The Wtta: what changes for hirers?

On 1 January 2027 the Wtta (Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten, the new Dutch act that introduces mandatory admission for anyone supplying workers to other businesses) comes into force. From then on, staffing agencies, secondment firms and payroll companies will need an admission from the Netherlands Labour Market Authority (Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt, NAU). Something fundamental changes for you as a client too: from 1 January 2028 you may only hire staff from agencies that hold an admission, an exemption or a status under the transitional arrangement. If you work with an agency that has no admission, you yourself can be fined.

In this article we explain what the Wtta involves, which dates matter and what you need to arrange as a hirer. That way you know exactly where you stand.

WEDO Flex is ready. We hold the SNA quality mark (audited in September 2026), we are registered in the Waadi register and are allowed to supply workers, and we have received a positive VOG (certificate of conduct). The only step left is our registration with the NAU: registration opens on 1 November 2026, and we will register straight away.

What is the Wtta?

The Wtta introduces a compulsory admission system for anyone who, for a fee, makes workers available to another business, where they work under that business's direction and supervision. So it is not just about staffing agencies: secondment, payrolling and companies that supply workers as a side activity are covered as well.

The act has two aims: to improve the position of agency workers, particularly migrant workers, and to create a level playing field for all hirers and staffing providers. The idea is to drive rogue operators out of the market.

To be admitted, a staffing provider must, among other things:

• be registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel, KvK);
• meet an extensive set of standards covering, among other things, payment of wages, recording of hours, employment contracts, identification of employees, payment of taxes and social security contributions, and housing;
• submit a certificate of conduct for legal entities (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG);
• pay a security deposit of € 100,000, unless the provider is exempt;
• be inspected by an inspection body designated by the minister, with a new inspection report every 12 months after admission.

The NAU also assesses the provider's reliability, looking at tax debts, previous sanctions and any history of bankruptcy, using information from the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst), the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) and the KvK. An admission is valid for 4 years.

The key dates

Staffing providers covered by the transitional arrangement may continue supplying workers while the NAU assesses their application, even if no decision has been made by 1 January 2028.

What changes for you as a hirer?

The Wtta is aimed mainly at staffing providers, but it also gives hirers obligations of their own.

1. Only hire from admitted staffing providers. From 1 January 2028 you may only hire staff from a provider that has an admission or exemption, or that falls under the transitional arrangement, unless a statutory exception applies. If you still work with a provider that requires admission but does not have one, the Netherlands Labour Authority can fine you and you must end the arrangement. The fines decree is still being amended; according to AWVN (the Dutch employers' association), the explanatory memorandum mentions a fine of € 90,000 for both hiring and supplying workers of a non-admitted staffing provider.

2. Check the public register yourself. A statement from the provider that it has been admitted is not enough: you must verify it yourself in the NAU's public register, which is expected to be free to consult from 1 July 2027. You can sign up in the register for notifications when a provider's status changes, but you remain responsible for keeping track of that status.

3. Record which staffing provider you hire through. No later than the start of the work, you record which provider is supplying staff to you, including in cases of on-lending. According to AWVN, your records must show which workers you hire from which providers, and you must keep this information for at least 7 years.

4. Take extra care with on-lending. Is a worker placed with you via a second staffing agency? Then both the formal employer and the company on-lending the worker must have an admission, exemption or transitional status. It is your responsibility to check which provider actually employs the worker. The NAU advises asking the worker, checking the employer in the register and keeping the chain as short as possible (NAU – On-lending: what to look out for as a hirer?).

5. Provide your terms of employment. You are responsible for giving the staffing provider the terms of employment that apply within your organisation, and for passing on any changes. Since 1 January 2026, agency workers covered by the collective labour agreement (CAO) for agency workers of ABU and NBBU (the two Dutch staffing industry associations) have been entitled to pay equivalent to that of your own employees in a comparable role. Your employment terms package is the starting point for this.

6. Indirectly: help with recording hours. You are not legally required to record start and finish times yourself. However, the staffing provider must be able to demonstrate them to keep its admission, and you may only work with admitted providers. According to AWVN, this creates an indirect duty to cooperate.

