Nieuwe wet moet onderbetaling van arbeidsmigranten tegengaan

Cabinet wants to make employers responsible for proof of correct wage payment

The cabinet is working on a new law designed to better protect migrant workers against underpayment. The proposed regulation grants the Dutch Labour Inspectorate more powers to take action when employers cannot provide complete payroll records. This also shifts the burden of proof from employees to employers.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the law must ensure that vulnerable workers receive the wages to which they are legally entitled more quickly.

Burden of proof shifts to employers

Currently, employees or the Labour Inspectorate must prove underpayment when an employer may be paying too little wages. Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Hans Vijlbrief wants to change that situation.

Under the new law, it becomes the responsibility of employers to demonstrate that they have paid their staff at least the statutory minimum wage. If there is doubt about this and the necessary records are missing, the employee is no longer required to provide the proof themselves.

This change is primarily intended to help migrant workers, who are often dependent on their employer for work, housing, and administrative support. As a result, they frequently find themselves in a vulnerable position on the labor market.

Problems due to missing payroll records

The Labour Inspectorate is currently checking whether employers comply with the Minimum Wage Act. In practice, however, it regularly proves difficult to determine whether employees are actually being paid sufficiently.

A major cause is that employers are not always able to provide complete or timely payroll records. Without this data, it is difficult to determine exactly how much wages an employee has received and whether underpayment is occurring.

Although the inspectorate may impose fines in such cases due to administrative shortcomings, this does not automatically lead to the payment of back wages to employees.

Labour Inspectorate receives additional powers

With the new law, the Labour Inspectorate will have more options to financially compensate employees.

When inspectors suspect that employees are being underpaid and the employer cannot produce complete payroll records, they may calculate the suspected wage shortfall themselves. Based on this, the employer may be required to pay the outstanding amount.

This prevents employees from missing out on their rightful wages due to missing administrative data.

More protection for vulnerable workers

The position of employers and employees also changes in the event of any legal proceedings. Employers will have to demonstrate that they have paid the statutory minimum wage correctly.

According to the ministry, it is often difficult for employees to gather evidence of underpayment themselves. This applies in particular to migrant workers, who are not always familiar with Dutch labor law or have access to the necessary documents.

The proposed law must ensure that this group of employees is better protected and actually receives what they are entitled to.

The legislative proposal will follow later this year.

The new regulation is not yet final. Minister Vijlbrief will draft a legislative proposal over the coming months. Subsequently, the proposal must be considered and approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before the law can take effect.

With the planned legislative amendment, the Cabinet aims to strengthen the enforcement of labor laws and tackle abuses in the labor market more effectively, with particular attention to the protection of migrant workers and other vulnerable workers.

Lucas van Dijk

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