Posted Worker Online Notification Required Starting March 1, 2020

The situation

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) in the Netherlands announced that posted worker notifications will be mandatory as of March 1, 2020, which will require employers in the Netherlands to file an online notification before the posted worker commences work in the Netherlands.

A closer look

Details of the online notification requirement include the following:

• Notification requirement. The Ministry of SZW will launch an online government notification system on February 1, 2020 on which employers of posted workers outside of the Netherlands will be able to submit an online notification before the posted worker commences work in the Netherlands. The Dutch employer is required to review the notification and must inform the authorities within five days of the posted worker starting work if any details are not correct.

• Exemptions. Workers performing incidental work, including transport personnel, guest lecturers and attendees of academic conferences, will be exempt from the posted worker notification requirement.

 

Impact

Employers will be subject to an extra step when employing posted workers and should consult with their human resources department to ensure that their recruitment procedures comply with the directive.

Background

• Purpose of notification requirement. The information from the notification will be added to an inter-agency registry to which the SZW, Tax and Customs Administration, Sociale VerzekeringsBank (SVB – the Dutch social security agency) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) will have access. The notification will allow authorities to better combat fake self-employment, to check whether employers have paid taxes and whether they are meeting minimum wage requirements and other mandatory employment conditions.
• Compliance with Posted Workers Enforcement Directive. The posted worker online notification requirement is being implemented so that the Netherlands remains in compliance with the Posted Workers Enforcement Directive.

 

Looking ahead

Although the notification requirement will be fully implemented on March 1, 2020, the new employment regulations stemming from the amended Posted Workers Directive will likely go into effect on July 30, 2020.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has also proposed a law which will bring other areas of Dutch law into compliance with an amendment to the EU Posted Worker Directive, which is expected to go into effect on July 30, 2020. These include: limiting the period for which basic employment laws of the host country are applicable to 12 months, with a possible six-month extension; implementing rules regarding the replacement of a posted worker and successive postings; and requiring employers to count allowances provided to posted workers toward minimum salary requirements.

The progress of these laws is depicted below:

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].