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Show Applicable labour law

Show Overview of employment contracts

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<div class="ck-content" data-wrapper="true" dir="ltr" style="--ck-image-style-spacing: 1.5em; --ck-inline-image-style-spacing: calc(var(--ck-image-style-spacing) / 2); font-family: Segoe UI; font-size: 11pt;"><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;">Dutch employment law is not consolidated into a single labour code but is instead governed by various legal sources. The employment relationship in the Netherlands is primarily regulated by compulsory statutory provisions laid down in the <a href="https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005290/2025-02-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Dutch Civil Code</strong></a> (Burgerlijk Wetboek, Book 7, Title 10 on Employment Contracts). In addition to statutory law, employment conditions can also be determined by <strong>collective labour agreements (CAOs)</strong>, which may apply in specific sectors and establish industry-wide standards for wages (if declared universally binding), working hours, and other employment conditions. Internal company regulations, where applicable, may also influence employment conditions, along with the individual employment contract agreed between employer and employee.</p><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><br><a href="https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0038054/2022-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>WagwEU</strong></a>, the <a href="https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0007149/2022-01-01/#ParagraafII_Artikel2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Foreign Nationals Employment Act</strong></a>, the <strong>Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Waadi</strong>), the <strong>Generally Binding and Declaring Non-Binding of Provisions of Collective Labour Agreements Act (AVV)</strong>, the <strong>Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (WML)</strong> regulate employment conditions for posted workers in the Netherlands. WagwEU transposes the Posting of Workers Directive, 2018/957 (Revised Posted Workers Directive) and Directive 2014/67/EU into Dutch law, with additional administrative obligations detailed in the BagwEU and related regulations. TCNs benefit from equal treatment in core employment conditions, as the WagwEU applies to all posted workers, regardless of nationality.</p><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><br><strong>WagwEU:</strong></p><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p><ul style="list-style-position: inside;"><li data-list-item-id="ea8fa210ba2600f74664c9985e2eab33f"><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><strong>Regulates employment conditions for posted workers</strong>, ensuring that service providers offer posted workers a ‘hard nucleus’ of terms of employment. This means that posted workers must receive the same core employment conditions as Dutch employees, including working hours, minimum wage, paid leave, equal treatment, and workplace health and safety standards.</p></li><li data-list-item-id="eb92547702255478fdfb936f13d87709e"><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><strong>Does not explicitly define a worker</strong>. The Dutch Civil Code includes a definition of employment contract (<a href="https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0005290&amp;boek=7&amp;titeldeel=10&amp;afdeling=1&amp;artikel=610&amp;z=2016-09-01&amp;g=2016-09-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Article 7:610</a>), describing the employee as the party who undertakes to perform work in the service of the employer for pay for a certain period of time. It follows that an employee is a natural person who performs labour under the authority of an employer in exchange for wages. Consequently, the elements of labour, wages, and authority are crucial in determining whether there is a contract of employment and whether a person is considered an employee.</p></li><li data-list-item-id="ef1ab8c693870622f92f2c29c36a63259"><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><strong>Defines a posted worker</strong>, in the context of transnational service provision, as an employee who temporarily performs work in the Netherlands on the basis of an employment contract and who does not normally perform work in or from the Netherlands. (<a href="https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0038054&amp;hoofdstuk=I&amp;artikel=1&amp;z=2022-01-01&amp;g=2022-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Article 1 of the WagwEU</a>).</p></li><li data-list-item-id="e086ec869671f5c9b67a64e23530f10db"><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><strong>Applies to all posted workers</strong>, including TCNs, covering minimum wage and holiday allowance, working conditions and health and safety, working hours, and regulation of temporary agency work.</p></li></ul><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><br>The <strong>Foreign Nationals Employment Act</strong> establishes the general prohibition on working in the Netherlands without a valid work permit. However, Article 4(6) of the <a href="https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0046078/2025-05-29" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Decree implementing the Foreign Nationals Employment Act 2022</strong></a> provides an exception for TCNs posted from an EU Member State under the Posting of Workers Directive. This means that TCNs who legally work and reside in another EU/European Economic Area (EEA) country, and who are temporarily posted to the Netherlands, do not require a Dutch work permit (provided that their posting meets the conditions set out in the Posting of Workers Directive, 2018/957 Revised Posted Workers, (EU) 2014/67 Enforcement Directive and the WagwEU. They must remain covered by the social security system of the sending Member State, hold a valid PD A1 certificate, and their employer must comply with Dutch labour law provisions applicable to posted workers.</p><p style="margin: 0; text-align: justify;"><br>A notification requirement also applies to such postings under Article 2(a) of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act, which provides that a service provider from another Member State must make a notification prior to performing work in the Netherlands. This notification obligation mirrors that in the WagwEU and must be completed before the start of the service provision in the Netherlands.</p></div>

Employments contracts

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Table 2 - Overview of relevant national administrations

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Country-Fiche: Netherlands

Competent authorities

Request for information from national authorities

Table 1 - Overview of relevant national administrations

Applicable labour law

Employments contracts

Table 2 - Overview of relevant national administrations

Temporary Work Agencies

Social security

Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) system (includes public repository of social security institutions)

Institutions responsible for the issuance of PD A1

Online tool to check PD A1

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) – List of institutions that issue the EHIC

Entry and stay requirements for TCNs

Visa

Table 3 - Visa types

Residence and work permits

Table 4 - Residence Permits

Table 5 - Work Permits

Special entry and stay requirements

Travel and residence documents

Useful Links

Table 6 - Useful links