A foreign employer that temporarily posts workers to the Netherlands must comply with the Posted Workers in the EU (Working Conditions) Act (Wet arbeidsvoorwaarden gedetacheerde werknemers in de Europese Unie, WagwEU): notify the posting before work starts, apply the Dutch core working conditions, keep documents at the workplace and appoint a contact person. The Dutch client has its own duty to check the notification, and both can be fined by the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie).
This article covers posting specifically. Which law governs a cross-border contract in general is covered in our article on санариптик дүйнөдө чек аралар аркылуу иштөө; drafting the contract is covered in our Эл аралык жумушчулар үчүн эмгек келишимдери боюнча колдонмо.
What counts as a posting?
A posting exists when an employer established in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland temporarily sends an employee to work in the Netherlands, while the employment with that employer continues. The EU Posting of Workers Directive covers three situations.
- A service performed under a contract with a Dutch client.
- A secondment within a group of companies.
- Hiring out of workers by a temporary work agency to a Dutch user undertaking.
Self-employed persons providing services in designated sectors must also notify. An employee who moves their habitual place of work to the Netherlands is not posted; Dutch employment law then follows from the ordinary applicable-law rules. A remote worker abroad for a Dutch employer is not posted either. Our overview of чек ара укуктук маселелер explains how these questions interact.
What must the foreign employer do?
The employer (service provider) must notify the posting before the work begins and keep specified documents available at the workplace. The duties are set out in Articles 7-9 WagwEU.
Notify before work starts
Under Article 8(1) WagwEU the notification is made electronically through the online reporting portal (meldloket) before the work begins. It states the employer, the Dutch client and the workers, the contact person, the nature and expected duration of the work, the workplace address and the social security position.
The employer must give the Dutch client a copy of the notification before the work starts (Article 8(2) WagwEU). A posting without notification is a violation in itself, even if pay is correct.
Keep documents at the workplace and appoint a contact person
Under Article 9 WagwEU these documents must be available on paper or electronically at the workplace during the posting: payslips, the employment contract or equivalent document, records of hours worked, proof of social security contributions (usually the A1 certificate) and proof of wages paid.
After the posting, the employer must provide these documents to the inspectors on request within a reasonable period (Article 9(3) WagwEU). Under Article 7 WagwEU the employer designates a contact person who is available in the Netherlands for the authorities.
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The Dutch client (service recipient) must check the copy of the notification. If it is incorrect or missing, the client must report this to the authorities no later than five working days after work starts (Article 8(3) WagwEU).
The client can be fined for failing to do so. In practice, the contract should oblige the supplier to notify, to give the notification reference before mobilisation and to report changes. Making payment conditional on that evidence works better than a warranty in general terms.
Which Dutch working conditions apply?
The contract keeps the law of the home country, but under Article 2(1) WagwEU a core of Dutch rules applies regardless. This includes the Dutch statutory minimum wage, the chain liability for wages in Articles 7:616a-616f of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), holiday and leave under Book 7 BW, and the employer’s safety duty in Article 7:658 BW.
Dutch rules on working hours (Arbeidstijdenwet), health and safety (Arbowet) and equal treatment also apply. If a collective labour agreement (cao) has been declared generally binding for the sector, its pay and allowance provisions apply too. Foreign employers often miss this and treat the statutory minimum wage as the ceiling.
Pay includes all mandatory elements, including posting allowances. Reimbursements for travel, board and lodging do not count as wages.
What changes after twelve months?
From the thirteenth month, almost all Dutch statutory working conditions apply (Article 2(2) WagwEU). The exceptions are the rules on concluding and ending the contract, non-competition clauses and supplementary pensions.
The employer can extend the twelve months to eighteen by a reasoned notification in the last three months of the first twelve (Article 2(3) WagwEU). If a posted worker is replaced by another doing the same work at the same place, the periods are added up (Article 2(4) WagwEU).
Which extra rules apply to agency work?
When the posting consists of hiring out workers, the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs, Waadi) also applies. Under Article 7a Waadi, only a business registered in the Dutch trade register as a provider of workers may hire out workers in the Netherlands, and a hirer may not use an unregistered provider.
Under Article 8 Waadi the agency worker is entitled to at least the same pay and other conditions as employees in equal or equivalent positions at the hirer. This applies to foreign agencies as much as to Dutch ones.
The Act on admission of labour providers (Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten, Wtta) amends the Waadi and introduces a mandatory admission. The admission rules enter into force on 1 January 2027; providers that apply within six calendar months after that date benefit from transitional rules (Article 23b Waadi). The ban on hiring from non-admitted providers takes effect on a later date set by decree. Check now whether your providers will apply.
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Social security follows the EU coordination rules, not the WagwEU. The basic rule is insurance in the country where the work is done, but a posted worker can remain insured in the sending state for a limited period.
