The WTTA explained: what the new Dutch staffing law means for your organisation

 

For years, any business in the Netherlands could start supplying workers with nothing more than a Chamber of Commerce registration. No licence, no inspection, no oversight. That gap allowed non-compliant operators to undercut responsible competitors on price. From 1 January 2027, the Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten (WTTA) closes it.

 

What is the WTTA?

The WTTA requires all organisations that supply workers to obtain formal authorisation from the Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt (NAU, the Dutch Authority for the Labour Supply Market). Without authorisation, supplying workers is prohibited from 1 January 2027. The voluntary SNA quality mark no longer suffices as a standalone standard.

Who does the law apply to?

The law applies to all organisations that supply workers to a third party for remuneration, where those workers operate under the supervision and direction of that third party. This is broader than traditional staffing agencies: secondment firms, payroll companies, and businesses that occasionally lend out staff all fall within scope. Foreign organisations supplying workers in the Netherlands are also required to obtain authorisation.

As a client organisation, you may only work with suppliers that appear in the NAU's public register. If you don't: fines of up to €90,000 per violation.

What changes in practice?

The requirements are substantial. Every supplying organisation must meet four conditions:

• You submit an inspection report from an accredited inspection body. That report assesses the legal framework: correct wage payment, adherence to labour legislation, and director integrity. In practice, 'correct wage payment' catches out agencies with complex secondment structures more often than expected, it covers more than just the hourly rate on the invoice
• Your directors provide a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG)
• You deposit a guarantee of €100,000. Start-ups pay €50,000 on first application and top up after six months. Organisations with four consecutive years of activity up to 31 December 2026, plus a clean certificate from the Dutch Tax Authority, are exempt on their first application
• You accept periodic inspections by accredited bodies

For client organisations, the law introduces a verification and record-keeping obligation: documenting who you hire from, and confirming that supplier appears in the register. Working with an unauthorised supplier can also create liability for unpaid payroll taxes owed by that supplier.

What is the timeline?

The WTTA is introduced in stages:

• 1 January 2027: The WTTA takes effect. Supplying organisations without authorisation may no longer place workers.
• 1 July 2027: The public register opens. From this date you can verify your suppliers' status via the NAU.
• 1 January 2028: The Dutch Labour Inspectorate begins active enforcement. Fines can reach €90,000 per violation.

What does this mean in practice?

Some organisations simply will not make it. Inspection costs, the guaranteed requirement and ongoing administrative obligations create a barrier for smaller specialist agencies. In a tightening market with thin margins, that barrier may be too high.

Start the conversation now, not in spring 2027. Ask your suppliers whether they are applying for authorisation and whether they have already engaged an inspection body. Also keep an eye on acquisitions. If your agency is being acquired, that does not automatically mean the new entity holds a valid authorisation.

Your direct supplier has everything in order. But do they hire in workers from elsewhere? If so, you as the end client are responsible for every link in that chain, including the ones you have no contract with. Ask the worker who their formal employer is and check that organisation in the register.

Be aware that agencies unwilling or unable to obtain authorisation may repackage their services. They may present them as a contract for services, freelance intermediation or a payroll construction. That does not necessarily create a problem by itself. But the WTTA looks at practice, not at the label on the contract. If your organisation directs how the work gets done, it remains staffing, regardless of how the agreement is worded. When a supplier changes its commercial model, always ask: who manages this person day to day?

The WTTA is a reform this market has needed for a long time. For organisations already operating correctly, not much changes. For those that are not, or for those working with a supplier that is not, the consequences will become directly visible in their hiring process.

Want to know how Hays can help you navigate changes in the labour market? Get in touch with one of our consultants.