What if a staffing provider loses its admission?

The NAU can temporarily suspend or permanently revoke an admission, for example if an inspection shows that the provider no longer meets the requirements. Such a decision takes effect no later than 4 weeks after it is announced and is listed, with its effective date, in the public register. See also NAU – What should you do if a staffing provider loses its admission?

• Between the announcement and the effective date you may keep working with agency workers already hired from this provider, but you may not hire any new agency workers from it or start a new hiring relationship.
• From the effective date you may no longer do any business with this provider at all. Continuing to do so can result in a fine from the Labour Authority.

It is therefore wise to agree in your contracts with staffing providers that they must notify you of any change in their admission status.

Hirer's liability: this is changing too

If a staffing provider fails to pay its payroll taxes or VAT, the Tax and Customs Administration can hold the hirer liable. According to SRA (the Dutch association of accountancy firms) and AWVN, among others, this will become simpler for the tax authorities once the Wtta comes into force: they will then be able to hold the hirer liable for up to 35% of the invoice amount, without first investigating the actual debt. The hirer can provide evidence to the contrary. According to these sources, a hirer who pays 35% of the invoice amount into the staffing provider's blocked G account (g-rekening) and meets the administrative requirements is indemnified. Discuss with your own tax adviser what this means for your organisation.

Why we ask you for information

The Wtta requires us, as a staffing provider, not only to do everything properly but also to be able to prove it: from placement and hours to pay, invoicing and tax payments. An inspector checks whether the hours worked, paid, invoiced and paid out all match, and whether the pay is correct. For some of that information we depend on you. Your cooperation ensures that we are admitted and stay admitted, so that you can keep working with us without risk.

Your terms of employment. To pay agency workers correctly and equivalently, we need up-to-date information from you. According to the ABU, this is expected to include at least:

• the job grade and step under your pay scheme, and the periodic wage in the scale;
• normal working hours and any reduction in working hours (ADV);
• allowances for irregular or physically demanding conditions;
• initial pay rises and periodic increments (amount and timing);
• tax-free expense allowances and compensation for travel hours and travel time;
• one-off payments and working-from-home allowances.

You are free to choose how you provide this, but it must be recorded in writing or digitally and be traceable to you.

Start and finish times. For each day or shift, the time records must show the start and finish time, including unpaid breaks, plus the agency worker's name, the week or period and the work location. The total number of hours alone is no longer sufficient. Do agency workers clock in and out at your site? Then an export from your time-recording system may already be enough. The only exception is a predictable work pattern with a fixed weekly or monthly wage and pay of at least 1.5 times the statutory minimum hourly wage.

Passing on changes in good time. Think of a different role or different duties, changed working hours, a new CAO pay rise, a temporary break or the end of an assignment.

We will be in touch with you over the coming period to look together at what is already well organised and where something needs to change.

WEDO Flex is ready

We already meet the main requirements of the Wtta:

• SNA quality mark (Stichting Normering Arbeid, the Dutch labour standards foundation), with an audit in September 2026 completed without findings. The Wtta set of standards is based on the same standard (NEN 4400) as the SNA quality mark. Staffing providers with a valid SNA quality mark on 30 June 2027 can apply for their first admission without a separate inspection report.
• Waadi registered. We are registered as a staffing provider in the Waadi register of the KvK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce) and are allowed to supply workers.
• Positive VOG. We have received the certificate of conduct for legal entities (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag), one of the conditions for admission.
• Member of the ABU, the Dutch Association of Temporary Employment Agencies (Algemene Bond Uitzendondernemingen). We apply the CAO for agency workers, including the equivalent pay that has applied since 1 January 2026.
• SNF quality mark (Stichting Normering Flexwonen) for housing migrant workers. This is the certification against the CAO standards that the Wtta requires of staffing providers that offer housing.

The only thing still to come is our registration with the NAU, which is not possible until 1 November 2026.

