Are you a foreign service provider (employer or self-employed person) or are you the client of a foreign service provider from the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland? And will you work temporarily in the Netherlands? You must notify your arrival as posted worker (Meldplicht WagwEU). The client must check that the company or self-employed person has reported properly. This allows the government to check whether they are working under safe, healthy, and fair conditions.
To whom does the duty to notify posted workers apply?
The duty to notify posted workers applies to:
- self-employed professionals in certain sectors
- employers from the EEA or Switzerland who bring their own personnel to the Netherlands
- multinational companies from the EEA or Switzerland that post workers to their Dutch branch
- temporary employment agencies from the EEA or Switzerland that post workers to the Netherlands on assignment
In some cases foreign companies and self-employed persons do not need to notify.
For the transport sector specific rules apply.
Additional requirements apply to posted workers from outside the EEA or Switzerland.
How do you report?
You register your assignment or posted workers through the online notification portal. You have to submit the notification before the work starts. If you have reported correctly, the client will indicate this and the notification is complete. If any changes are needed, you will receive an email. You then have to correct your notification.
What do you need to report?
Before you start your temporary work in the Netherlands, you must report among others:
- the type of work you are going to do
- the location of the work
- details of your client/employer
- how long you will work in the Netherlands
- in which country the social security is paid
You can find all data you need to submit on the fact sheet for employers abroad or the fact sheet for self-employed persons.
Occasional labour
Do you carry out work in the Netherlands occasionally? In certain cases employers abroad are not obliged to notify posted workers for occasional labour, such as performing emergency repairs, visiting conventions, or the first-time installation of industrial assemblies.
One-year notification
Are you a small businesses owner (you have up to 9 employees)? Or are you self-employed professional based within 100 kilometres of the Dutch border? You may file a one-year notification (jaarmelding) for posted workers if you had 3 postings in the Netherlands in the preceding calendar year. You cannot use the one-year notification if you work in the construction or temporary employment sectors.
Checking notifications
If you are the client of an employer abroad, you must inform the employer abroad or the posted worker about the mandatory notification and provide them with the correct (contact) information. You must check if the foreign employees have been reported and have been reported correctly. If you find any errors, you must correct these via the online notification portal.
The Netherlands Labour Authority checks if notifications have been made and if they are correct. If you fail to notify or fail to correct any mistakes, you (or your client) may be fined.
If you hire a business abroad or a self-employed professional who uses an annual notification, you are not obliged to check if they have been reported correctly.
Terms of employment for posted workers
Foreign personnel on temporary postings have certain rights around housing and additional pay-outs. From the start of their employment, they are entitled to the same 'core rights' as Dutch workers. After 12 months, they are entitled an 'expanded hard core' of rights. This means they will have the same benefits as local employees, as described in the Collective Labour Agreement (Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomst, CAO), except for dismissal protection and additional company pensions. Temporary agency workers who are posted to the Netherlands are entitled to all benefits listed in the CAO from the moment they start working, again except for additional company pensions and dismissal protection.