Workplace accident as an agency worker: who is liable?

Introduction: a workplace accident as an agency worker in perspective

A workplace accident involving an agency worker is often a complex legal situation that calls for clarity about liability and the recovery of loss. Agency workers have a special position within employment law, because they are officially employed by the employment agency but carry out their daily work at a third party, the hirer. That raises questions: who is liable for a workplace accident, the employment agency or the hirer? In this article we explain the legal frameworks, discuss the differences in liability, give examples from practice and guide you step by step through the process of claiming after a workplace accident.

Written by Onur Arslan, lawyer at Arslan Advocaten. Last updated: 20 September 2026.

The legal basis: liability under article 7:658(4) of the Civil Code

Dutch law makes employers responsible for a safe working environment. Article 7:658 of the Civil Code governs this duty of care. Paragraph 4 extends that duty of care to the party who has work done without an employment contract — and thus to the hirer of an agency worker. The provision reads:

“A person who, in the course of his profession or business, has work performed by a person with whom he has no employment contract is liable, in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 3, for the loss which that person suffers in the performance of his work. The subdistrict court has jurisdiction to hear claims under the first sentence of this paragraph.” (article 7:658(4) of the Civil Code)

Note the difference from the text you may read elsewhere: paragraph 4 contains no rule of priority under which the hirer is liable “primarily” and the employment agency only after that. Both parties have their own basis, side by side:

• The employment agency is your formal employer and is liable as such under paragraphs 1 and 2 — with the reversed burden of proof: the agency has to show that it complied with its duty of care.
• The hirer is liable under paragraph 4, by the same standard and with the same reversed burden of proof, because it is the party actually having the work performed.

So you can address both of them, and in practice that is what happens. They settle matters between themselves afterwards; that is an issue between the agency and the hirer and need not concern you.

When you hold them liable, use the full legal names of the employment agency and the hirer, as they appear in your contract, on your payslip or in the Commercial Register. A trading name on the building may differ from the legal entity. A letter to one party does not automatically reach the other, and it does not necessarily interrupt the limitation period against the other party. So have it assessed whether you should hold both parties liable separately. If an insurer responds, ask on behalf of which party it is acting and whether its response also covers the position of the other party. If one party simply refers you to the other, that is not yet an assessment of your claim on its merits.

Differences in liability between the employment agency and the hirer

The duty of care and liability are divided between two parties:

• The hirer: has actual control over the working conditions. That company must provide a safe workplace, adequate instructions and supervision of compliance with safety rules. Is the workplace unsafe, or has there been negligence in providing protective equipment? Then the hirer is usually liable.
• The employment agency: has a duty of care to ensure a safe match. That means the agency must check whether the agency worker is suitable for the work, must provide sufficient instruction and must intervene in unsafe situations. The employment agency can be liable where it neglects its responsibility, for instance with insufficient information or by sending someone without the right experience.

So the statute recognises a shared liability, in which practice often looks at who fell short in their duty of care. Where there is doubt, it is advisable to instruct a specialised personal injury lawyer who can get to the bottom of this complex apportionment of liability.

Examples from practice of workplace accidents involving agency workers

For a better understanding of liability we discuss a few examples from sectors in which agency workers often work:

• Construction: an agency worker falls from scaffolding because the hirer did not provide a sound scaffolding structure or fall protection. The hirer is liable, but if the employment agency gave no instruction about working safely at height, the agency can be liable too.
• Logistics: while loading goods an agency worker is trapped between forklift trucks. If the hirer set insufficient safety rules, it is liable. If the employment agency had not warned the agency worker about working with dangerous machinery, the agency can be liable as well.
• Production: an agency worker injures their hand operating a machine without a guard. The hirer must provide safe machinery and give instruction. If that is missing, the hirer is liable. The employment agency can also be liable if it did not check whether the agency worker had sufficient experience.

The psychological impact of a workplace accident as an agency worker

Besides physical consequences, an workplace accident as an agency worker can also have serious psychological consequences. Agency workers often experience additional stress because of the uncertainty about their job after an accident. Fear of dismissal, loss of income and the absence of a permanent contract increase the mental pressure. This can lead to:

• Stress and anxiety symptoms
• Feelings of depression
• Sleeping problems
• Post-traumatic stress (PTSD) after a serious accident

This psychological loss can also fall within the heads of loss and can sometimes give a right to compensation for pain and suffering. It is therefore essential to have these aspects recorded and claimed as well.

