Employees of foreign EU companies in the Netherlands

An employee of a company established in another EU member state does not need a work permit to work temporarily in the Netherlands. The foreign employer must, however, notify the posting before work starts and apply the core Dutch terms of employment from the first day; the exception is a worker from outside the EU, who may need other documents.

The obligations run along three separate tracks: terms of employment under the Terms of Employment of Posted Workers in the European Union Act (Wet arbeidsvoorwaarden gedetacheerde werknemers in de Europese Unie, WagwEU), social security under Regulation (EC) 883/2004, and tax under the tax treaty between the Netherlands and the sending state. These three questions are answered independently of one another. That is exactly where most mistakes are made: an A1 certificate says nothing about which terms of employment apply, and neither says anything about where wage tax is due. Below we deal with each track, with the risks of bogus self-employment and chain liability, and with what the Netherlands Labour Authority checks.

Do workers from another EU country need a work permit?

No. EU citizens may work in the Netherlands without a work permit, whether they are employed by a Dutch company or posted by a foreign one.

The free movement of workers is one of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union. Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 492/2011 give workers from EU member states the right to work in another member state without discrimination based on nationality. The same applies in practice to nationals of the other EEA countries and Switzerland. A foreign company that provides services in the Netherlands and sends its own staff can also rely on the freedom to provide services.

A posted worker who is not an EU, EEA or Swiss national is in a different position. Such a worker may, under certain conditions, be posted by an EU employer without a Dutch work permit, but must be lawfully employed and resident in the sending state, and the posting must be notified. Check these conditions in advance, as the rules for non-EU nationals are stricter.

When is a worker posted?

A worker is posted when the foreign employer temporarily sends him or her to the Netherlands to carry out work, while the employment contract with that employer continues. Posting is common in construction, installation, transport, technology and consultancy.

In general, posting requires that:

• the worker has an employment contract with the foreign company, which remains the employer;
• the work in the Netherlands is temporary;
• the foreign employer keeps the authority to give instructions and pays the wages;
• the foreign employer carries out substantial activities in the sending state, beyond purely internal management.

Posting must be distinguished from other forms of cross-border work, such as hiring a self-employed person from abroad, directly employing an EU worker under a Dutch contract, or setting up a Dutch branch. Each form has different consequences for terms of employment, social security and tax.

What must the foreign employer notify?

The foreign employer must notify the posting through the Dutch online notification portal before work starts. Self-employed service providers from abroad must also notify their own work.

The notification requirement follows from the WagwEU. The notification contains details of the employer, the posted workers, the Dutch client, the nature of the work, the location, the expected duration and the country where social security contributions are paid. The employer must also designate a contact person. You can find the details on the government’s notification page for posted workers.

Certain occasional activities are exempt, such as emergency repairs, attending a conference and the first assembly or installation of goods as part of a supply contract. Small businesses with up to nine employees and self-employed persons close to the Dutch border may, under conditions, file an annual notification; this does not apply to construction and temporary agency work.

What must the Dutch client do?

The Dutch client (the recipient of the services) also has obligations. It must check whether the notification has been made and whether it is correct, and report any inaccuracy through the portal. If the client fails to do so, it can be fined as well. The client must also inform the foreign employer of the terms of employment that apply in its organisation where these are relevant, for example when agency workers are placed with it.

Documents at the workplace

During the posting, the employer must be able to show certain documents at the request of the Labour Authority, such as the employment contract or equivalent document, payslips, time records, proof of wage payment and the A1 certificate. In practice, it is wise to keep these available in the Netherlands, translated where necessary, so that an inspection can be dealt with straight away.

Fines

The Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie, previously Inspectorate SZW) enforces the notification requirement. If a notification is missing or incorrect, the employer, the self-employed person or the client can be fined. The amounts are laid down in a policy rule and are higher for repeat violations. You can object to a fine within six weeks (Article 6:7 of the General Administrative Law Act, Awb).

Which Dutch terms of employment apply?

From the first day, the posted worker is entitled to the hard core of Dutch terms of employment, including at least the Dutch statutory minimum wage. After twelve months, or eighteen months if the extension is notified, almost all Dutch terms apply.

