Employment agency, hirer or direct employer?

In agency work, you receive daily instructions from someone on the shop floor, while a different company appears on your contract and payslip. That can be confusing when nobody takes responsibility for a problem. The first step is therefore to establish the employment relationship: who is your employer, what agreement was concluded and which collective labour agreement (cao) or terms are being applied?

Do not bring only the document you signed most recently. Earlier contracts, extensions and placement confirmations can also be relevant. Indicate whether you always worked for the same hirer and whether there were any interruptions. With questions about the duration of the contract, rights during illness or an ended assignment, it is precisely that history that can make the difference.

Our page on the rights of agency workers provides further explanation. For other topics, such as a direct employment contract or an employment dispute with your own employer, you can also look at our national employment law page.

Checking wages, allowances and deductions

A wage problem is not always visible as a payment that is missing entirely. You may also see too few hours worked, miss an allowance or find a deduction that is not explained. Start with an overview per period: hours worked, the wage applied, any allowances, deductions and the amount received. Check that reservations and payments are not being mixed up.

In agency work, the applicable terms of employment must be established carefully. The collective labour agreement, the assignment and the agreements about the position may be relevant. The mere statement that ‘this is the rate for agency workers’ gives insufficient insight into how it was calculated. Ask for the calculation and keep the answers, including when they are given through an app or employee portal.

We can help assess the differences legally and formulate a targeted claim. In doing so, it must be avoided that the same item is counted twice or that gross and net amounts are compared as if they were the same. Read more about wage claims and the Rechtspraak (Dutch judiciary) explanation of unpaid wages.

Fictional example: hours appear on two different overviews

An employee records his shifts with the hirer, but the employment agency uses its own system. Some shifts are missing from the payslip. For the assessment, both records are compared with the schedule and the confirmations of the hours worked. Only then can it be determined which hours are missing and who should be held to account for them. This is an illustration, not a description of an actual client case.

No new shifts: what does the end of the assignment mean?

When a hirer no longer has work for you, uncertainty often arises immediately. Sometimes the employment agency says that the contract has ended as a result. In other situations there are fewer calls or a search for a new placement. Those scenarios must be kept apart. The words ‘end of assignment’ do not yet fully answer the question of the status of your employment contract.

Relevant to an assessment are, among other things, the type of contract, the applicable collective labour agreement, any agency clause (uitzendbeding) and the actual reason. Ask for a written explanation and keep the date on which the work stopped. Also indicate whether you were asked to resign yourself, to sign a termination agreement or to waive wages.

Have a document assessed first when it contains more than an administrative confirmation. A signature can also mean consent to termination or a full and final discharge. We discuss which rights need to be investigated and which response is sensible, without drawing a conclusion based only on the title of the document.

Illness during agency work or a fixed-term contract

In the event of illness, it must be established which wage entitlements and obligations apply in your specific employment relationship. A fixed-term contract or agency contract does not mean that illness ends all rights without further assessment. At the same time, the expiry of a contract during illness may involve a different route than continued payment during an ongoing employment. The contract and the relevant collective labour agreement are therefore essential.

Report your illness in accordance with the applicable arrangements and keep the message. Note when you last worked, which shifts were scheduled and what response you received from the agency and the hirer. A statement that there is no work is not the same as a medical assessment that you have no limitations.

Where there is a dispute about reintegration, expert assessments may be needed. An expert opinion from UWV is something different from a second opinion on the advice of an occupational physician. Which step is appropriate depends on the question on which the parties disagree. Also read our information on dismissal and illness.

Work, housing and transport: keep the arrangements apart

For labour migrants, wage payments, housing and transport may run through the same organisation. As a result, a single conflict can affect several parts of daily life. Indicate at the intake if your accommodation or transport depends on the work. That helps to understand the practical urgency and to determine which documents need to be examined separately.

Along with your employment contract, provide any housing agreement, authorisation for deductions and specifications of costs. An amount on the payslip does not in itself show what legal basis exists for it. Conversely, a dispute about wages does not mean that every other arrangement is automatically invalid. The different legal relationships each require their own assessment.

