Increase in labour law violations

Cabinet increases fines for labour law violations: many violations are unintentional

The Cabinet has responded to the SEO report “Hard where necessary, soft where possible” with a clear course of action: fines for labour law violations will increase. Minister Van Hijum (Social Affairs and Employment) is increasing the standard amounts by around 18 per cent to compensate for inflation in recent years. From now on, there will also be annual indexation so that the fines retain their value.

According to the report, higher fines only work if the chance of being caught is high enough and companies have sufficient knowledge and capacity to comply with the law. Not every offender is malicious. Many employers want to comply with the rules but simply do not know exactly how or do not have the resources to do so.

SNA inspections: errors often due to ignorance

During our inspections for the SNA quality mark, among other things, we often see violations of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act (Wav), as evidenced by penalty reports from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate. These violations are usually not deliberate fraud, but the result of ignorance or incomplete administration.

A common mistake is that employers do not provide a copy of a third-country national's identity document to the hirer or client. According to Article 15 of the Wav, they are obliged to do so. It also happens that an employer hires someone with a residence permit from another EU country, without realising that the employee has the nationality of a third country. In both situations, there is a violation, even if there is no intent.

Another example is identity theft in the workplace. Someone identifies themselves correctly when they start work, but eventually a family member or acquaintance shows up at the workplace. The employer thinks it is the same person. During an inspection, it turns out that the person actually working is not the person who originally identified themselves. This is also considered a violation of the Wav.

Nevertheless, under current legislation, situations like this often result in heavy fines, sometimes with consequences for the company's SNA certification. This shows how even bona fide entrepreneurs encounter problems, even though they want to comply with the rules. This underlines the importance of a robust, credible system in which certification and enforcement reinforce each other. Certification helps to raise awareness and set up processes properly. Enforcement remains necessary to detect abuses, even in the case of seemingly minor deviations.

Balance in enforcement remains necessary

The government is rightly committed to tackling abuses and protecting vulnerable employees. At the same time, an enforcement approach is needed that does justice to practice. Differentiation, as recommended by SEO, works better. Consider a stepped approach, where there is room for warnings and guidance in the case of minor or first offences. This promotes awareness and compliance without immediately imposing high fines.

In the case of serious or deliberate violations, a hard line is needed. The chance of being caught must be high and the fine must really hurt. This is the only way to keep unscrupulous parties out of the market.

As a quality mark organisation, we remain committed to providing clear explanations, practical support and inspections with an eye for fairness and proportionality. In this way, we help companies to comply with the rules better and prevent unnecessary mistakes.