TerraLex Cross-Border Guide to Cross-Border Labor & Employment Guidance

This guide states the law as at April 2025.

The two main methods of engagement are as an employee working on the basis of an employment contract or as an independent contractor working on the basis of a contract for services. Most elements of Dutch employment law are not applicable to independent contractors. Disputes can arise when a contractor claims employment rights (typically on termination) and the tax authorities can also instigate investigations. An agreement will qualify as an employment agreement where three key elements are applicable:

1. Personal service – the service must be provided personally by the employee and not by another person without consent of the employer;
2. Wages – the employee must receive wages for the service provided;
3. Authority – the employer should exercise a certain degree of authority over the employee.

Typically not all factors align on one side and courts come down on one side based on the overall situation. Whether an agreement will be considered an employment agreement or not depends on all specific circumstances of the case.

The Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) has formulated a number of non-exhaustive factors that may be important in determining whether an employment contract exists:

• The nature and duration of the work
• The way in which the work and the working hours are determined
• The embedding of the work and the person doing the work in the organization
• The existence or absence of an obligation to perform the work personally
• The way in which the contractual arrangement of the parties’ relationship was established
• The way in which the remuneration is determined and how it is paid
• The amount of these remunerations
• Whether the person doing the work runs a commercial risk in doing so
• Whether the person doing the work behaves or can behave as an entrepreneur in the course of business.

The Netherlands Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) performs checks to establish if there is an employer-employee relationship or not. The Tax Administration can impose corrective fines or taxes where they establish malicious intent with regard to fictitious self-employment or (obvious or deliberate) false self-employment constructions.

Clients and contractors could use model agreements to show their business relationship is not false self-employment. These agreements have been approved by the Tax Administration. The Tax Administration no longer accepts new model agreements and will not extend or renew existing model agreements. Existing model agreements are valid until the end of 2029.

The DBA act has been introduced in order to clarify the employment relationship between a worker and an employer. This change in law has not proved effective enough. New legislation is pending, but it is not yet known when these rules will come into effect.

If the person is considered an employee, the employer must withhold taxes and national insurance contributions. Independent contractors are personally responsible for paying taxes and national insurance contributions.

Employment agreement for a fixed term or an indefinite period

An employment agreement may be entered into for a fixed term or for an indefinite period. In the event that the employment agreement is entered into for a fixed term, the agreement ends automatically at the time agreed upon between employer and employee.

A so-called notification obligation applies for temporary contracts of six months or more. The employer must notify the employee in writing whether the employment agreement will be continued and under what conditions this will be no later than one month before the end of the employment agreement. A failure to notify the employee (on time) will not hinder the termination of the employment agreement, but will result in an obligation on the part of the employer to pay the employee one gross monthly salary (or a pro rata amount in case the employer did not notify on time). In the event that a fixed term contract is tacitly renewed after expiry of the term, the employment agreement is deemed to be an employment agreement for the same fixed term, but not for more than one year. This second employment agreement will also end automatically after expiry of the fixed term.

Further, according to the so-called “chain rule” there are limits regarding the conclusion of successive fixed-term employment agreements. The main rules are:

• If there have been successive employment agreements for a fixed term that have been renewed within intervals of no more than six months, the total period of which exceeds 36 months (also counting the duration of the intervals), the employment agreement is considered to be an employment agreement for an indefinite period of time, starting from the day the period of 36 months expires; or
• If there have been more than three successive employment agreements for a fixed term, entered into within intervals of six months, the fourth employment agreement is considered to be an employment agreement for an indefinite period of time.

Foreign nationals from countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland do not need an employment or a residence permit to be employed in the Netherlands. Foreign nationals from outside the EEA and Switzerland must apply for a combined residence and employment permit if they intend to work in the Netherlands for more than three months. Such application must be done by the foreign national or his or her employer to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). The employment permit will generally only be granted if the employer can demonstrate that he cannot find a suitable candidate from a country within the EEA or Switzerland.

