Mass lawsuit planned against exploitive temporary employment agencies
The Fair Work Foundation is preparing a mass claim against the temporary employment and secondment sector for underpaying its workers, giving them too few vacation days, or denying them profit sharing. “In total, this could affect more than 1 million workers who may be entitled to compensation,” foundation chair Egbert Jan van Bel told the Telegraaf.
A 2023 study by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) showed that temporary employment agency workers earn an average of 13.8 percent less than permanent workers in comparable positions, Van Bel said. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that temporary and seconded workers must be treated equally to permanent employees in terms of employment conditions.
“Year after year, we see that hundreds of thousands of temporary workers earn less than is legally and socially acceptable. With the Supreme Court’s ruling in hand, we want to finally break this inequality permanently,” Van Bel told the newspaper.
He estimates that most temporary workers are entitled to a back payment of several thousand euros, totalling around €2.5 million per day. Over several years, the mass claim could amount to billions of euros.
So far, discussions with temporary employment and secondment agencies regarding compensation have led to nothing, Van Bel said. “Our foundation is therefore compelled to investigate a mass claim due to years of structural underpayment in the sector.”
The Fair Work Foundation has launched a hotline for temporary and secondment workers who may have been underpaid in recent years. They can sign up for updates without obligation.
ABU, the umbrella organization for temporary employment agencies, told the Telegraaf that it is aware of the potential class action. “Such a claim does not concern temporary workers who work for ABU members. They have been covered by a legally valid collective agreement for temporary workers for 25 years,” a spokesperson said. “ABU members always acted in accordance with the collective labor agreement and the applicable laws and regulations.”
The other umbrella organization for temporary employment agencies, NBBU, gave a similar statement. "The Supreme Court ruling does not apply to temporary workers employed by NBBU members. They are simply covered by the legally valid NBBU collective labor agreement for temporary workers."
A new law takes effect on January 1, requiring employers to pay temporary workers equally to permanent employees. This is already the case for wages and allowances, but from 2026, the entire employment benefits package must be equal.
