News item | 09-12-2022 | 3:30 pm
At the proposal of Minister Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment, the Council of Ministers has approved the bill on mandatory certification for temporary employment agencies. The purpose of the law is that employment agencies allow all their employees to work under good working and living conditions. To this end, all temporary employment agencies must comply with a certification obligation. This will improve the vulnerable position of labor migrants and level the playing field for all lenders.
Too many labor migrants in the Netherlands work under conditions that are unworthy of the Netherlands. People who come to work here are entitled to decent living and working conditions. This is a responsibility of the government, employers and employment agencies. The mandatory certification bill ensures that rogue employment agencies are tackled. This is an important part of the whole approach. That is why Minister Van Gennip wants to speed up the introduction of this bill.
The mandatory certification system is one of the most important recommendations of Mr Emile Roemer’s Booster Team for the Protection of Labor Migrants.
The bill will be sent to the Council of State for advice. After the advice has passed, the bill will go to the House of Representatives in the spring of 2023, after which all employment agencies will have to apply for a certificate in 2024.
A new organization will be set up next year to issue certificates, which should be operational in the summer of 2024. To ensure that temporary employment agencies apply for a certificate as early as possible, they are encouraged to apply for a certificate before 1 August 2024 via an in-growth model. The temporary employment agency must therefore meet the requirements for the certificate.
The Labor Inspectorate will be expanded from 2023 to enforce the certification obligation. The Labor Inspectorate will enforce from the moment that temporary employment agencies are enabled to obtain a certificate. That will be on 1 January 2025, depending on the parliamentary debate and implementation. From that moment on, employment agencies that provide workers (including migrant workers) without certificates will be fined. Hirers who hire temporary workers from non-certified agencies can also be fined.