Unjust Competition and Repression
Foreign employees are often less expensive to employ than Dutch workers. This may lead to competition distortion. Dutch workers could therefore lose their jobs. In the rule, foreign self-employed workers will also work for a lower rate than their Dutch colleagues.
Foreign Employee Abuse
Some employers abuse foreign employees. Examples of this abuse are:
- Paying foreign workers less than the legal minimum wage;
- Ignoring the Collective Labour Agreements;
- Not paying employee insurance premiums.
Relatively speaking, there are many foreign workers employed in the agricultural, building and service sectors. This was made clear by investigations performed by the Social Affairs and Employment Inspection.
Battling Illegal labour
In its battle against illegal labour, the government has increased the fines and probability of detection. Furthermore, the judicial procedures have been simplified. The most important measures taken in the battle against illegal labour are:
- Higher fines
A private person hiring an illegal foreign worker, risks receiving a € 4000 fine. A business hiring illegal foreign staff, risks a fine of € 8000. If the Labour Inspection ascertains another violation within 24 months, then the fine is increased by 50 percent. The SZW inspection may issue fines without intervention of the Public Prosecution’s Office. - Hold accountable
Businesses hiring workers through non-certified employment agencies, may be held accountable, should the temporary employee receive less than the minimum wage. The temporary worker will be able to claim extra wages up to the minimum wage afterwards. The Labour Standardisation Institute (Stichting Normering Arbeid SNA) certifies employment agencies. - Battling abuse and fraud
The cabinet is taking measures against the abuse and fraud in the skilled migrant programme. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service may for instance, refuse a residence permit application if the wages are disproportionately high for the position. Furthermore, the government wants to increase the fine for businesses breaking the law repeatedly considerately. Should companies persist in breaking the law, then they will be shut down. This is stated in the Law for ‘reinforcing and preservation of the SZW legislation’. The law has been in place since 1 January 2013. Moreover, whether or not the UWV will be able to deny employers their permits if their companies keep breaking the law is still under investigation.