A trade union represents your interests in the Netherlands. By becoming a member of a trade union, you can have a say in the collective labour agreement (CAO) and therefore the employment conditions. The trade union is committed to ensuring that you get what you are entitled to. For example, they can help you with any questions about your contract, your wages, your working hours and questions about health and safety at work. If you have a difference of opinion on any of these matters with your employer, you should first try and resolve these with your employer. If you are unable to resolve the matter, you can ask for the help from a trade union, for example by making use of a free reliable tax service. Whether you are an individual or part of a group of colleagues, the trade union can answer legal questions about your contract, your job and, if necessary, can conduct proceedings on your behalf.

If you are not a member of a trade union, you can always become a member. This will automatically entitle you to advice and legal assistance if you have a conflict about your work or salary. The trade union will be happy to help you; they can sometimes even provide this help in your own language.

No, membership is not free. You have to pay a membership fee to become a member of a trade union. The cost depends on your age and income. If you are not a member of a trade union, but you do have a question about your work and salary, you can ask for help from a counsellor, the Works Council or Participation Council.

Do you have a legal issue? Go to the website of the Legal Aid and Advice Centre Juridisch Loket to find the answer to the frequently asked legal questions. Do you have a low income? It is possible to get personal legal advice that is free of charge, such as questions about work and income and about accommodation.  Go to one of the offices vestigingen of the Legal Aid and Advice Centre (Juridisch Loket) or call 0800-8020 free of charge.

If you do not speak Dutch or English, please bring someone with you who speaks one of these languages.

There are official authorities in the Netherlands that look after the interests of residents and employees from your home country. These are the embassies and consulates. These official authorities offer help if you encounter any problems in the Netherlands. For example, if you are the victim of a crime, if you have been hospitalised, or if you need a temporary travel document. You can also go there to renew your identity document. Click here for information (in English) regarding the help that is offered by an embassy.

If you believe that the Dutch government is not helping you properly, there are two organisations you can contact to make a complaint. In the Netherlands, the National Ombudsman can independently investigate your complaint about the government. This organisation looks after your interests. If you have filed a complaint with a government body and you are unable to reach a solution, you can submit a complaint against this body to the National Ombudsman. However, you must meet a number of requirements. You can contact this organisation on 0800 3355555. You can do this in Dutch and English.

If your complaint is regarding cross-border problems with a government body in the Netherlands concerning EU rights, please contact SOLVIT. You can contact the SOLVIT network in your own country, in your own language, by using the online contact form. The SOLVIT centre will try to resolve your complaint. The Dutch SOLVIT centre and the SOLVIT centre in your own country will work together on this matter.

Your employer may be covered by a collective labor agreement for the entire sector. We call this a collective labor agreement. This often contains rules about the amount of your salary, holidays or notice periods if your work stops. But also if you have to do dangerous and unhealthy work, for example. These rules apply in addition to the standard statutory minimum rules. You can report complaints to the Dutch Labor Inspectorate.

The FairWork foundation helps workers from abroad who have to work under poor conditions in the Netherlands. 

If you have a specific question or need to discuss your personal situation, you can contact the FairWork Foundation.

 +31 20 760 08 09
 +31 6 51771249
 info@fairwork.nu

There are several organisations in the Netherlands that can help you with this, for example, the Netherlands Labour Authority. This organisation checks whether your employer is complying with the labour laws, such as regulations regarding your minimum wages, working hours and working conditions. If you have a complaint about low wages, poor working conditions or your working hours, you can get help in the Netherlands by contacting the Netherlands Labour Authority.   

It may be that your employer is subject to a collective labour agreement that applies specifically to your sector or company. In Dutch, this is called a CAO. These often include regulations about your salary, holiday entitlement or notice periods if your work comes to an end. It also sets out regulations regarding dangerous and/or unhealthy work conditions. These regulations apply in addition to the standard legal requirements. Any complaints can be reported to the Netherlands Labour Authority.

If you are on the receiving end of inappropriate verbal and non-verbal behaviour or physical contact, this is sexual harassment at work. This can be any form of sexual advances, requests for sexual favours or other sexually-oriented behaviour at work. If you are being bullied or discriminated at work, either verbal, non-verbal or physically, you can report this to the Dutch labor inspectorate or to the FairWork foundation in English, Polish or Romanian. This organisation can help you if you experience any kind of inappropriate behaviour.

