Dutch proposal would cap agency work with one hirer at three years

The Dutch government is proposing a three-year limit on how long a temporary agency worker can work for the same hirer, after which the hirer would have to offer them a contract directly. The draft law is open for public consultation until 24 November.

The proposal, announced by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment on 29 October, would set the limit at 36 months. The ministry says the rules are intended to prevent agency workers from working indefinitely for one hirer and to strengthen their protection.

For agency contracts with no fixed end date, work must also be temporary, but what that means would depend on the circumstances and could be decided by a court, the ministry says.

The government says the proposal follows a ruling by the European Court of Justice that agency work must be temporary under the EU’s Temporary Agency Work Directive. The consultation runs from 29 October to 24 November; responses may lead to changes before the proposal proceeds.