During the harvest season in the autumn of 2025, various violations were observed of the Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act (Wav), the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (WML) and the Working Hours Act (ATW). A total of 76 violations were observed involving 8 employers. For that reason the Netherlands Labour Authority will be carrying out checks during the upcoming harvest season from August to October to determine whether the necessary improvements to ensure fair working conditions have been implemented.
The apple and pear harvest is a seasonal activity which requires a great deal of work to be done within a short period of just a few weeks. That work is mainly carried out by flex workers, who are often migrant workers as well. The Netherlands Labour Authority regularly observes minimum wage cash payments being made to these workers and that is against the law. Inspectors also observed instances of underpayment, illegal employment and violations of working and rest time regulations last year. The results of their findings can be found in this factsheet (Dutch).
Apple and pear growers: check your staff
As far as fruit growers are concerned, it is particularly important during this busy period that they check who is working for them and make sure that all hours worked are correctly paid. The growers are responsible for verifying the identity of everyone who works for them. Moreover, workers from outside the European Economic Area must have the correct permit to work in the Netherlands. This rule applies to agency workers or flex workers as well. Employers can use the self-assessment tool at zelfinspectie.nl (Dutch) to check whether their health and safety policy is up to scratch and whether they comply with the legislation and regulations relating to fair working practices.
Check employment agencies
Any fruit grower that collaborates with an employment agency is partly responsible for ensuring that the agency operates in accordance with the applicable legislation and regulations. To help fruit growers check whether this is the case, the Netherlands Labour Authority has produced an online checklist (Dutch).
Fair working conditions
Discussions with the Dutch Fruit Growers' Organisation (Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie) and other trade associations have emphasised the fact that they play an important role in informing and motivating their members when it comes to fair working conditions.