The hard core from day one

Under the Posting of Workers Directive (96/71/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/957) and the WagwEU, the posted worker is entitled from the first day to the Dutch rules on:

• the statutory minimum wage and the minimum holiday allowance;
• maximum working hours and minimum rest periods;
• the minimum number of paid holidays, which under Article 7:634 BW is four times the agreed number of working days per week;
• health and safety at work;
• equal treatment of men and women and other non-discrimination rules;
• protection of pregnant workers, young mothers and young people;
• the conditions for hiring out workers, in particular by temporary employment agencies.

The Dutch statutory minimum wage applies per hour worked and is adjusted on 1 January and 1 July each year. This means that a worker from a member state with a lower wage level is entitled to at least the Dutch minimum wage for the hours worked in the Netherlands. If the terms in the home country are more favourable on a specific point, those apply for that point. The comparison is made term by term.

Collective labour agreements declared generally binding

Many Dutch sectors have a collective labour agreement (cao) that the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment has declared generally binding (algemeen verbindend verklaard). The core provisions of such an agreement, including its pay scales, allowances, overtime pay and travel, board and lodging allowances, apply to posted workers in that sector from the first day. Examples of sectors where this regularly plays a role are construction, cleaning and temporary agency work. Whether a generally binding agreement applies depends on its scope clause and on the actual work, so check this for each project. Read more about what you can do when an employer does not comply in our article on an employer not complying with the collective labour agreement.

Long-term posting

If the posting lasts longer than twelve months, the worker becomes entitled to almost all Dutch terms of employment that apply by law or under a generally binding collective agreement: the expanded hard core. The employer can extend the twelve-month period to eighteen months by submitting a reasoned notification.

Some matters remain excluded even after that period: the procedures and conditions for concluding and terminating the employment contract, including non-competition clauses, and supplementary occupational pension schemes. A posted worker therefore does not automatically come under Dutch dismissal law, even after a long posting. That depends on the law that governs the employment contract, which is determined under the Rome I Regulation.

If one posted worker is replaced by another for the same work at the same place, the periods of both postings are added together to calculate the twelve or eighteen months.

Which social security system applies?

For a posting of up to 24 months, the worker in principle remains insured in the sending state. The employer demonstrates this with an A1 certificate.

Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 provides that a worker who is posted by an employer that normally carries out its activities in the sending state remains subject to that state’s legislation, provided the anticipated duration of the work does not exceed 24 months and the worker is not sent to replace another posted worker. The social security institution of the sending state issues the A1 certificate (previously the E101). The worker then pays contributions and is insured in that state, not in the Netherlands.

The A1 certificate is binding on the Dutch authorities as long as it has not been withdrawn or declared invalid by the issuing state. The Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed this in Altun (C-359/16, 6 February 2018), but added that a national court may disregard a certificate obtained by fraud if the issuing institution fails to review it within a reasonable period after a request to do so.

Posting under Article 12 is not possible if the employer carries out only internal management activities in the sending state, or if the worker is sent to replace another posted worker. For longer postings, the authorities of both states can agree an exception under Article 16 of the Regulation. Someone who normally works in two or more member states falls under the separate rules of Article 13.

Where is wage tax due?

That depends on the tax treaty between the Netherlands and the sending state, and on the facts. Law & More does not advise on tax structuring; involve a tax adviser.

In general terms, most tax treaties follow the model of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Under that model, the salary for work performed in the Netherlands can be taxed in the Netherlands, unless the worker is present for no more than 183 days within the relevant period, the salary is paid by an employer that is not resident in the Netherlands, and the salary is not borne by a permanent establishment in the Netherlands. The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration also looks at who is the economic employer. Whether the foreign employer must register for Dutch wage tax is a separate question. Mistakes can lead to additional assessments and fines, so this deserves proper attention before the posting starts.

What is the risk of bogus self-employment?

If a foreign worker is presented as self-employed but in reality works under the authority of a client, Dutch law may treat the relationship as an employment contract. That has consequences for wages, tax, social security and liability.

