Temporary Hiring Act: agency workers capped at 36 months with the same hirer
On 29 October 2026 the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment opened an internet consultation on the Temporary Hiring Act (Wet tijdelijkheid van inlenen), an amendment to the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Waadi). Responses can be submitted until 24 November 2026.
What changes?
Under the proposal, an agency worker may work for the same hirer for a maximum of 36 months. If the hirer wants to keep the worker after that, it must offer a contract directly with the hirer.
Work must also be temporary where the agency worker has an open-ended agency contract. What counts as temporary depends on the situation and can be assessed by the courts.
Why this limit?
The proposal follows case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union: under the Temporary Agency Work Directive, agency work must be temporary. Long-term deployment of the same worker with the same hirer is thus limited in time. The government has not yet given an effective date.
Practical tips
Identify now which agency workers (would) reach the 36-month limit in your organisation.
For agency workers on open-ended contracts, assess whether the work is genuinely temporary.
Consider responding to the internet consultation before 24 November.
Read the original: Dutch government, 29 October 2026
Read more about agency work in our knowledge base.
Want to know what this means for your organisation? Get in touch with us.
This blog provides general information and is not legal advice. For advice on a specific situation, please contact us.
