Netherlands: Parliament gives the green light to a law establishing joint-liability for non-payment of the minimum wage along the sub-contracting chain

Last week the Dutch Parliament voted in favor of a law set to combat the practice of non-payment of the legal or regular minimum wage as well as social contributions (Wet Aanpak Schijnconstructies | WAS). The law, which has to go before the Senate, establishes joint-liability of the main client for sub-contractors' employees.
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The Minister of Social Affairs, Lodewijk Asscher has been working for more than a year on this issue that is putting many Dutch companies in financial difficulties via the distortions to competition that result from the non-respect of regulations and local collective agreements by certain companies and temporary employment agencies who are sending workers into the Netherlands or even more fraudulently through the use of ‘letter-box’ companies. The construction sector, the transport sector, and

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