Essence of the system: accreditation requirement and prohibitions
The Act imposes two major requirements:
- Supply ban (Article 12c of the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs)): suppliers must have official accreditation to be permitted to provide workers.
- Borrowing ban (Article 12d): host employers can only borrow workers from accredited suppliers.
Under the Act, ‘supply’ occurs when a supplier provides a worker to a host employer in exchange for payment, with the worker then working under that host employer’s direction and supervision.
The Act includes exceptions to the accreditation requirement, such as supply without profit motive and an exemption for companies whose supply payments are less than 10% of the wage bill and not more than €2.5 million per year.
Accreditation criteria: Certificate of Conduct, deposit and compliance with system of standards
Organisations must meet strict requirements to be allowed to supply workers under the Act:
- Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag): companies must have a valid Certificate of Conduct (Article 12o).
- Financial security: a deposit of €100,000 must be paid (Article 12p). Start-ups can pay a reduced deposit of €50,000.
- Compliance with laws and regulations: companies must demonstrably comply with relevant employment, social security and tax legislation (Article 12q), the system of standards. The exact details will be laid down in subordinate legislation.
Accredited companies will be listed in a public register, allowing host employers to check whether they are working with an accredited organisation.
The accreditation requirement also applies to foreign organisations that provide workers in the Netherlands. They must apply for accreditation and pay the deposit. Submitting a Certificate of Conduct for legal entities is not mandatory for foreign companies, as they cannot apply for one. If a foreign legal entity has one or more Dutch directors, these directors must have a Certificate of Conduct for natural persons. In that case, the directors in question, rather than the legal entity itself, will be screened.
This aspect will also be fleshed out further in subordinate legislation.
Supervision and enforcement
The assessment of accreditation applications and the power to suspend or withdraw accreditations in the event of malpractices will be assigned to a designated government agency to be established for that purpose: the Dutch Authority for the Personnel Supply Market (Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt, or NAU). This agency will have the power to designate private inspection agencies, which will check whether organisations are complying with the system of standards and issue inspection reports, which are required for accreditation.
The Netherlands Labour Authority (NLA) will enforce the accreditation requirement. It can impose penalties on suppliers that work without accreditation and on host employers that hire personnel through non-accredited suppliers. Indications of serious violations, such as underpayment of the minimum wage, can result in suspension, rejection or withdrawal of accreditations if the matter is not remedied.
Timeline and transitional phase
The system is expected to take effect on 1 January 2027. From that date, suppliers must meet the system of standards and can apply for accreditation. The NLA will start enforcing the accreditation requirement on 1 January 2028. The interim period (2027) will be a transitional phase in which supervision will be gradually expanded: information will be shared and measures will be taken in response to indications, with a view to the granting or maintenance of accreditations (or the refusal to do so). For example, the NLA will share information with the NAU if penalties have been imposed on an employment agency for not paying the minimum wage.
Consequences for suppliers and host employers
The accreditation procedure (in Dutch) for suppliers will start when the Act enters into force on 1 January 2027. No later than 30 June 2027, suppliers must submit a complete application to the NAU and demonstrably meet the statutory requirements, including the Certificate of Conduct, deposit, and compliance with the system of standards. Suppliers that register before 1 January 2027, and can demonstrate that they contacted an inspection agency in a timely manner and are actively working on an inspection report, will receive the status of ‘application being processed’. They will be allowed to continue their supply on that basis until their accreditation is final.
From 1 January 2028, host employers can only borrow workers through accredited suppliers. As early as 2027, they would be wise to check whether their supply partners have started the accreditation process. Borrowing workers through non-accredited suppliers will entail fineable risks from 1 January 2028.
For more information, see: Toelating uitleenmarkt (in Dutch).