from your counter. Five minutes of reading before you sign saves you an argument afterwards that you won't win.
This article walks you through the agreement, point by point.
What exactly is a student employment agreement?
The student employment agreement is a separate employment contract under the law of 3 July 1978. An employer who employs a student is required to conclude one with you, even when you exceed the maximum number of hours for the reduced contributions. That's according to Securex, updated on 15 January 2026.
Depending on the type of work, it's an agreement for a manual worker, white-collar employee, sales representative, or domestic worker. That distinction determines, among other things, which joint committee applies to you, and therefore which pay scale.
Three requirements always apply. The agreement is in writing, drawn up separately for each student, and it exists at the latest by the time you start working. Not the day after, not at the end of the week. An electronic signature that meets the security conditions counts as an ordinary signature.
What information must legally be included?
Article 124 of the law of 3 July 1978 sets out the mandatory clauses. Check these six points, since these are where things go wrong in practice:
- The start and end date of the employment. These two dates are the most important in the entire document. If they're missing, that has consequences, as explained further below.
- The place of employment and a brief description of your job. This way you know where you're expected and what you are and aren't expected to do.
- The working hours per day and per week, plus the start and end of the normal working day, rest periods, and the days on which work is regularly interrupted.
- The agreed pay, or, if that isn't fixed in advance, the method and basis of calculation. And the time at which pay is paid out.
- The competent joint committee. Your minimum wage depends on this.
- Any trial period clause.
There's also information you'll only need if something happens: who provides first aid, where the first-aid kit is located, the contact details of the occupational health service, and of the social laws inspectorate for your district. Don't skip these. They're there for exactly the day you do need them.
The employer must also hand you a copy of the work regulations and have you sign a receipt for it. If you don't get one, ask for it.
How long can your student employment agreement run?
The agreement is concluded for a fixed term and may under no circumstances exceed 12 months. Shorter agreements are allowed, including several in succession spread across different years.
If you keep working without interruption after those twelve months, the agreement automatically becomes an ordinary employment contract. The same applies on a smaller scale: if you keep working after the intended end date, you are bound to the employer by an ordinary open-ended employment contract. That's not necessarily bad news, but it does change your status, your contributions, and your notice periods. So know that it can happen.
What do those first three working days mean?
Since 1 January 2014, the first three working days of a student employment agreement automatically count as a trial period. You don't have to sign anything for this and the employer doesn't have to request anything: it's simply there by law.
During those three actual working days, both you and the employer can end the agreement without notice and without compensation. The length of that trial period cannot be extended, even if the employment is suspended in the meantime, for example because you fall ill.
If you keep doing the same job for the same employer under successive student employment agreements, there is only one trial period. So you don't start from zero again every summer.
How do you give notice if the job doesn't work out after all?
Outside the trial period, the agreement normally ends on its own, on the intended end date. If you want to stop earlier, fixed notice periods apply under Article 130 of the same law. They vary depending on the agreed duration, and are shorter for you than for the employer:
| Agreement duration | Employer's notice | Student's notice |
| Maximum 1 month | 3 calendar days | 1 calendar day |
| More than 1 month | 7 calendar days | 3 calendar days |
In both cases, the notice period starts running on the Monday following the notification. So give your notice preferably early in the week, otherwise you push it back a full week. And stick to the formal requirements for giving notice, since a message in a group chat is not valid notice.
One more situation worth knowing: if you're unable to work for more than seven days due to illness or an accident, the employer may end the agreement, but only with a severance payment corresponding to the notice period or whatever remains of it.
What if there's no contract or no Dimona?
This is where your strongest protection lies, and it's not widely known.
If there is no written agreement containing all the mandatory clauses, or if the employer has not made a valid Dimona declaration, you may end the agreement at any time, without notice period and without compensation.
There's a second consequence too. If the written agreement is missing, or if the start and end date, the work schedule, or the reference to the schedule in the work regulations isn't included, the agreement can be considered an open-ended contract. The employer must then observe the ordinary, much longer notice periods. They only escape this if they can prove that the missing clauses caused you no harm whatsoever.
The Dimona declaration must exist at the latest by the time you start working. That declaration is also what puts your hours on your counter, so it's not just a formality for the employer, it directly affects your quota.
What does the agreement do to your 650 hours?
The student employment agreement is one of the conditions for falling under the reduced contributions. Without such an agreement, no reduced rate.
Since 2025, you may work 650 hours per calendar year at the reduced solidarity contribution of 8.13 percent in total, of which 2.71 percent is for your account and 5.42 percent for the employer's, according to the NSSO. Within that quota, no withholding tax is deducted. Above 650 hours, the ordinary contributions of 13.07 percent apply to you, and only on the hours above that limit.
Your counter is on Student@work. After a summer of working, it's worth checking it in early September, especially if you had several employers. And pay attention to the order: hours reserved via Dimona count as used.
Take the agreement home or read it calmly on your phone before signing. Check the start and end date, your job description, your work schedule, your pay, and the joint committee. Ask for the work regulations. Then check whether the Dimona declaration has been made and whether your hours are correct on Student@work.
If something's wrong, say so immediately. Adjusting an agreement on day one takes five minutes. Disputing it afterwards costs a lot more.
If you work through a staffing agency, that agency is your employer and arranges the agreement, the Dimona, and the payroll. That saves you work, but it doesn't excuse you from reading it. Even an agency contract simply contains your hours, your pay, and your job description, and those must be correct.
Ready to get started?
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FAQ
Does my student employment agreement have to be on paper?
It must be in writing, drawn up separately for you, and finalised at the latest by the time you start working. An electronic signature that meets the legal security conditions counts as a handwritten signature.
How long can a student employment agreement last?
A maximum of 12 months. It is always concluded for a fixed term. If you keep working without interruption afterwards, it automatically becomes an ordinary employment contract.
Do I have a trial period as a student worker?
Yes. The first three actual working days automatically count as a trial period. During that period, you and the employer can stop without notice and without compensation.
How much notice do I need to give if I want to stop?
For an agreement of one month or less, that's one calendar day; for a longer agreement, three calendar days. The period starts on the Monday after your notification.
What if my employer doesn't draw up a contract?
Then you may end the agreement at any time, without notice period and without severance payment. In addition, the agreement can be considered an open-ended contract, requiring the employer to observe the ordinary notice periods.
What happens if there's no Dimona declaration?
The same protection applies: you can stop without notice. The employer also risks criminal or administrative sanctions. Without a Dimona, your hours also won't be correctly recorded on your counter.
What documents do I receive at the end of my student job?
An individual account, a payslip, and a tax certificate. If you were subject to ordinary social security contributions as a white-collar student worker, you'll also receive a holiday certificate and departure holiday pay.
How many hours can I work at the reduced rate?
650 hours per calendar year, at a total solidarity contribution of 8.13 percent, of which 2.71 percent is for your account. Your counter is on Student@work.
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