That exception requires that the employer normally carries out substantial activities in the sending state and that the worker does not replace another posted worker. The A1 certificate proves which system applies. Request it from the competent institution of the sending state before work starts and keep a copy at the Dutch workplace. Without it, the Dutch authorities may treat the worker as insured in the Netherlands.
What about wage tax and immigration?
Wage tax follows the applicable tax treaty, not the posting rules. We do not advise on tax; we work alongside your tax adviser on the employment-law consequences. Keep day-by-day records of where each worker worked.
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals need no work permit. A non-EU national lawfully employed by an employer in another member state can in principle be posted on the basis of a notification instead of a Dutch work permit, if the residence and work rights in the sending state are valid for the whole period. If not, the Dutch client also risks a fine under the Foreign Nationals Employment Act (Wet arbeid vreemdelingen). See our article on Нидерландиянын мыйзамдары боюнча жумуш берүүчүлөрдүн милдеттери.
Талаптарды аткарбоо кандай кесепеттерге алып келет?
The Netherlands Labour Authority enforces the WagwEU, the Waadi, the Working Hours Act, the Working Conditions Act and the minimum wage rules. It can impose administrative fines without going to court.
The fines are set in policy rules, such as the Beleidsregel boeteoplegging WagwEU 2020, and apply per worker and per violation. There is also civil exposure: under Articles 7:616a-616f BW the employer and its client are jointly and severally liable for the wages owed to the worker. The client can defend itself by showing it is not to blame, for example through verified notifications, contract terms and periodic checks. The general rules of Голландиянын эмгек мыйзамы continue to apply.
What if you post workers out of the Netherlands?
The regime is reciprocal. A Dutch employer posting staff to another member state must notify in the host state’s system, apply its core conditions and keep the required documents.
Under Article 3(2) WagwEU the Dutch employer must inform the employee before departure about the pay under host-state law, posting allowances and expense rules. Dutch law keeps governing the contract, but the host-state floor applies on top, and after twelve months almost the full host regime. Our Нидерландиянын эмгек мыйзамдарына сереп sets out the domestic baseline.
What should you check as the foreign employer?
- Is this a genuine posting, or has the worker’s habitual place of work moved to the Netherlands?
- Has the notification been made before work starts, and has the client received a copy (Article 8 WagwEU)?
- Does a generally binding cao apply, and which pay scale fits the work?
- Are payslips, contracts, hour records, A1 certificates and proof of payment available at the workplace (Article 9 WagwEU)?
- Have you appointed a contact person in the Netherlands (Article 7 WagwEU)?
- Is the twelve-month point diarised, with the reasoned notification if you extend to eighteen months?
What should you check as the Dutch client?
- Did you receive a copy of the notification, and is it correct? Report errors within five working days (Article 8(3) WagwEU).
- Is an agency provider registered in the trade register (Article 7a Waadi), and will it apply for Wtta admission?
- Does the contract oblige the supplier to notify, comply with the cao and give you access to payslips and hour records?
- Do non-EU workers have valid residence and work rights in the sending state?
- Can you show you took adequate measures against underpayment under Articles 7:616a-616f BW?
What can we do for you with posting workers?
биздин жумушка орношуу боюнча адвокаттар advise foreign employers and Dutch clients.
- We check whether your arrangement is a posting and which obligations apply.
- We determine the applicable generally binding cao and pay scale.
- We draft the contract clauses on notification, verification and liability in the chain.
- We draft assignment letters and secondment agreements for staff posted abroad.
- We prepare you for an inspection and object to a fine from the Labour Authority.
Жыйынтык
- A posting to the Netherlands must be notified before work starts (Article 8 WagwEU).
- The Dutch client must check the notification and report errors within five working days.
- Dutch core conditions apply from day one, including generally binding cao pay; after twelve (or eighteen) months almost all Dutch conditions apply.
- Agency work also falls under the Waadi; the Wtta admission rules take effect from 1 January 2027.
- Employer and client are jointly liable for unpaid wages under Articles 7:616a-616f BW.
Көп берилүүчү суроолор
Can employer and employee choose the law that governs a cross-border employment contract?
Yes, under the EU Rome I Regulation. But the choice cannot deprive the employee of the protection of the mandatory rules of the law that would otherwise apply, usually the law of the country where the employee habitually works.
Do Dutch rules apply if a foreign law governs the contract?
Yes, for the core set listed in Article 2 WagwEU: minimum pay, holiday, safety, working hours and generally binding cao provisions. After twelve months, or eighteen after a reasoned notification, almost all Dutch statutory conditions apply.
What is an A1 certificate and when do I need it?
An A1 certificate shows which country’s social security system applies to the worker. Request it from the competent institution in the sending state before work starts and keep a copy at the Dutch workplace as part of the documents under Article 9 WagwEU.
Which court decides a cross-border employment dispute?
Within the EU, the Brussels I Recast Regulation protects employees: they can sue in the courts of the employer’s domicile or of their habitual place of work, while the employer must in principle sue in the employee’s domicile.