Under Article 7:610 BW, there is an employment contract if someone performs work personally, for pay, under the authority of another. The name the parties give their contract is not decisive. The Supreme Court held in its Deliveroo judgment of 24 March 2023 (ECLI:NL:HR:2023:443) that all circumstances of the case must be weighed, including the nature and duration of the work, how the work and working hours are determined, whether the work is embedded in the organisation, whether the worker has to perform it personally, and whether the worker acts as an entrepreneur in other ways.

If a construction turns out to be bogus self-employment or a sham posting, the consequences can be significant: an obligation to pay wages at the level of the Dutch minimum or the applicable collective agreement, assessments of wage tax and contributions, employment law protection for the worker, and liability of the client. Since 1 January 2025, the Tax and Customs Administration has again been actively enforcing the rules on the qualification of working relationships under the Deregulation of Employment Relationships Assessment Act (Wet DBA).

What is chain liability?

Under Articles 7:616a to 7:616f BW, a client can be held liable for unpaid wages of workers employed by its contractor or subcontractor. This applies to posted workers as well.

A worker who has not received the wage to which he or she is entitled can claim it not only from the employer, but also from the client that contracted the employer, and further up the chain. The client can escape liability if it shows that it cannot be blamed for the underpayment, for example because it made clear agreements and checked compliance. In addition, tax legislation contains a separate chain liability for wage tax and contributions in contracting chains and for the hiring of workers. For a Dutch client, it is therefore important to choose reliable contractors, to include obligations in the contract and to check payslips and notifications.

What does the Netherlands Labour Authority check?

The Labour Authority can visit workplaces and request information and documents. During an inspection, it checks among other things whether:

• the posting has been notified correctly and in time, and the client has checked it;
• the posted workers receive at least the Dutch minimum wage and the applicable collective agreement terms;
• working hours, rest periods and health and safety rules are observed;
• the required documents are available;
• there is a genuine posting, and not a sham construction.

The Labour Authority can impose fines and share information with the authorities of the sending state. The Tax and Customs Administration and the Social Insurance Bank or UWV can take their own measures on tax and social security.

Are there special rules for road transport?

Yes. Since 2 February 2022, Directive (EU) 2020/1057 has contained specific posting rules for drivers in international road transport. Cabotage and certain cross-trade operations count as posting, while bilateral transport to and from the sending state does not. Posting of drivers is notified through the European road transport posting portal, not the general Dutch portal. The Dutch terms under generally binding collective agreements in transport apply to the posting periods.

Which practical steps should you take?

For a foreign employer, the most important steps are: notify the posting in time, check whether a generally binding collective agreement applies, pay at least the Dutch minimum wage or collective agreement wage for the hours worked, apply for A1 certificates, keep good records of hours and payments, and have the documents available at the workplace. Inform your workers about their rights in the Netherlands.

For a posted worker: check that you have a written employment contract, that you receive at least the Dutch minimum wage for your hours in the Netherlands, and that you have an A1 certificate. Keep your payslips and your own record of hours worked. If your employer does not comply, you can report this to the Labour Authority and claim unpaid wages, also from the Dutch client under chain liability.

For a Dutch client: check the notification, ask for proof of wage payment and A1 certificates, and make clear contractual agreements with the foreign contractor about compliance with Dutch rules. For an overview of the broader Dutch rules, see our article on Dutch employment law. More information for workers and employers is available on the government website Posted Workers.

In summary

• EU, EEA and Swiss workers do not need a work permit; posted workers from outside the EU must meet additional conditions.
• The foreign employer must notify the posting before work starts, and the Dutch client must check the notification.
• From day one, the Dutch minimum wage and the core of generally binding collective agreements apply; after 12 or 18 months, almost all Dutch terms apply.
• Social security usually remains in the sending state for up to 24 months, shown by an A1 certificate; tax depends on the treaty.
• Bogus self-employment and chain liability can make the Dutch client liable for underpayment.

Frequently asked questions about foreign EU workers in the Netherlands

Law & More advises foreign employers, Dutch clients and posted workers on the posting rules, collective agreements and disputes about wages and liability.

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