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Does your company temporarily need additional staff? You can choose to hire employees through a temporary employment agency or another intermediary. This can be useful during peak periods, illness, growth, or when vacancies are difficult to fill.
As the hiring company, however, you also have responsibilities. These include checking the staffing provider, providing the correct employment conditions, and ensuring a safe workplace.
What should you, as an employer, pay attention to when hiring temporary staff? In this article, we outline the key points for you.
Before contacting a temporary employment agency, it is important to be clear about why you need additional staff.
For example:
For logistics companies, staffing needs can also change quickly. For example, a distribution center may temporarily need more order pickers, while a warehouse may need additional forklift drivers for a certain period.
Tip: Determine in advance how many employees you need, for what period, and what tasks they will perform.
When you hire temporary staff, you work with a staffing provider. This could be a temporary employment agency or a secondment agency, for example.
Before entering into a partnership, check whether the organization complies with the relevant legal requirements.
At present, companies that provide temporary staff must, among other things, comply with the Waadi registration requirement. Employers who hire temporary staff can check through the KVK whether a staffing provider is correctly registered.
From January 1, 2027, this will be supplemented by the new admission system under the Wtta. Once enforcement of the new system begins, hiring companies may not do business with staffing providers that have not been admitted. The Netherlands Labour Authority will begin enforcement on January 1, 2028.
What should you pay attention to?
Discuss the role, duties, and expectations with your staffing provider and temporary staff in advance.
A good working relationship starts with a clear job profile.
For example, provide the temporary employment agency with information about:
The clearer the information, the greater the chance that the temporary employment agency will propose candidates who are genuinely suited to your organization.
This is especially important in logistics. An order picker, forklift driver, and warehouse coordinator have different duties and requirements.
Dit is vooral belangrijk in de logistiek. Een orderpicker, heftruckchauffeur en warehouse coördinator hebben immers verschillende werkzaamheden en eisen.
This is an important aspect for employers.
When you hire temporary staff, you must inform the temporary employment agency about the employment conditions that apply within your organization. This must be done before the employee starts working for you.
For example, provide information about:
The correct information is important for accurately determining the employment conditions of the temporary worker. The ABU emphasizes that the hiring company must provide the necessary information to the temporary employment agency in a timely manner.
Even when you hire someone through a temporary employment agency, you as the hiring company have obligations regarding identity verification.
The government states that the identity of a hired employee must be verified, even when the person works for you through an intermediary.
For foreign employees, additional rules may apply regarding their right to work in the Netherlands.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that your staffing process is set up accordingly.
A temporary worker may work within your organization temporarily, but that does not mean that responsibility for safety lies entirely with the temporary employment agency.
As an employer, you must provide a healthy and safe working environment, including for employees you hire through an intermediary.
This is especially important for logistics companies.
Consider:
Make sure a new employee knows what is expected of them before they start work.
A temporary worker should not only know what they need to do, but also how the work is carried out within your organization.
A short introduction can, for example, consist of:
A good start helps prevent misunderstandings and makes it easier for a new employee to get up to speed quickly.
When hiring flex workers, multiple parties are involved.
In the case of temporary agency work, the employee is employed by the employment agency while performing work for your organization. As the hirer, you provide day-to-day direction and instructions regarding the work.
It is therefore important to clarify in advance who is responsible for what.
For example, make agreements about:
Make sure a new employee knows what is expected of them before they start work.
Hiring flex workers also involves financial considerations.
If a lender fails to meet its obligations regarding payroll taxes, the hirer may, under certain circumstances, be held liable. This is known as hirer’s liability.
The government therefore advises employers to take measures to limit risks.
This is a topic where it is wise to consult your own administrative or tax advisor if you have any doubts about your situation.
Hiring flex workers does not have to be a one-time decision.
Discuss regularly with the employment agency:
By regularly consulting with each other, the collaboration can better align with your staffing needs.
For logistics companies, flexible staff can be particularly relevant.
Staffing needs can change due to, for example:
Depending on the situation, companies may require warehouse workers, order pickers, forklift drivers, reach truck drivers, or other logistics staff.
A specialized agency can help find candidates that match both the role and the working environment.
If the temporary employment agency does not pay payroll taxes or VAT, the tax authorities may hold you, as the company using temporary workers, liable for these obligations. Therefore, always request a certificate confirming payment compliance regarding the liability of the company using temporary workers.
Before hiring flex workers, check whether you:
NFA Recruitment assists employers in finding suitable staff for warehouses, distribution, transport, and air freight, among other sectors.
We can support with positions such as:
Need staff? Contact NFA Recruitment.
Hiring flex workers means that an organization temporarily employs workers within its own business while they remain employed by another organization, such as a staffing or secondment agency.
The lender agency places the employee at the user’s disposal. The hirer company is the business where the employee actually performs the work.
Pay attention to registration, authorization when the Wtta applies, sector experience, candidate selection methods, communication, and clear agreements, among other things.
Yes. An employer that hires in staff must disclose the organization’s relevant terms and conditions of employment to the temp agency in advance.
Yes. The employer/hirer must ensure a safe and healthy workplace, including for employees who are hired through an intermediary.