An employment permit is not required for certain categories of workers, mainly 1) highly skilled migrants who can contribute to the knowledge-based economy, provided that they earn a salary above a minimum amount determined by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, and 2) intra-corporate transferees in a key position or for a traineeship.

Employers who employ foreign nationals without a permit risk administrative fines or, in cases of repeated offence, closure of the company.

Sources of terms of employment are the employment contract, company policies, and collective bargaining agreements (if applicable). Employment contracts may be agreed orally, but the employer must provide the employee with a written statement of the essential elements of the contract within one month from the date of commencement of employment.

Many terms of employment are subject to statutory limitations. For example, some terms are only legally enforceable if they are agreed in writing, such as a probation period, a non-competition clause and punitive clauses.

Minimum wage

The salary to be paid by the employer to the employee is a matter of agreement between the parties, provided the provisions of the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Pay Act are observed.

On January 1 2024, the legal minimum hourly wage was introduced. This is the gross minimum wage per hour. Since 2024, there are no fixed minimum monthly, weekly and daily wages. Weekly or monthly wages depend on the number of hours worked (working hours). The gross minimum wage as of 1 January 2025 is €14.06 per hour. Collective labour agreements, if applicable, may require higher minimum wages.

In addition to their salary, employees with a maximum salary of three times the minimum wage are entitled to an annual holiday pay of 8% of the yearly salary. The parties may agree that the holiday pay is included in the salary. Holiday pay is usually paid annually in May or June.

Sick pay

During illness the employee is entitled to a period of 104 weeks of salary payment. The employee is entitled to 70% of the gross salary plus holiday allowance as long as this salary does not exceed the maximum daily wage and on the understanding that during the first 52 weeks the employee is at least entitled to the minimum wage. However, it is not unusual that the employer pays a higher percentage of salary, e.g. 100% of the salary in the first year and 70% in the second year. Sometimes a collective bargaining agreement provides for a higher percentage as well.

It is possible to agree that the first two days of incapacity for work shall be waiting days during which the employee is not entitled to continued payment of wages. An employee is not entitled to salary where the incapacity for work was caused deliberately or if the employee does not cooperate with his reintegration. After the 104-weeks period ends, the Employee Insurance Company (in Dutch: “UWV”), a government agency, will pay sickness benefits. However, if the UWV is of the opinion that the employer did not do enough to reintegrate the employee, the employer risks being required to pay beyond 104 weeks (up to a maximum of 156 weeks in total).

The vast majority of employees in the Netherlands is covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). If a CBA is applicable, the employer should apply the CBA to all its employees. A CBA may be concluded at a company level or may apply to a whole business sector. A company must apply a CBA if:

• The company has concluded a CBA with the trade unions itself;
• The company is a member of an employer’s organization that has concluded a CBA; or
• The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has declared a CBA binding on the entire sector in which the company operates.

A CBA may include deviations from many statutory employment rules. There are two types of CBA’s: a ‘standard CBA’ and a ‘minimum CBA’. A ‘standard CBA’ means that deviations from the CBA are not allowed. If the event of a ‘minimum CBA’ deviations from the CBA are allowed only in favor of the employee.

Pension

Citizens and foreigners who are employed in the Netherlands and are, therefore, subject to Dutch income tax are entitled to a state pension when they reach the pension age. The state pension age, which is 67 years in 2025, will rise up to 67 years and three months in 2028. From 2028 onwards, the state pension age will shift in line with life expectancy.

Apart from the basic state pension, it is not uncommon that the employer offers additional occupational pension. Most collective bargaining agreements require an additional occupational pension plan from the employer. If the employer has made a pension commitment, the pension scheme covers all employees of the company or industry/branch.

The state pension amounts to 70% (for singles) or 50% (for couples, per person) of the net minimum wage. Working outside the Netherlands may lead to a decrease of the state pension by 2% for each year that is spent abroad.

Unemployment benefits

In case of involuntary unemployment, employees may be entitled to unemployment benefits up to 70% of their salary (75% during the first two months of unemployment), provided this salary does not exceed a statutory maximum. The employee must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 36 weeks before the employee became unemployed. The duration of unemployment benefits depends on the employee’s employment history. As of 1 April 2019 the maximum duration of unemployment benefits is 24 months.