A fuller explanation of the heads of loss with a workplace accident as an agency worker

After a workplace accident you can claim various heads of loss. These can be divided into material and non-material loss:

1. Medical costs

These include all costs directly connected with the accident, such as:

• Visits to the GP, specialist treatment, hospital admissions
• Operations and rehabilitation
• Medication and aids (crutches or braces, for instance)
• Physiotherapy and psychological support
• The deductible and other care costs

2. Loss of income

What you receive during illness depends on your contract, on the applicable collective agreement and on any benefit conditions. Under the current ABU/NBBU collective agreement, reporting sick does not automatically end an agency work contract. For as long as the employment contract continues, there can be an entitlement to continued payment of wages under article 7:629 of the Civil Code and the applicable collective agreement. The statutory main rule is 70 per cent for a maximum of 104 weeks, with in principle at least the applicable minimum wage in the first year of illness; exceptions, maximums and any supplements under the collective agreement have to be assessed separately. If a fixed-term contract validly ends while you are still ill, a Sickness Benefits Act payment can follow, subject to conditions. The UWV or an employer bearing its own risk can be involved in that.

The demonstrable difference between what you would have earned without the accident and your actual income can be recovered from a liable party as loss of income. So a Sickness Benefits Act or WIA payment does not replace your loss: it covers part of it, and the remainder stays a claim. If you worked variable hours, collect payslips and rosters over a longer period; that substantiates what you would have earned without the accident. If you become permanently unfit for work, the future loss of earning capacity also belongs in the claim.

3. Domestic help and care

If your injury means you cannot look after the household or provide informal care yourself, you can claim the costs of help. For instance:

• Hiring domestic help
• Help with shopping and providing meals
• Care costs for personal care

4. Travel costs

Travel costs to treating practitioners, therapists and the hospital can likewise be reimbursed.

5. Compensation for pain and suffering

Compensation for pain and suffering covers non-material loss: pain, grief, fear and loss of enjoyment of life. The amount is determined case by case. What matters is the nature and seriousness of the injury, the duration of recovery, permanent limitations, your age and the circumstances in which the accident happened. In doing so, courts compare with amounts awarded earlier in similar cases.

There are no fixed rates per injury category. Amounts from other cases cannot be transferred one to one to your situation; at most they give an order of magnitude. What is appropriate in your case only becomes apparent once the injury has medically stabilised and the consequences for your work and daily life have been mapped out. Compensation for pain and suffering is separate from your material loss such as loss of income and care costs; those items are calculated separately.

The step-by-step plan after a workplace accident as an agency worker

After an accident it is important to proceed in a structured way. Follow these steps to safeguard your rights and substantiate your loss properly:

Step 1: report the accident immediately

Report the accident to your manager or your contact at the employment agency as soon as possible. Make sure a written accident report is drawn up. That is crucial evidence for your personal injury claim.

As an agency worker, it is best to report the accident in writing to both parties: the hirer where you worked and the employment agency. State the date, the place, the task you were doing and the injuries you already know about, and ask for the accident to be registered and the evidence to be preserved. If you report sick, do that with both as well: under the ABU collective agreement 2026-2028 you inform both the agency and the hirer as early as possible on the first day of illness, and in any case before 10.00 am (article 29(1)). Request documents from the party that actually holds them. Camera footage, maintenance records and the internal accident report are usually with the hirer; your contract, placement details and the information about risks you received beforehand are with the agency. Keep your own list of what you requested from whom, so that no evidence gets lost between the two organisations.

Step 2: seek medical help

Go to the GP or the hospital at once, even if you think the injury is not that bad. A medical record is indispensable for the legal process.

Step 3: gather evidence

Take photographs of the accident site and of any defects or unsafe situations. Note down the names and contact details of witnesses who saw the accident.

Step 4: check whether the accident has been reported to the Netherlands Labour Authority (formerly the SZW Inspectorate)

If an accident leads to death, permanent injury or hospital admission, it must be reported to the Labour Authority immediately (article 9 of the Working Conditions Act). With agency work that duty to report usually lies with the hirer, because the hirer counts as the employer for the purposes of the Working Conditions Act (article 1 of that Act). Check whether that has been done, because it can be relevant to the question of liability. You can find more information about this on our page reporting a workplace accident to the Labour Authority.

Step 5: instruct a personal injury lawyer

Instructing legal assistance in good time helps to secure evidence and deadlines. Our lawyers at Arslan Advocaten guide you from start to finish. Read more about our services on personal injury.

Step 6: submit the claim

Your lawyer draws up a detailed claim setting out all the heads of loss. The employer’s insurer will assess that claim and make a proposal. If necessary we litigate to obtain your rights.

