29 apr 2024 om 09:47 Update: 16 min. geleden
The fines that employers receive if they allow employees from abroad to work illegally are too low. Companies that employ people without a permit can benefit significantly from this, the Labor Inspectorate reports.
Employers are not allowed to allow someone from outside the European Union to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. If the Labor Inspectorate finds that this is happening, the employer may be fined.
The fines for violating the law have increased less rapidly than the development of prosperity and inflation, the Labor Inspectorate says in a letter to the House of Representatives. Since 2005, fines have been set at a maximum of 8,000 euros for each violation. If the fine had grown with prosperity and inflation, it would now be approximately 15,000 euros.
The Labor Inspectorate has examined the financial motivations of employers who violate the law. This shows that hiring illegal migrant workers currently offers employers a lot of benefits, due to the low fines.
Every year, tens of thousands of people are put to work illegally. In the cases that the Labor Inspectorate has examined, the benefit for employers is so great that paying a fine entails fewer costs than paying the collective labor agreement wage and the additional employer charges, according to the Inspectorate.