Long-term disability

After the first 104 weeks of illness, during which the employer must continue salary payment, the employee may be entitled to disability benefits from the Employee Insurance Agency (in Dutch: “UWV”), a government agency, depending on the degree of disability. Permanently and fully disabled employees are entitled to disability benefits of 75% of their salary, provided this salary does not exceed a statutory maximum.

Trade unions There is no statutory law relating to trade unions, except for the Dutch Constitution which provides the right to freedom of association and assembly. Contrary to the works council, there is no statutory number of members and everyone can become a member of a trade union. Trade union subscriptions are usually paid directly by the employee. Trade unions play an important role in case of collective dismissals, strikes, and collective bargaining. Trade unions can also represent the individual interests of employees. Some trade unions offer members legal assistance in employment disputes.

• Works council

Any company with 50 employees or more has to establish a works council. The number of members of the works council depends on the number of eligible employees. The maximum number of works council members is 25.

The most important rights of the works council are:

• The right of information as to the business and the financial results of the company and its financial, economic, and social policies;
• The right of advice as important decisions, such as the takeover of another company, major investments, reorganisations, etc.;
• The right of consent as to certain terms of employment, such as working time, pension scheme, remuneration, and job rating schemes, etc.

Members of the works council are elected from a named list of candidates. Such lists may be submitted by a trade union that has members among the employees within the company. Trade unions may also appoint representatives to represent their interests at the workplace in addition to their members being elected to the works council.

• Staff representation

Upon request of the majority of the employees, a company with 10 to 50 employees has to establish a staff representation (‘personeelsvertegenwoordiging’), a body with some of the powers of the works council, and consult and/or inform this representation about important issues concerning the company.

Working time The regular working time is 40 hours per week, but in many industries collective bargaining agreements provide for a working time of 36-38 hours per week. The Working Hours Act sets out specific rules for maximum weekly hours, minimum rest periods, night shifts, breaks, Sunday working, overtime, and stand-by duty. An employer and employee are free to determine whether or not overtime will be paid, unless a collective bargaining agreement determines otherwise. However, when working overtime, it must be ensured that the average wage per hour (calculated over all worked hours, including overtime hours) is at least the minimum wage.

Employees are allowed to request the employer to reduce their working time. The employer may only reject such request if there are serious business interests that prevail over the interest of the employee.

Holidays

An employee’s statutory entitlement to holidays is four times the working time per week (20 days in case the employee works 5 days a week). It is common to award additional holidays (non-statutory holidays). Statutory holidays expire six months after the end of the year in which they have been accrued, unless the employee has not reasonably been able to take holidays, for example due to long-term illness. Non-statutory holidays lapse only after five years and the lapsing period can be legally interrupted by the employee. Statutory holidays must actually be taken and cannot be bought out apart from on termination of the employment.

The above is in addition to the public holidays.

Public holidays

The Netherlands has the following official public holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Easter Sunday
• Easter Monday
• King’s Day
• Liberation Day (every five years)
• Ascension Day
• Whit Sunday
• Whit Monday
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

There is no statutory right for employees to take public holidays off work. However, most employers award a day off on public holidays. Also a collective bargaining agreement, if applicable, may determine whether or not employees are entitled to take public holidays off work.

Grounds for dismissal Dutch law offers a high degree of protection to employees working in the Netherlands. Apart from termination by the expiration of time of a fixed-term contract and giving notice during a probation period, the employer can only terminate the employment agreement unilaterally if there is a reasonable ground to do so and re-employment into a different suitable position within a reasonable term, whether or not with the help of training, is not possible or logical. Dutch law provides eight grounds for dismissal:

• Commercial or financial reasons;
• Long-term occupational disability;
• Frequent sickness absence;
• Inadequate performance;
• Imputable acts or omissions;
• Conscientious objections;
• Disturbed working relationship;
• Other circumstances.

