The Netherlands has proven to be a great place to conduct business. The geographical location and highly developed infrastructure makes it an attractive investment destination for many international organizations. As a result, a lot of European and non-European companies are already conducting business on the Dutch market, usually by using employees. However, hiring these employees in the Netherlands could be a challenge. Let’s explore four possible ways:
- Free movement of workers in the EU
If the foreign company is based in the EU and has EU-citizens willing to work in the Netherlands, conducting business on the Dutch market is fairly easy. No permit has to be applied for and no Dutch employment contract needs to be signed.
- Setting up a Dutch entity
The foreign company can choose to set up a Dutch entity, who will hire employees in accordance with Dutch labour law. Setting up such an entity could i.e. be beneficial tax-wise and in the field of liabilities. If the Dutch entity hires employees, a Dutch employment contract needs to be drafted, the ID and health insurance of the employee has to be checked and the employer needs to register itself and the employee at the Dutch Tax Authorities and the Employee Insurance Agency.
- Payrolling
If the company does not want to set up a Dutch entity and is not able to use free movement of EU-workers, in some cases a Dutch payroll company can be used. Such a company will formally hire the employee that the foreign company want to have working for it in the Netherlands. Most employee related matters will be dealt with the payroll agency.
- Outsourcing
It is possible for an EU or a non-EU company to temporarily outsource workers to the Netherlands for a specific job or task. The Posting of Workers Directive, as well as the Revised Posting of Workers Directive will have to be taken into account. Depending on the nationality of the workers, the company will have to apply for different visa.
