Cleaning jobs in Amsterdam: work, pay and language

Cleaning jobs in Amsterdam come in many types. You can clean an office early in the morning, clean trains during the day or prepare an aircraft for its next flight at night. The work is different at each place. Times, requirements and sometimes pay are different too.

Our office is at Jan Evertsenstraat 119 in Amsterdam West. Many of our cleaners live in West, Nieuw-West or Osdorp and work in the city, at Sloterdijk, in Hoofddorp or at Schiphol.

Type of work	Where	Hours
Trains and stations	Stations and train yards in and around Amsterdam	Day, evening and night
Aircraft and terminal	Schiphol	Shifts, also night and weekend
Offices	Amsterdam, Sloterdijk, Hoofddorp	Early morning or evening
Stairwells	Apartment buildings in the city	Daytime
Industrial cleaning	Factories and production halls	Day and shifts
Holiday parks	Parks in the region	Daytime, mainly on changeover days

Cleaning work looks similar on paper, but every place is different. This is what you can expect.

Trains and stations

You clean the inside of trains: seats, floors, windows, toilets and bins. This happens between two trips or at night in a train yard. At a station you work in halls, on platforms and in toilets. You walk a lot during the day.

Offices in the evening or early morning

Office cleaning is popular with people who study or care for children during the day. You clean desks, kitchens, toilets and floors when the staff has gone home, or before they arrive. You often work two to four hours per shift.

Stairwells

You sweep and mop stairs and clean lifts, entrances and walkways in apartment buildings. You work during the day, often on your own, and sometimes travel between addresses.

Industrial cleaning

This is heavier work. You clean production halls, machines or installations, sometimes with high-pressure cleaners or chemicals. Clients often ask for a VCA safety certificate.

Holiday parks

You clean holiday homes between two guests, mainly on changeover days. Parks are outside the city, so check how you will get there. A driving licence can help.

Cleaning jobs at Schiphol are a popular choice for people from Amsterdam West and Nieuw-West, because the airport is close and open day and night. In the terminal you clean gates, toilets and waiting areas. On an aircraft you clean the cabin between two flights: seats, tables, aisle, galley and toilets. Time is short, so you work in a team with a fixed order.

For Schiphol you need a Schiphol pass. Before you get it, a security screening is done. If it is positive, you receive a declaration of no objection (VGB). The employer applies for the screening and pays for it. The screening takes up to 8 weeks in principle, sometimes longer if you have lived abroad. You also need to pass an online safety training with a test.

At Schiphol basic Dutch or English is required, because you must understand safety rules. Read all steps in our guide to working at Schiphol.

Cleaning pay depends on the place, your experience and the hours you work. You always earn at least the statutory minimum wage. From 1 July 2026 this is € 14.99 gross per hour if you are 21 or older. An agency may never pay less. The exact hourly wage is in each vacancy.

Extra pay for evening, night and weekend

The collective agreement for the cleaning sector has a table with extra pay (a percentage on top of your hourly wage) for work at unusual hours. For example: 50% on Saturday and Sunday, 30% to 50% at night between 00:00 and 06:00, and 150% on public holidays. Example: with a base wage of € 15 per hour and 50% extra, you earn € 22.50 gross per hour on a Saturday afternoon.

Through an agency

Through Praktica you are employed by us and work under the NBBU collective agreement for temporary workers. Since 1 January 2026 this includes equivalent pay: your pay must be at least equivalent to that of permanent staff in the same job at the company where you work. Which wage and extra pay apply to you is in your contract. Our guide uitzendwerk uitgelegd explains contracts, pension and holiday pay (in Dutch).

For most cleaning jobs you do not need a diploma or experience. You learn on the job. These are the requirements we see most often:

• The right to work in the Netherlands: a valid passport or ID card from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, or a residence permit that allows work.
• A BSN and a Dutch bank account.
• Language: for office, station and holiday park cleaning, a little Dutch or English is often enough. At Schiphol and in industry you must understand safety rules in Dutch or English.
• VCA certificate: often for industrial cleaning, usually not for offices or stairwells.
• Driving licence B: useful for work at several addresses or at holiday parks. The vacancy says if it is required.
• Good health: you stand, walk and bend a lot.

New in Amsterdam or looking for other work without Dutch? Read our guide to jobs in Amsterdam without Dutch. Prefer hotels? See hotel jobs in Amsterdam.

Applying for cleaning jobs at Praktica takes four steps:

1. Apply online. Apply in 2 minutes and tell us which work you want and when you can work. No CV needed.
2. We call you within 2 working days.
3. Interview at our office at Jan Evertsenstraat 119 in Amsterdam West. Bring a valid passport or ID card, your residence document if you have one, your bank card and your driving licence if you have one.
4. Start working. We discuss which workplace fits you.

Our vacancies are in Dutch. You can still apply in English. After 1040 worked hours, the client company can often offer you its own contract. For full-time work that is about six months.