Temporary agency work in the Netherlands: the agency contract, equal pay and the 2028 changes

Temporary agency work (uitzendwerk) is a three-way relationship: the agency employs the worker under a temporary agency contract (uitzendovereenkomst) and places the worker with a client, who directs the work (Article 7:690 of the Dutch Civil Code). An agency clause lets the contract end automatically when the client ends the placement, but only during the first 26 weeks of work, which a collective agreement can extend to at most 78 weeks. The agency worker is entitled to at least the same pay and core working conditions as the client's own employees in equivalent jobs (Article 8 Waadi). From 1 January 2028 the 26 weeks become 52, a special chain rule for agency work applies, and the agency clause can no longer be invoked while the worker is ill.

Temporary agency work in the Netherlands at a glance

• Contract: an employment contract between agency and worker, with the worker placed with a client (Article 7:690).
• Agency clause: the contract can end when the client ends the placement, during the first 26 weeks of work (Article 7:691).
• Collective agreement: may extend the 26 weeks to at most 78 weeks, and stretch the chain rule to 48 months and six contracts.
• Equal treatment: at least the same pay and core conditions as comparable employees of the client (Article 8 Waadi).
• From 31 December 2026: other working conditions must also be at least equivalent.
• From 1 January 2028: 52 weeks instead of 26, a statutory agency chain rule, and no agency clause during illness.

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What Is a Temporary Agency Contract Under Dutch Law?

An employment contract under which the employer, as part of its business, places the worker at the disposal of a third party to perform work under that party's supervision and direction, on the basis of an assignment from that third party (Article 7:690 of the Dutch Civil Code).

The agency (uitzendbureau) is the employer: it pays the wages and has the obligations of an employer. The client (inlener) directs the work day to day. The relationship between agency and client is a separate commercial contract. Because the agency contract is an employment contract, the general rules of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code apply unless the special agency rules in Articles 7:690 to 7:693 provide otherwise. The special rules do not apply where the agency and the client belong to the same group of companies (Article 7:691(6)).

What Is the Agency Clause and When Does It Stop Working?

The agency clause (uitzendbeding) is a written term under which the agency contract ends automatically when the placement ends at the client's request (Article 7:691(2)). It loses its force once the worker has worked for the agency in more than 26 weeks (Article 7:691(3)).

• While the clause applies, the worker may also end the contract with immediate effect, and the agency is not bound by the statutory notice rules for the end of a fixed-term contract (Article 7:691(2)).
• Periods of work with interruptions of no more than six months count together for the 26 weeks, and so do periods with successive agencies that are each other's successors (Article 7:691(4) and (5)).
• During the first 26 weeks, the agency and the worker may agree in writing that no wages are due when there is no work (Article 7:691(7)).
• A collective agreement may extend the 26 weeks to at most 78 weeks (Article 7:691(8)(a)).

After the agency clause has lost its force, the agency contract can only end in the normal ways: by expiry of a fixed term, by agreement, or by dismissal with the required permission. See fixed-term and permanent contracts.

How Does the Chain Rule Apply to Agency Workers?

The general chain rule for fixed-term contracts (Article 7:668a) applies to agency contracts only once the worker has worked in more than 26 weeks (Article 7:691(1)). Until then, successive agency contracts do not count towards a permanent contract.

Under the chain rule, a fixed-term contract becomes permanent when successive contracts, with interruptions of no more than six months, exceed 36 months, or when there are more than three contracts. For agency work, a collective agreement may extend the 36 months to at most 48 months and the three contracts to at most six (Article 7:691(8)(c)). See the chain rule under Dutch employment law.

What Are the Phases in Dutch Agency Work?

The phases (often called A, B and C) are not in the law: they are a system of the collective agreements for agency workers, the ABU and NBBU agreements. They use the room the law gives collective agreements to extend the 26 weeks and to stretch the chain rule.

In broad terms, a worker first works under agency contracts with an agency clause, then under fixed-term agency contracts, and finally under a permanent agency contract. The exact duration and conditions of each phase follow from the applicable collective agreement, not from statute, and may change when the agreement is renewed. The statutory limits described above are the outer bounds: at most 78 weeks for the agency clause, and at most 48 months and six contracts for the chain.