How Arslan Advocaten can help

Arslan Advocaten has extensive experience with workplace accident cases involving agency workers, including in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. Our expertise extends across various sectors, including construction, logistics and production. We:

• Understand the complex apportionment of liability between the employment agency and the hirer
• Handle your case carefully, with attention to both physical and psychological loss
• Gather and analyse evidence for a strong claim
• Fight for fair compensation, including compensation for pain and suffering
• Record in advance who bears which costs; where liability is acknowledged, the reasonable costs of legal assistance can in principle be recovered from the liable party under article 6:96(2) of the Civil Code

Would you like to know how we can help you? Read more about personal injury in your region: personal injury Rotterdam, personal injury Amsterdam or personal injury The Hague.

Does your housing also run through the employment agency? Then read what happens to your accommodation. Read on.

Did you receive the safety instruction in a language you did not master? That goes directly to the duty of care. Read on.

Frequently asked questions about a workplace accident as an agency worker

1. Who is liable for a workplace accident as an agency worker?

You can address both the employment agency and the hirer. As the employer, the agency has obligations under article 7:658(1) and (2) of the Civil Code; for the hirer, paragraph 4 can apply. Each party can defend itself separately, for instance by showing that it complied with its duty of care. So liability of both parties is not automatically established, and the same loss is not compensated twice.

2. Can I get compensation for pain and suffering as an agency worker?

Yes, compensation for pain and suffering is intended to compensate the non-material loss, such as pain and suffering. The amount depends on the seriousness of the injury and the impact on your life. For examples see our page compensation for pain and suffering with a workplace accident.

3. How long does it take to claim loss after a workplace accident?

That differs greatly from case to case. If liability is acknowledged quickly and the injury is limited, a file can be settled within a few months. With permanent injury, a final medical situation has to be awaited first; then it easily takes one to three years. In the meantime you can ask for advance payments, so that you are not left carrying the costs while the file is running.

This is separate from the limitation period. For personal injury that period is five years, counted from the day after the one on which you became aware both of the loss and of the liable party (article 3:310(5) of the Civil Code). Do not wait for that: the longer you wait, the harder the evidence becomes.

4. Can the employment agency dismiss me if I bring a claim?

A claim for damages is not in itself a valid reason for dismissal. Whether your work continues, however, depends not on the claim but on your type of contract. Those three situations differ widely.

• Agency work contract with an agency clause. First check whether the clause is valid and which collective agreement applies. Under article 18 of the ABU collective agreement 2026-2028 the posting does not end because of incapacity for work, so the agency work contract does not end solely because you report sick. The NBBU collective agreement offers the same protection in substance. An agreed end date can, however, be reached during illness. A valid ending of the contract, continued payment of wages and any Sickness Benefits Act payment therefore have to be assessed separately.
• Agency work contract without an agency clause, or secondment. Then the prohibition on giving notice during illness applies: the employer may not terminate the employment contract during the first two years of illness (article 7:670(1) of the Civil Code). Dismissal remains possible in exceptional cases, for example where the business is closed down (with permission from the UWV), or where the subdistrict court dissolves the contract for a reason unrelated to your illness.
• Fixed-term contract. That ends on the agreed date, even if you are still ill then. The prohibition on giving notice does not extend its term.

Whether the employment agency is insured is a separate question. Most agencies have liability insurance, but that is not guaranteed and an insurer can dispute cover or invoke a deductible. So do not assume it in advance; have it established who is liable and which insurance provides cover.

5. What does instructing a personal injury lawyer cost?

A first assessment is free of charge. Where liability is established, the reasonable out-of-court costs of legal assistance can be recovered from the liable party or from an insurer providing cover, under article 6:96(2) of the Civil Code. Both instructing assistance and the level of the costs must be reasonable. There is no general guarantee that every employer is insured or that every invoice is reimbursed in full.

Where liability is disputed, where there is a discussion about costs or where proceedings are brought, other risks apply. Court fees, expert costs and a possible order to pay the costs of the proceedings are discussed separately. Before the instruction we record which costs may be for your account in your situation, and where appropriate we examine whether subsidised legal aid is possible. Read more on our contact page.

Read also

• Complete guide to workplace accidents and personal injury
• Workplace accident for a self-employed person or freelancer: compensation
• Incapacitated for work after a workplace accident? Work-capacity benefit and reintegration
• Accident at work without witnesses: how do you prove what happened?
• Returning to your home country after an accident at work: does your claim continue?

Contact Arslan Advocaten without obligation if you have been involved in a workplace accident as an agency worker. We assess your case free of charge and help you safeguard your rights and substantiate your claim.

Need help from a lawyer?

Our lawyers specialise in personal injury and employment law. Get in touch with our Rotterdam office, The Hague office or Amsterdam office for a free intake conversation.

Current source on illness and the agency clause: ABU collective agreement for agency workers 2026-2028, article 18. Always check which collective agreement and which contract provisions apply to your employment contract.

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