As of 1 January 2020, in addition to the eight abovementioned grounds, a new ground for dismissal is introduced: the so-called “cumulation ground”. The cumulation ground gives the court the possibility to combine several grounds for dismissal. The cumulation ground can not, however, be used for or combined with a dismissal for commercial or financial reasons, long-term occupational disability, and conscientious objections. If the employment agreement is dissolved on the basis of the cumulation ground, the court may award the employee an extra fee (on top of the statutory transition payment and a possible “fair compensation”) up to a maximum of 50% of the statutory transition payment.

Unless the employee agrees to the dismissal or a termination agreement is concluded, the employer requires the permission of the Employee Insurance Company (in Dutch: “UWV”), a government agency, for dismissal on the ground of commercial or financial reasons or because of long-term occupational disability. A termination without permission or agreement based on any of the other grounds for dismissal requires a dissolution by the court.

Permission of the UWV

The UWV will assess whether the requirements for the grounds for the dismissal concerned are met and whether the employee might still be re-employed within a reasonable time. If an absolute prohibition against termination applies – a so-called ‘during prohibition’ – as in the event of illness, pregnancy or membership of the Works Council, the UWV will not give permission to terminate the employment agreement. Exceptions apply when it may reasonably be expected that the prohibition against termination will not apply anymore within four weeks after the day on which the UWV renders a decision on the application.

After permission has been granted, the employer can terminate the employment agreement, taking into account the applicable notice period (see below). If the employee does not agree to the termination he/she can request the Subdistrict Court to restore the employment agreement or to grant a fair compensation. After these proceedings, the parties may lodge an appeal to a higher court or to the Supreme Court.

Termination by the court

If the employer wishes to terminate the employment agreement on the basis of a grounds for dismissal other than commercial or financial reasons or long-term occupational disability, an application must be filed with the Subdistrict Court. The employer can also file an application if the UWV has refused permission or when there is a fixed-term employment agreement that cannot be terminated early. If an absolute prohibition against termination applies – the above-mentioned ‘during prohibition’ – the Subdistrict Court may grant the termination if the application is not related to circumstances related to the prohibition against termination, or if there are circumstances of such a nature that the employment agreement should be terminated in the employee's interest.

In the dissolution proceedings the employer and the employee may submit related claims to the Subdistrict Court simultaneously with the dissolution. For example, disputes regarding the amount of the transition payment, back wages, the fixing of a bonus, or disputes on (the validity of) a non-competition clause. The parties may lodge an appeal to a higher court or to the Dutch Supreme Court against the judgment of the Subdistrict Court.

Termination with mutual consent

An employer and employee may also separate with mutual consent. The employee can agree to the notice of termination of the employer or the parties can conclude a termination agreement. It is necessary that a termination agreement is concluded in writing. Although no transition payment is legally required in a termination through a termination agreement, in reality the employee will not accept the agreement without the offer of (at least) the transition payment.

The law grants employees a reflection period of two weeks, both for considering their consent to a termination and for agreeing to a termination agreement. Within this period the employee may withdraw his/her consent or dissolve the termination agreement without stating reasons. The employer is obliged to point out the reflection period in the termination agreement or to point out to the employee after his consent to the termination that he has a right of withdrawal. If not, the period will be extended to three weeks.

Termination without consent or permission

In the event that the employee does not consent to termination of the employment agreement and there is neither permission of the UWV nor a dissolution ruling of the Subdistrict Court, but the employer terminates the agreement nevertheless, the employee has two months to request either the annulment of the termination or a fair compensation to the Subdistrict Court. Again, the parties may appeal to a higher court or to the Dutch Supreme court against the judgment of the Subdistrict Court.

Summary dismissal

A summary dismissal is the termination of an employment agreement with immediate effect, without needing the permission of the UWV and without having to observe a notice period. A summary dismissal must be regarded as a last resort. For a summary dismissal to be legally valid, a number of strict requirements apply. First of all there has to be an ‘urgent reason’. The law specifies several examples of urgent reasons, such as drunkenness at work, gross insult, or theft. It is required that the employer cannot be expected to continue the employment. The circumstances of the case are decisive, and the personal circumstances of the employee, such as the consequences of the summary dismissal, are also relevant.

