News item | 11-02-2025 | 08:59
The Dutch Labor Inspectorate will have more options for the shutdown of work on a company when serious abuses are taking place with employees, including labor migrants.
At present, the Dutch Labor Inspectorate can temporarily stop work at a company through the Working Conditions Act in the event of a serious risk of people. An exploration of the government shows that this legal possibility can also be used in the event of serious abuses.
Serious abuses are, for example, when an employee has to deal with combination of poor conditions such as very little wages, have to sleep in the workplace, have to work for a very long time, stay illegally or work, taken bank cards and travel documents, uncertainty about who the manager is, missing Or inadequate administration and physical or psychological violence.
Minister Eddy van Hijum of Social Affairs and Employment: ” In a civilized country like the Netherlands, we must treat labor migrants more decent. With the stopping of work at companies, the Dutch Labor Inspectorate has an extra measure with which we tackle the revenue model of rogue employment agencies and employers who exploit work migrants hard. “
The measure is aimed at stopping the workplace or work that poses a serious danger. There could also be a situation where the combination of factors even leads to the stilling of all work within the company. The stilling will be lifted again as soon as there is no more serious danger.
The inspectors of the Dutch Labor Inspectorate are given tools about which (combination of) circumstances can lead to a stilling of work.
Take of travel documents and bank cards
In addition, a way has also been found to punish employers who are guilty of taking passports and bank passes. There is no doubt that taking these types of documents is very undesirable by the employer. This increases the dependence on the employer and increases the risk of labor modes. In this way, intake of such documents will in many cases lead to limiting freedom and stress.
Pursuant to the Working Conditions Act, an employer is obliged to prevent employees from having to deal with, among other things, a high workload and undesirable behavior. This is called psychosocial labor tax. In situations in which travel documents and bank cards are taken, there may be the violation of the Working Conditions Act. In that case, the Labor Inspectorate can impose a warning and (after recidivism) a fine.
If, in addition to taking such documents, there are also other serious abuses, there may be a serious danger under the Working Conditions Act. In that case, the workstop of work at a company may be justified.