The Netherlands Labour Inspectorate has found that agency workers are more likely to do unhealthy and unsafe work and to suffer an accident than employees with permanent contracts. Research and an inspection project show that temporary employment agencies and hirers are not taking sufficient responsibility for safe and healthy work and are not sufficiently coordinating who is responsible for what.
From 2023 to the end of 2025, the Labour Inspectorate carried out 557 inspections. Of these, 383 inspections took place at hirers and 174 at temporary employment agencies. At 68 per cent of the hirers inspected, the Inspectorate identified one or more breaches. For temporary employment agencies, this was 24 per cent.
At many workplaces, the risk assessment and evaluation was not in order. Risks had not been described or had been described insufficiently, measures were missing or had not been implemented, and an expert review had often not taken place. Agency workers were often given only written information about risks and safety measures in advance, without a proper explanation or checks to ensure that they understood the information.
The responsibilities for, among other things, personal protective equipment, instruction, supervision and access to occupational health and safety services were also not always clear. According to the Labour Inspectorate, short induction periods, language barriers, changing duties and limited knowledge of safety rules are important points for attention in this regard.
In cases involving serious risks, the Labour Inspectorate stopped work at hirers on 66 occasions. The Inspectorate emphasises that an up-to-date RI&E with additional attention to agency workers, clear agreements between the parties, and understandable information and instruction are necessary. Agency workers are entitled to the same safe and healthy working conditions as other employees.
