An international transport company from The Hague is prohibited from transporting goods or related activities for a period of two months, starting today. This includes work carried out by other companies on behalf of the transport company.
The Netherlands Labour Authority has suspended the company’s operations due to serious violations of the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (WML). The company has been fined €90,000 for these violations. Additionally, the company was unable to provide identity details of the employees involved, making it impossible to verify whether the employer was authorized to employ these workers. This is a violation of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act (Wav), for which the company has been fined €112,500.
Previous violations
In a previous investigation (2022), the Netherlands Labour Authority already found that the transport company was not complying with the WML. Seven employees were working without employment contracts, and there were no payslips, payment records, or overview of hours worked. This resulted in a fine of €42,000 and a warning of possible suspension of business activities. For failing to verify the identity of employees, the company received a Wav fine of €21,000.
Incomplete administration
During a follow-up inspection in 2025, labour inspectors again found violations of the WML. This time, the company could not provide wage or employment data for 10 employees. As a result, it could not be determined whether employees were being paid fairly, i.e., whether they had received at least the statutory minimum wage.
Working without contracts
The international transport company also had employees working without employment contracts. They were paid in cash, which is also a violation of the WML. To prevent recurrence, the Netherlands Labour Authority has now decided to suspend the company’s operations for a period of two months.
Report unfair working conditions
The Netherlands Labour Authority calls on everyone to report unfair working conditions, such as underpayment, non-compliance with labour laws, or exploitation of vulnerable workers. Reports can be made via the online form Reporting unfair, unsafe, unhealthy working conditions or labour exploitation on our website.