ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The Netherlands Labour Authority has imposed administrative fines totalling over €700,000 on two cleaning companies. The companies are said to have violated the Dutch Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act (WML) and the Dutch Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act (Wav).

The investigation began following reports that workers who were not listed in the payroll records were being set to work and were being paid in cash by the businesses. This led to inspections at several companies in Amsterdam and Zaandam.

During the inspection at the hotel, the labour inspectors discovered some unusual items, such as 'multiple bags of cash'. It also emerged that workers were being paid in cash. For reasons of monitoring payment of the minimum wage, this is not allowed in the Netherlands.

The companies were unable to provide complete records with respect to dozens of workers, said the Labour Authority. Important documents, such as payslips, timesheets, employment agreements, and proofs of payment were missing or incomplete.

As a result, the Labour Authority was unable to verify whether the workers had received the statutory minimum wage and the correct holiday pay. Employers are obliged to keep accurate records of this information and to make it available. Hence one company was fined €256,000 and the other €235,000.

The Labour Authority also found that a total of 17 workers were carrying out work without holding the required permit to work for this employer. In doing so, the companies were violating the Dutch Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act and have been fined a total of €212,000.