Dutch government targets loophole letting non-EU workers bypass labor rules
The Dutch government is moving to close a legal loophole that allows temporary workers from outside the European Union to bypass strict labor migration rules through indirect employment by Eastern European staffing agencies, outgoing Minister Eddy van Hijum of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment announced Tuesday.
Van Hijum, a vice prime minister for the Nieuw Sociaal Contract (NSC) party, said the so-called “backdoor route” has become increasingly common. It typically involves workers from countries like Uzbekistan or Azerbaijan being recruited to EU member states such as Poland or Lithuania, where they are technically hired by a local staffing agency and then immediately sent to the Netherlands for work—often without even exiting the airport in the intermediary country.
“This is not how the free movement of persons was intended,” Van Hijum said in an interview with De Telegraaf. “It’s a race to the bottom in the labor market.”
Van Hijum described these arrangements as “shadowy constructions” that circumvent the EU’s rules on labor migration. He warned that such practices lead to unfair competition, enable lower wages, and increase the risk of exploitation, particularly in vulnerable sectors like agriculture, transport, and the meat industry.
According to Van Hijum, the number of workers using this construction rose from 22,500 in 2022 to more than 27,000 in 2024. “And that’s assuming everyone is even visible to us,” he added.
Many of these workers face precarious living conditions, especially when housing is tied to their employment contracts. “If they lose their job, they’re suddenly homeless from one day to the next,” he told De Telegraaf.
Van Hijum is pushing for both national and European legal reforms to curb the practice. Since the free movement of labor within the EU is protected under EU law, the Netherlands is limited in what it can do unilaterally. However, the minister said he has explored the legal options available and plans to impose a minimum employment period in the intermediary EU country—such as Poland or Lithuania—before the worker can be seconded to the Netherlands.
“I’m thinking of a three-month minimum,” Van Hijum told the newspaper. “If it were up to me, I’d prefer an even longer period. But that would require a change in European law, which is a lengthy process. At three months, we can probably implement it more quickly ourselves.” He estimates it will take one to two years to enact the new rule.
Van Hijum also wants to introduce a requirement that third-country nationals only work in the same sector for which they were originally brought to the EU. “Right now, someone might come to Lithuania as an IT specialist but end up working in a Dutch slaughterhouse,” he told De Telegraaf. “It’s harder to enforce that, though.”
The outgoing minister acknowledged that a new government will likely have to complete the initiative, but said he hopes the policy will continue. “I strongly hope this is taken seriously going forward. I do feel there’s broad consensus that we need to tackle abuses in labor migration.”
Van Hijum said he is preparing additional reforms for his successor, including a proposed ban on temporary staffing in sectors where exploitation is rampant. “I’ve instructed the ministry to implement it and have it ready to go.”
Still, he warned that further action is needed. “We’re still far too naïve when it comes to admitting people, allowing these constructions, and issuing citizen service numbers. We really need to clamp down harder. Europe also needs to get on board. We’re doing too much within the existing rules. But I’m pushing against the limits. Europe needs to understand that we’re the drainage basin. People end up here, and we get unmanageable situations in our neighborhoods, villages, and cities.”