Notice of summary dismissal must be given ‘forthwith’. This means that an employer is not allowed to wait too long after the discovery of the urgent reason. If an employee disagrees with a summary dismissal, the employee may request the Subdistrict Court to annul the dismissal.

Notice period

The employer can only give notice on the last day of the month taking into account the applicable notice period as included in the employment agreement. It is also possible that in the employment agreement is included that the statutory notice period will be taken into account. The statutory notice period for the employer is related to the duration of the employment agreement:

• One month for employees with up to five years of service;
• Two months for employees with five to ten years of service;
• Three months for employees with ten to fifteen years of service;
• Four months for employees with fifteen years of service or more.
• If the notice period is not observed, the employee can claim payment of salary in lieu of notice.

The statutory notice period for the employee is always one month.

The statutory notice period for the employee may be extended in writing. If the notice period for the employee is extended, the notice period for the employer may in that case not be shorter than twice the notice period for the employee. The maximum notice period is six months for the employee and twelve months for the employer.

A collective bargaining agreement, if applicable, may include deviations from the statutory notice periods.

Statutory transition payment

An employee is entitled to a so-called statutory “transition payment” if the employment agreement is terminated, dissolved or not extended on the initiative of the employer. Employees are entitled to a transition payment from the first day of their employment. This payment will also be due when the termination, dissolution or non-renewal happens on the employee's initiative as a result of serious acts or omissions on the part of the employer.

The amount of the transition payment is dependent on the length of service. The transition payment amounts to 1/3 of the monthly salary for each year of service, and a pro rata amount for the period that the employment agreement was shorter than one year. The maximum transition payment is € 84,000 gross (2021) or a maximum of one annual salary if the annual salary exceeds €84,000 gross. Various exceptions have been made regarding the transition payment.

Besides the transition payment, there is also room for a so-called fair compensation. This amount comes on top of the transition payment if there are serious imputable acts or omissions on the part of the employer. The amount of this payment is at the discretion of the Subdistrict Court. A fair compensation will in principle only be granted in exceptional cases.

When several jobs become redundant, it must be determined which employees are eligible for dismissal by means of the so-called principle of proportionality. Briefly summarized, the employer must first try to achieve the necessary reduction of employees by not renewing fixed-term employment contracts. Should this measure be insufficient, the employer must then categorize employees who perform the same or an interchangeable position into age groups, namely ages from 15 to 25, from 25 to 35, from 35 to 45, from 45 to 55 and 55 and older. Within each age group the employee that has the shortest length of service (seniority) will be the first to be made redundant. The distribution of redundancy across the age groups must be made in such a manner that the age structure within the category of interchangeable positions is proportionally as equal as possible before and after the reorganization. Exchangeable positions are comparable in terms of job content, the knowledge, skills, and competences required for the position, and the temporary or structural nature of the position. In addition, the level of the position and the remuneration belonging to the position must be equivalent.

If an employee becomes redundant, the employer must examine whether re-employment into a suitable position within a reasonable term is possible. A suitable position is a position that matches the employee’s education, experience, and capabilities. In principle, this should be a position that matches the level of the employee’s own work, but this is not decisive.

When assessing whether a suitable position is available, jobs will be taken into account where a vacancy exists or will arise within a reasonable time. In addition, jobs of employees on temporary contracts and of temporary workers are also taken into account. These employees will have to make room for a permanent employee whose job becomes redundant. If the employer’s company is part of an international group of companies, jobs in the other companies belonging to this group could also be involved in the assessment of whether there is a suitable position available.

If an employee is not suitable for a specific position, but this position can be made suitable for him/her within a reasonable term through training, this position may still be designated as suitable.

When an employer proposes 20 or more redundancies within a three month period additional requirements apply, such as the requirement to notify the UWV and to consult with the interested trade unions. This may result in a so-called social plan, which contains the regulations and provisions for the employees who will become redundant.

