Temporary agency work under Dutch employment law
Temporary agency work (uitzendwerk) in the Netherlands involves a triangular legal relationship between the employment agency (uitzendbureau), the temporary worker (uitzendkracht), and the client business (inlener). The temporary worker is employed by the agency under a special form of employment contract called an uitzendovereenkomst, regulated by Article 7:690 of the Dutch Civil Code. The worker is then placed at the disposal of the client to perform work under the client's supervision and instruction.
A key feature of the uitzendovereenkomst is the uitzendbeding (agency clause): a provision allowing the employment relationship to end automatically at the request of the client without the need for a formal dismissal procedure. This clause may be included in the contract for the first 26 weeks of employment. After this initial phase, normal dismissal protection under Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code applies.
The phased employment system in the Netherlands
Dutch agency work operates under a phased system regulated by the NBBU and ABU collective labour agreements. In Phase A (weeks 1-78 with the same agency), the agency worker is employed on a flex basis and the uitzendbeding may apply. In Phase B (thereafter), the agency must offer fixed-term contracts. In Phase C, after a qualifying period, the worker is entitled to a permanent contract with the agency. The chain rule (ketenregeling) applies to agency workers in modified form.
Agency workers are entitled to the same pay and working conditions as the client's own employees performing equivalent work (inlenersbeloning). This equal treatment principle, derived from the EU Temporary Agency Work Directive, requires that pay, working hours, annual leave, and other core conditions match those of comparable direct employees at the client business.
Liability of the client business under Dutch law
Under Article 7:692 of the Dutch Civil Code, the client business (inlener) may be jointly liable with the agency for certain employment claims, including unpaid wages. The Dutch Labour Inspectorate (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) actively monitors compliance with equal treatment obligations in agency work. Non-compliant agencies risk fines and loss of their NEN 4400 certification, which many clients require as a condition of engagement.
The temporary agency work sector in the Netherlands is largely governed by two major collective labour agreements: the ABU collective agreement (for members of the Federation of Temporary Work Agencies) and the NBBU collective agreement. Under these agreements, temporary agency workers move through a phased employment system that can extend up to 5.5 years - including interval periods - before their contract is deemed to have been entered into for an indeterminate term. The equal treatment obligation (inlenersbeloning) was reinforced from 2012 onwards, but research showed that agency workers were still earning 13 to 27 per cent less than equivalent direct employees, which led to further legislative strengthening of the equal pay rules.