We map out which questions are employment law questions and which require additional assessment. Do not assume without advice that you must leave your accommodation immediately because an assignment ends. Nor should you confirm without explanation that all deductions are agreed. A good inventory prevents a response to one problem from unintentionally weakening your position on another.

On-call contracts and structural hours

Uncertainty about working hours can also arise outside agency work. With an on-call contract, the call-up period, withdrawn shifts and the actual scope of work are relevant. With a min-max contract, the agreed minimum hours must be looked at, among other things. It is not enough to reject a payment with the general statement that you were hired on a flexible basis.

If you worked according to a fixed pattern for a longer period, bring the schedules and payslips for that period. There are different rules on the presumption of the scope of work and on an offer of fixed hours after twelve months. Those rules have different purposes and do not automatically lead to a permanent contract.

For more detail, you can read about a min-max contract, cancelled calls and a missing offer of fixed hours. The assessment is based on the law and collective labour agreement applicable in the relevant period, not on future changes that have not yet entered into force.

Dismissal, severance arrangement and transition payment

If you receive a dismissal letter or a settlement agreement, send the full text and annexes. An assessment of the amount alone is insufficient. The end date, notice period, outstanding wage items, holiday entitlement and any post-employment obligations can have major consequences. Also state whether you are ill and whether you already have another job.

When employment ends by mutual consent, a transition payment is not automatically due by law. A payment can, however, form part of the agreement. In the case of dismissal or non-renewal, statutory entitlements may exist, depending on the circumstances and exceptions. You can find more information on our page on the transition payment and in the Dutch government’s information on payments on dismissal.

Summary dismissal calls for immediate action. In principle, a period of two months after the dismissal applies for challenging it. A claim concerning a transition payment that is owed has a different period, in principle three months after the end of the employment contract. Have it determined precisely which application is needed; the general message that the same period applies to everything is incorrect.

Setting out your story clearly

When Dutch is not your first language, discussing a contract can be extra difficult. Indicate which passages you do not understand and in which language you can best follow the conversation. Within Arslan Advocaten, support is available in Dutch, Polish, Turkish and English. When making an appointment, we discuss how the desired language support can be arranged.

Bring the original documents, even if you also have your own translation. A translation can help with the conversation, but the exact original text remains relevant. Keep facts and interpretations apart: who said what, when and in which document? That allows a targeted examination of what is established and which evidence is still missing.

The size of your employer or employment agency does not change the fact that an individual assessment is needed. We discuss the prospects, possible responses and costs. You will not receive a promise that every claim will be awarded, but an explanation with which you can make your own choices.

How is your case handled and what does it cost?

The first consultation serves to understand your question, the parties involved and any urgency. We then determine which documents are needed and whether the firm can accept the engagement. If there is a possible conflict of interest, assistance cannot be started. Sending us a file therefore does not yet mean that we have taken over the case or a running deadline.

For further work, we discuss the engagement and the costs. Options such as legal expenses insurance or subsidised legal aid are assessed separately. For a legal aid certificate (toevoeging), the Legal Aid Board decides on the basis of, among other things, income, assets and the importance of the case; a personal contribution may apply. Read the conditions for subsidised legal aid.

In a wage matter, a targeted letter may be appropriate; in a disputed dismissal, proceedings may become necessary. We discuss the possible outcomes, the evidential position and the cost risks. Where possible, related issues are brought together in one approach, without pretending that an agreement with the employer also automatically replaces a decision by UWV or another body.

Our employment law office in Tilburg

You can make an appointment at Kraaivenstraat 38-10, 5048 AB Tilburg. Call 013 747 0022 and tell us what the problem is. In urgent cases, the date of dismissal, the response deadline set and any upcoming hearing are important details. Ask for confirmation of which documents are needed in advance and where you can submit them securely.

See the Tilburg office page for the location details and the profile of employment lawyer Onur Arslan for more information about his work. Employment law support is not limited to agency workers: employees with a permanent contract and employers can also put a question to us.

Frequently asked questions about employment law in Tilburg