The situation on the employment services market is unsatisfactory, so the Dutch government plans to introduce mandatory certification of agencies providing such services from 2025. This was announced by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Karin van Gennip (Karien van Gennip). Agencies that violate the established rules of work will be removed from the market forcibly.
The current state of affairs
Two years ago, Emile Roemer, then head of the Socialist Party's parliamentary group in parliament, prepared a report on abuses in the job market. This report has already proposed certification of agencies involved in this activity as a measure to combat unscrupulous agents.
Prior to 1998, employment agencies were required to obtain permission to operate. At that time there were about 4000 such agencies operating in the Netherlands. Since the repeal of this rule, the number of agencies has skyrocketed and has reached around 15 to date. A significant proportion of these agencies violate the rules, primarily in relation to wages, housing, health insurance and the provision of safe working conditions for employees invited due to boundary for temporary work. Minister Van Gennip described the situation as unacceptable and insists that the employment services sector needs to be reformed.
What innovations are planned?
From 2025, all companies subject to the Intermediary Allocation of Workforce (Waadi) Act will be required to be certified. This requirement will apply not only to agencies engaged in employment as a primary activity, but also to companies for which this activity is secondary.
To be certified, a company must meet the following criteria:
- undergo periodic checks: payment of wages, filing a tax return, belonging to the pension system;
- have a certificate of no violation of the law (VOG);
- pay a deposit of 100 euros to prevent fictitious business;
- provide employees with housing that meets the requirements of the law.
The resulting certificate will need to be renewed every 4 years. If violations are found in the agency, the certificate will be revoked ahead of schedule, four weeks after the discovery of violations. These 4 weeks are needed so that employees employed by the agency can find another job.
Currently, temporary employment agencies can be certified on a voluntary basis and receive the so-called SNA Quality Mark. From 2025, such certification will become mandatory. It will be necessary to pass it in a specially created fund, and the Labor Inspectorate (Arbeidsinspectie) will monitor compliance with the rules, which will be allocated 10,5 million euros per year to perform this function.
Find out on our website how to hire a foreign worker: Part 1 и Part 2.
Publication Date: 13.07.2022
