Wtta: Admission Regime for Labour Supply in the Netherlands

What is the Wtta?

The Wtta introduces a mandatory admission regime for businesses that provide workers to third parties, such as employment agencies, secondment firms and payroll companies. Under this regime, lenders of labour may only operate on the Dutch market if they have first been admitted by the Dutch Labour Supply Authority (Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt, NAU).

The aim of the act is to make the labour supply market more reliable and transparent. Workers who are placed with other companies will be better protected and will be able to work and live in better conditions. The Wtta also aims to reduce unfair competition between lenders of labour.

Admission in advance and structural supervision of the market are meant to ensure that only businesses that meet their obligations are allowed to provide workers. The NAU assesses admission applications and keeps a public register of admitted lenders.

Under the Wtta, hirers may only hire workers from lenders that have valid admission. If a business hires from a party without valid admission, the Labour Inspectorate can impose a fine of up to €110,000.

When does it apply?

In principle, the Wtta applies to all businesses that provide workers within the meaning of the Waadi (Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act). This is the case when workers carry out work under the direction and supervision of a third party. This criterion is decisive in determining whether a business falls under the admission regime. It covers employment agencies, but also secondment firms, payroll companies, businesses that hire in and re-lend workers, and businesses that lend workers as a side activity. The act also applies to foreign businesses.

However, certain businesses may be exempted from the Wtta under specific conditions. This applies specifically to businesses for which lending workers is only a small part of their activities. In that case, they can apply for an exemption. A business may qualify if less than 10% of its turnover comes from providing workers and that turnover does not exceed five million euros. The exemption also requires an auditor’s statement, and it must be applied for with the NAU.

In addition, a business that only performs subcontracting does not fall under the Wtta, because there is no direction and supervision by the client. In practice, however, the line between agency work and subcontracting can be blurry and may depend on how the work is actually carried out and what it involves. It is advisable to assess this carefully. There are also a number of other exceptions, for example for intra-group secondment and the collegial lending of staff (lending staff to another company on a non-commercial basis).

Timeline for the Wtta and transitional arrangements

The Wtta is being introduced in phases, in the following steps:

• Now: Start of preparations for the admission requirement. In this phase, businesses determine whether they fall under the Wtta and take preparatory measures, such as getting their administration in order and preparing for an SNA inspection or an inspection for the Wtta module.
• 1 November 2026 to 31 December 2026: Period in which businesses can register for the transitional arrangement. Registering on time is necessary to be allowed to continue lending workers after 1 January 2028 while the application is being assessed.
• 1 January 2027: The Wtta formally enters into force. From this date, inspection reports for admission can be drawn up, or the SNA quality mark can be obtained or retained.
• 1 May 2027 to 30 June 2027: During this period, admission can be applied for with the NAU. This can be done:
  • with an inspection report;
  • with an SNA quality mark that is valid on 30 June 2027;
  • without an SNA quality mark, in which case an inspection report must still be submitted.
• From 1 July 2027: The NAU starts assessing admission applications. If necessary, it may request additional information or an (additional) inspection report.
• Outcome of the assessment: The business is admitted, not admitted, or, if it registered for the transitional arrangement on time, temporarily not admitted but still permitted to lend workers while the application is being processed.
• 1 January 2028: Enforcement of the admission requirement begins. From then on, lenders may only provide workers if they have been admitted by the NAU, and hirers may only work with admitted lenders. The Netherlands Labour Authority will supervise compliance.

What is required?

Businesses that want to apply for admission must prepare in good time. The emphasis is on getting administration, processes and internal controls in order.

Lenders are expected to have correct payroll records, including correct payslips, timesheets and employment contracts. They must also meet their social security and pension obligations. Businesses that provide workers from abroad must have suitable housing arranged for them.

The admission procedure relies on inspections by accredited inspection bodies. A valid Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG) is also required for the legal entity and, where applicable, for its managers.

Businesses must also take a security deposit into account. The standard deposit is €100,000. Start-ups initially pay a reduced deposit of €50,000. Six months after their provisional admission, start-ups must apply for standard admission. With that application, they must top up the deposit to €100,000 and transfer it to the NAU.

Finally, existing businesses may qualify for a transitional arrangement under which no deposit is required. This applies to businesses that:

• have been registered with the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) without interruption for four years with lending workers as a business activity;
• have actually lent workers during those four years;
• can provide a recent certificate of payment history (verklaring betalingsgedrag).

NEN 4400-1 or -2 vs. the Wtta

The existing NEN 4400 standards, which form the basis of the SNA quality mark, play an important role within the admission regime. The Wtta builds on them but sets additional requirements.

Whereas the NEN 4400 standards focus mainly on whether processes and records exist and how they are set up, the Wtta also looks explicitly at how they are applied in practice. This means the assessment covers not only whether procedures exist, but also whether they are correctly applied in practice (for example, whether the correct (collective agreement) wage is paid).

The Wtta standards framework was temporarily amended in early 2026, with the sections on remuneration temporarily postponed to allow for a workable and verifiable approach. These sections will be reinstated before the act takes effect, but probably not until at some point in 2027.

What does the Wtta mean for hirers?

The Wtta affects not only lenders but also hirers. From 1 January 2028, businesses may in principle only hire workers from lenders that have valid admission or an exemption. Working with a non-admitted lender can lead to substantial administrative fines. Hirers will also need to check whether their suppliers fall under the admission requirement, make timely agreements with lenders about their admission applications, and periodically check their admission status in the public register.

The Wtta also has administrative implications. Hirers would be wise to set up records showing which workers have been hired, through which lender, for what period they were deployed, and that it was checked whether the lender concerned has valid admission or an exemption. It also remains important for the hirer to provide correct information about the applicable terms of employment and pay scheme, so that placed workers can be paid correctly.

We therefore advise organisations not only to assess their own position under the Wtta, but also to review their supplier base, contracts, administrative processes and internal controls in good time. For many organisations, the Wtta will be a reason to redesign their entire hiring process.

For businesses that hire staff, the planned change to hirer’s liability is also relevant. From 1 January 2027, the Tax and Customs Administration will, in certain circumstances, be able to hold the hirer liable for payroll taxes that the lender has not paid. If insufficient information is available, the tax authorities may rely on a statutory presumption under which the liability is set at 35% of the invoice amount (including VAT). This can have significant financial consequences for businesses that hire staff.

It is therefore becoming increasingly important to assess the reliability of lenders in advance, carry out periodic checks and take appropriate risk-mitigating measures, such as using a G-account (a blocked account for payroll taxes and social security contributions), requesting certificates of payment history, and carefully recording agreements in contracts. Together, the Wtta and the amended hirer’s liability rules reinforce the need to keep control over the entire hiring chain.