Are Agency Workers Entitled to Equal Pay and Conditions?

Yes. An agency worker (other than a payroll worker) is entitled to at least the same working conditions as employees in equal or equivalent jobs at the client, as regards pay and other allowances, and as regards working hours, overtime, rest periods, night work, breaks, holiday and public holidays under the client's collective agreement or company rules (Article 8(1) of the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act, Waadi).

• If the client has no employees in equal or equivalent jobs, the comparison is with such jobs in the client's sector (Article 8(2)).
• Equal treatment also covers rules protecting pregnant and breastfeeding workers and young workers, and anti-discrimination measures under the client's collective agreement or company rules (Article 8(3)).
• A collective agreement may deviate from these rules (Article 8(4)).

The client must inform the agency in writing or electronically, before the placement starts, about the working conditions that apply under Article 8 (Article 12a Waadi).

What Changes for Agency Workers in 2027 and 2028?

The Act on more security for flexible workers (Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205) changes agency work in three steps: on 31 December 2026, on 1 January 2027 and on 1 January 2028 (Decree in Bulletin 2026, 206).

Transitional rules. For fixed-term agency contracts concluded before 1 January 2028, the old six-month rule for counting interruptions (Article 7:691(4)) and the old chain rule (Article 7:668a(1)) keep applying, and so does the collective-agreement option to stretch the chain to 48 months and six contracts (old Article 7:691(8)(c)). This follows from Article 228(4) and (6) of the Transitional Act for the new Civil Code, inserted by the 2026 Act. For the general chain rule, see the chain rule under Dutch employment law.

Two earlier steps concern the Waadi:

• 31 December 2026: agency workers become entitled to at least equivalent conditions also for working conditions other than those listed in Article 8(1). A deviation by collective agreement is then only possible in the collective agreement that applies to the agency, and the total package of conditions must remain at least equivalent; certain conditions can be excluded from deviation by regulation.
• 1 January 2027: the ban on placing workers in a company affected by a strike, lock-out or occupation applies to the client as well as the agency (Article 10 Waadi), and the client must also inform the agency in good time when the working conditions change during the placement (Article 12a Waadi).

For the wider changes for on-call, zero-hours and min-max contracts, see flexible workers and the 2028 rules.

What Are the Client's Obligations and Liability?

The client directs the work and must provide the agency with the information needed for equal treatment. It can also be jointly and severally liable for wages the agency fails to pay (Article 7:616a of the Dutch Civil Code).

Under the wage chain liability rules, where work is performed in the employ of the employer to carry out a contract for services, the employer and its principal are jointly and severally liable for the wages owed to the employee, unless the principal shows that it cannot be blamed for the non-payment (Article 7:616a(1) and (2)). A client that hires agency workers should therefore check the reliability of the agency. The Waadi also prohibits agencies from charging the worker for the placement (Article 9) and from obstructing an employment contract between worker and client after the placement ends, apart from a reasonable fee (Article 9a).

How Does Agency Work Differ From Payrolling?

A payroll agreement is a special kind of agency contract: the placement was not arranged to match supply and demand on the labour market, and the employer may only place the worker with someone else with the client's consent (Article 7:692). Payroll workers are entitled to at least the same working conditions as the client's employees in all respects, with a separate rule on an adequate pension scheme (Article 8a Waadi), and the agency clause and agency chain rules of Article 7:691 do not apply to them (Article 7:692a).

See payrolling under Dutch law.

Which Legal Sources Govern Temporary Agency Work?

• Articles 7:690 to 7:693 of the Dutch Civil Code, the temporary agency contract
• Article 7:668a of the Dutch Civil Code, the chain rule
• Article 7:616a of the Dutch Civil Code, wage chain liability
• Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs (Waadi), Articles 8, 8a, 9, 9a, 10 and 12a
• Wet meer zekerheid flexwerkers (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 205) and its entry into force (2026, 206)