The Dutch Civil Code implements European Directives regarding the protection of employees’ rights in the event of the transfer of an undertaking or part thereof. A transfer of undertaking takes place if an economic entity is transferred which retains its identity. Taking over a small division or activity of a company could qualify as a transfer of undertaking. A sale of shares, however, does not qualify as a transfer of undertaking.

If a transfer of undertaking takes place, employees have a number of rights:

• All employees who are employed in the service of the undertaking which is transferred will automatically, by operation of law, enter into the service of the acquiring party. The acquiring party may not choose which employees it wants to take over;
• A transfer of undertaking may not be used to terminate an employment contract with an employee employed in the undertaking subject to transfer. An employee who is dismissed for the sole reason of a transfer of undertaking, may challenge the dismissal in court successfully. However, if an employee does not wish to be transferred to the acquiring party, the employment contract will end by operation of law at the time of the transfer;
• All rights and obligations arising from the employment agreements transfer automatically to the acquiring party. This includes salary, holiday allowance, the number of working hours, but also the rights and obligations arising from the collective labour agreement that applies to the employments contracts at the time of the transfer. As an exception, the pension scheme of the selling party will only transfer under certain circumstances;
• The works council has the right to be informed and to give advice on the proposed transfer. Furthermore, the employees must be fully informed about the consequences of the transfer, their legal position and the choices to be made.

In general all employment related claims fall within the jurisdiction of the Subdistrict Court. Either the employer or the employee may apply to the Subdistrict Court for the employment contract to be dissolved. After such an application has been made, the defendant may submit a written defence. Subsequently, a hearing will take place during which both parties are given the opportunity to expand their respective arguments for or against termination. The procedure takes about two months. After the ruling of the Subdistrict Court, appeal and cassation are possible.

Pregnancy and maternity leave and pay A pregnant employee is entitled to pregnancy leave from six weeks before the expected date of delivery as indicated in the written statement of a doctor or obstetrician submitted to the employer. Pregnancy leave must commence no later than four weeks before the expected date of delivery.

An employee who is pregnant with two children or more is entitled to pregnancy leave as from ten weeks to the date of giving birth. The pregnancy leave must commence no later than eight weeks before the date of giving birth.

Employees are also entitled to maternity leave (commencing on the day after delivery) of ten consecutive weeks. In cases of pregnancy with one child, the ten week period can be extended, if the period of pregnancy leave pre-birth was less than six weeks. In cases with two children or more, the ten week period can be extended, if the period of pregnancy leave pre-birth was less than ten weeks.

Any days when the employee received sickness benefits during the period when she was entitled to pregnancy leave but no such leave was taken are counted as pregnancy leave days.

Pregnancy and maternity leave is unpaid by the employer. Employees are however entitled to an allowance from the UWV of up to 100% of the maximum daily wage.

Paternity/Partner leave and pay Partners of mothers who have given birth are entitled five days (if he/she works full time) paid paternity leave, to be taken within four weeks after the birth or within four weeks after the baby is back from the hospital, if later.

As of 1 July 2020 partners will also be entitled to five additional weeks unpaid leave. During these five weeks the partner is entitled to 70% of the daily wage paid by the UWV. Paternity leave must be taken during the first six months after the birth. Upon taking the additional birth leave, the UWV, upon the employee's request, provides benefits to that employee.

Parental leave Parents of children up to the age of eight are entitled to (unpaid) parental leave. Each parent may take off 26 times his weekly working hours. This time can be distributed in many different ways and the employee must decide the arrangement of the hours in agreement with the employer. The employee can take 9 of those 26 weeks as paid parental leave, during the period that the child has not yet reached the age of one year The employer can apply for paid parental leave benefit for the employee to the UWV. The UWV benefit for paid parental leave amounts to 70% of the daily wage.

Adoption leave An employee is entitled to adoption leave of six weeks, which can be spread across a period of 26 weeks. The period of 26 weeks starts counting from six weeks before the actual day of adoption. During adoption leave an employee is entitled to 100% of his/her daily wage, paid by the UWV.

