A chain of gyms in Amsterdam is being fined a total of 316,875 euros by the Netherlands Labour Authority for violations of the Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act (Wav), the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (WML) and the Working Hours Act (ATW). The Netherlands Labour Authority may also shut down the business (temporarily) in the event of new or similar violations of the Wav and WML.
The violations of the Wav were failing to arrange valid work permits or combined permits for residence and work for 25 foreign nationals who worked for the gym chain and failing to fulfil the obligation to verify the identity of 3 workers. For these violations the company is being fined 234,375 euros.
Inadequate record-keeping
In addition, the Labour Authority was unable to determine how many hours employees had worked and whether they had received the minimum wage for all the hours they had worked. For these violations of the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act, the company is being fined 60,000 euros. The fine for a violation of the Working Hours Act is 22,500 euros.
Warning of preventive suspension
In addition to the fines for violating the Working Hours Act and the Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act, the gym chain is being issued with 2 warnings about a preventive suspension of work. This means that the Labour Authority may order work to be suspended if the same or similar violations are identified again in the future. A warning regarding a preventive suspension is valid for a period of 5 years.
The need to report unfair working practices
The Netherlands Labour Authority is keen to emphasise the importance of reporting unfair, unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. Reports and tips can help the Labour Authority identify violations of labour laws.
Employers can use the Action Plan for the Verification Obligation to check whether someone is permitted to work in the Netherlands. Instances of abuse can be reported to the Netherlands Labour Authority using the notification form on our website.
Additional information on fair working practices is available at zelfinspectie.nl (Dutch).
