As per 1 March 2020 for temporary foreign workers – New Dutch notification obligations

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As per 1 March 2020, temporary workers in the Netherlands have to be registered online. This follows from the implementation of the EU Posted Workers Directive by the Netherlands and obliges both service provider and service recipient to take action before the start of the work. Not complying to these new rules can result in penalties.

The online notification applies for example to expats, self-employed persons, foreign employees and to intra-group secondments to the Netherlands,

Obligations for service provider and service recipient

The notification requirement applies to employers and self-employed workers from the EU, EER and Switzerland for temporary assignments in the Netherlands that start on 1 March 2020 or later. In the online notification information should be reported such as: information about the employer or self-employed person, information about the recipient of the service, the address of the work place, description of the work and duration of the project.

After the notification is filed the recipient of the service is notified. The recipient of the service provided by the posted worker in the Netherlands is required to check the online notification within two weeks and report incorrect information.

The information will consequently be shared with the inspection Social Affairs and Employment for checking compliance with the employment conditions in the Netherlands.

The online notification portal is accessible per 1 February 2020 on the following website: www.postedworkers.nl

Exemptions
In some cases exemptions apply to the notification obligation, including:

• employees performing certain incidental activities in the Netherlands, e.g. business meetings, urgent maintenance and repairs or attending congresses;
• employees performing work in the public administration, public services or extraterritorial organizations sector;
• employees performing work in the transport sector, except for freight transport that includes loading and unloading in the Netherlands;
• employees performing urgent maintenance or repairs to tools, machines or equipment without exceeding 12 weeks in a period of 36 weeks;
• qualified or specialized employees performing Initial assembly or the first installation of a good, as important and necessary part of the agreement for the delivery of goods, unless work takes more than 8 days;
• Guest lecturers working at a Dutch institution for scientific education and certain researchers.

Actions to be taken

These additional compliance requirements urge employers to review the status of their workers in the Netherlands / on Dutch projects and gather all information needed for the notification. MFFA can assist with the review and file the notifications on your behalf.

If you have workers in the Netherlands, feel free to contact us for assistance