Other family leave An employee is entitled to take (short-term) care leave to look after a sick relative such as a child, partner, or parent. Within a 12-month period an employee is entitled to take short-term care leave equal to twice their weekly working hours. During this time the employer is obliged to pay (at least) 70% of the gross salary.

In circumstances of life-threatening illness of a family member, an employee is entitled to long-term care leave of up to six times one’s weekly working hours. During long-term care leave the employer is not obliged to pay salary.

Special rules apply to the employment of young people regarding the kind of work and their working hours and rest times. These rules differ per category. Children under 13 are not allowed to work. Children aged between the ages of 13 and 16 are allowed to work outside school hours and in the holidays, but only under certain conditions. From the age of 16, young people are free to do any kind of work, so long as it is not dangerous and does not interfere with their school attendance. Young people from 15 up to and including 20 are entitled to the minimum youth wage.

The characteristics protected by law are gender, age, race, nationality, religion or belief, political views, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy, and marital status. Any detrimental action because of one of these characteristics is unlawful.

In addition, if an employer has a practice or procedure that subjects people who share one of these characteristics to a disadvantage, such as requiring job applicants to be six feet tall which disadvantages women, then that is unlawful indirect discrimination unless it can be justified.

Harassment is a form of discrimination and arises when there is unwanted conduct related to a person’s protected characteristic (e.g. sex or race) which violates their dignity or is otherwise hostile, humiliating, degrading, intimidating, or offensive.

Claims for discrimination can be brought by any employee or worker regardless of length of service, and also from potential recruits and ex-employees. Employees can also file a complaint before the Dutch Institute of Human Rights (in Dutch: “Het College voor de Rechten van de Mens”).

Compensation awards are uncapped but seem to be relatively low in comparison to other countries. A person who has alleged discrimination (or given evidence in support of another) is protected from retaliation or detriment (known as “victimisation”).

Employers of disabled employees are required to consider - and where reasonable take - “reasonable adjustments” to remove a disabled person’s disadvantage in the workplace.

If a company provides recruitment services or places workers, the Act on Allocation of Employees by Intermediaries (in Dutch: “WAADI”) can be applicable. Furthermore, a collective bargaining agreement can be applicable.

Under the WAADI recruitment services are defined as “services in pursuing employment for a job-seeker or aiding an employer in his activities, or both, resulting in an employment agreement in accordance with the Civil Code”. The placement of workers is defined as “placement of workers for a fee to another for the purpose of work under the supervision of the other, not on an employment agreement with the other”. Thus, not only temporary agency work is within the scope of the WAADI.

To determine the WAADI’s application, the Chamber of Commerce mainly looks at the factual circumstances. In short, if a company assigns a worker in the Netherlands against payment the WAADI is most likely to be applicable. The WAADI is however not applicable to intra-company supply, collegial supply without the intention of making a profit, or if the employees that are being supplied do not work under the supervision and management of the recipient.

The WAADI contains several obligations for companies that provide recruitment services or place workers. The most important rules of the WAADI are as follows:

• The company that supplies personnel is obliged to register this in the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce. This obligation also exists if a company assigns workers occasionally and/or if the supply of personnel is noncommercial. It makes no difference whether the company is based in the Netherlands or abroad;
• Supplied personnel must be awarded the same working conditions as awarded to the employees of the recipient (for example salary, working hours, overtime, and holidays). The company that supplies personnel is responsible for ensuring that this obligation is met.
• It is not allowed to request compensation, for example a fee, from the supplied worker. Also, the supplier may not prevent that the supplied worker will be employed by the recipient after the period of outsourcing;
• It is not allowed to employ the supplied worker as a replacement of another employee in the event of a strike.

There is enhanced protection against dismissal for some employees, for example employees who are ill (only during the first two years of illness), pregnant, on maternity or paternity leave, engaged in protected industrial action, trade union representative, Works Council representative, health and safety representative, prevention advisor, data protection officer, or employees who have made certain protected complaints.