Our planning:

• From 1 November 2026 we will register for the transitional arrangement straight away. That way we can keep working without interruption while the NAU assesses our application.
• From 1 January 2027 we will work in line with the Wtta set of standards, including recording start and finish times.
• Between 1 May and 30 June 2027 we will apply to the NAU for our admission.
• As soon as we appear in the public register, we will let you know, so that you can check and record this yourself.
• After admission, we will be inspected every 12 months by an inspection body designated by the minister.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still work with a staffing agency in 2027 that has not yet been admitted? Yes. The Labour Authority will enforce the admission requirement from 1 January 2028. From that date you may only hire from staffing providers with an admission, an exemption or a status under the transitional arrangement. Providers under the transitional arrangement may continue supplying workers after 1 January 2028 for as long as the NAU is assessing their application.

Will an SNA quality mark be enough? No. From 1 January 2028 it is the admission by the NAU that counts. A valid SNA quality mark on 30 June 2027 does, however, allow a provider to apply for its first admission without a separate inspection report.

How do I check whether a staffing provider has been admitted? Through the free public register of the NAU, expected from 1 July 2027. You can sign up there for notifications of status changes. Providers that fall outside the admission requirement are not listed in the register but are still allowed to supply workers; in that case, check this carefully.

Does the Wtta also apply to secondment and payrolling? Yes. Secondment firms, payroll companies, foundations that supply employees and companies that supply workers as a side activity are also subject to the admission requirement. Supplying workers within a group of companies and non-profit lending of staff between employers are not covered.

What if I work with a self-employed contractor (zzp'er) through an intermediary? If the contractor works independently and decides how the work is done, an admission is probably not needed. If, in practice, you direct and supervise the work, the Labour Authority may still regard it as supplying workers, with a possible fine for both parties. See NAU – Do you need to apply for admission?

Do I have to record start and finish times myself? You are not legally required to do so. We do have to be able to demonstrate them, however, and for that we need your cooperation. Often an export from your existing time-recording system is enough.

What does the Wtta mean for the agency workers themselves? They get more protection: checks on correct pay, on proper payment of holiday pay and holiday entitlement, on permitted deductions and on certified housing. With every placement, they receive the details of the assignment in writing.

Checklist for hirers

The NAU has published its own checklist for hirers (in Dutch). Based on that and on the points above:

• Map out which staffing providers you work with, including through on-lending arrangements.
• Ask your staffing providers how they are preparing, whether they will register for the transitional arrangement and whether they will apply for admission before 1 July 2027.
• From 1 July 2027, check every staffing provider in the public register and sign up for status notifications.
• For every new placement, record before the start which staffing provider the worker is employed through, and keep this record.
• Include provisions in your contracts on mandatory admission, a duty to notify you of status changes and what happens if a provider loses its admission.
• Make sure your staffing providers have your current terms of employment (CAO or pay scheme), and pass on any changes.
• Check that your time records include start and finish times, breaks and the work location.
• Discuss the consequences for your hirer's liability with your tax adviser.
• Assign responsibility internally for carrying out these checks.

Want to know more?

You will find the official government information (in Dutch) at toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl, including the checklist for hirers, an explanation of how to check a staffing provider and information on on-lending.

Do you have questions about what the Wtta means for your organisation, or would you like to go through how you supply hours and terms of employment together? Get in touch with your regular contact at WEDO Flex, call +31 6 82 63 73 50 or email [email protected]. You can find us at Horsterweg 418, 5928 NJ Venlo, and at wedoflex.com.

This article has been compiled with care based on information from the NAU, the Waadi Regulation (Regeling Waadi) and publications by ABU, AWVN and SRA (as of October 2026). Rules and amounts may still change. No rights can be derived from this article; it does not constitute legal or tax advice.

Sources

All sources below are in Dutch.

• NAU – Admission to the staffing market
• NAU – Hirers
• NAU – How do you check whether a staffing provider has been admitted?
• NAU – What should you do if a staffing provider loses its admission?
• NAU – On-lending: what to look out for as a hirer?
• NAU – Do you need to apply for admission?
• NAU – How do you prepare for admission?
• Waadi Regulation with set of standards, text as of 1 January 2027
• ABU – Practical guide: Ready for the Wtta
• AWVN – The WTTA and the obligations of the hirer
• SRA – Hirer's liability changes from 2027