Inappropriate behaviour can come from different people in the workplace. Within your company, this could be your colleagues or your manager. However, it can also come from third parties, such as customers, clients or patients. You should always report any incidents to your employer or manager. Employers are obliged to do everything they can to try and stop sexual harassment as much as possible. You can also report sexual harassment to the FairWork foundation.

If you think you are paying too much rent, please visit huurcommissie.nl, which is the Rent Tribunal website where you can find out about the maximum amount of rent you should be paying. You can also contact the government authorities by phoning 1400 within the Netherlands or +31 (0) 774656767 from abroad. However, you can only contact the authorities if you have a lease.

If you are living in housing that you think is unsafe, if you live with a lot of people in one room or in a house or if you are in disagreement with your landlord, please contact the Juridisch Loket for advice. You can also make an appointment by phoning 0900 80 20.

You may be able to contact the Foundation for flexible housing standards (Stichting Normering Flexwonen, SNF). You can contact this foundation if your property has a special quality mark, namely the SNF quality mark. You can contact the foundation by phoning +31 (0) 135944109.

If you cannot find your personal belongings and believe that they have been stolen, this is theft and you should report this to the police in your municipality. If you are unsure whether something has been lost or stolen you should still report this to your municipality. Someone may have handed in your property at your municipality’s lost property desk.

If you are being harassed at work, which could be by more than one person, you must always report this to your manager or employer. If you are being harassed outside work, for example, on the street, in a shop or at home by a flatmate, this could constitute a threat. In the Netherlands there is a difference between being threatened and feeling threatened. Not every threat is considered an offence. You should report to the police all instances in which you feel someone has threatened you with death, serious injury, rape or sexual assault. You can call the police on 0900 8844.

If you are the victim of a crime, a criminal offence has taken place. Please report this immediately to your local police. The perpetrator can then be punished. By reporting a crime, the police can keep track of the type of crimes and where they occur. This means that the Dutch police can solve more crimes.

In the event of sexual abuse, call the police on 0900 8844. You can then ask to speak to your local ‘zedenpolitie’ department who have specially trained officers who can help you.

If you would rather go to the police station, you can make an appointment to meet with a specially trained police officer. The police takes all reports of possible sexual abuse very seriously. That’s why you will be given a special appointment.

If you have been the victim of sexual abuse very recently and you need urgent medical attention or if you don’t know the identity of the perpetrator, then call the Dutch emergency number, which is 112.

If you are being discriminated by your employer, your manager or another colleague, you can contact an anti-discrimination agency. Click here to find out how this agency can help you and give you advice with regard to discrimination.

You may also be able to find help locally, as there is an anti-discrimination agency in every region of the country. This service is free of charge; likewise, there is no charge for reporting discrimination to the police.

If you suspect that human rights are being violated at your workplace, you can lodge a complaint. In the Netherlands, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights will assess your complaint. This institute will decide on the matter. You will probably need a lawyer to lodge this complaint.

Your municipality can help you with numerous matters. They can help you with your registration in the Netherlands national database, registering the birth of your child, your driving licence or your housing. They can also help you if you have any complaints about your housing. Other services range from helping you learn Dutch or helping if you have accumulated some debt. In that case, your municipality can provide debt assistance.

It is very easy to contact municipalities in the Netherlands. You can do this by telephone or by email. The contact information is available on your municipality’s website. Usually you will have to make an appointment to visit your municipality. Your appointment will be at the town hall.

In the Netherlands, you must be able to identify yourself. This means that you have to show proof of who you are. In the Netherlands, you can do this with a passport from your own country or an European identity card. Make sure you always have your identity document with you. This is your personal property.

Please note: your employer is never allowed to keep this document and you should never simply hand it over. However, your employer is allowed to make a copy of your identity document, but they will always return the original.

Various people in the Netherlands are authorised to ask you to show your identity card. Police officers may ask to see your identity card; and if you are in a public place, special investigating officers (BOA) may sometimes ask you to identify yourself, for example if you are on public transport, in a shop, a bank or other public building. You should therefore always make sure you have your ID card with you. Your ID card will always be returned to you following a check. If you are asked to show your identity document, you are entitled to ask this person to show their identification. When you enter into an employment contract, your employer will also need to take a copy of your identity document in order to draw up the contract.

It depends whether you can drive in the Netherlands with a foreign driving licence.  This depends on the duration of your stay in the Netherlands and where you obtained your driving licence. If you have a valid EU driving licence that has not expired, you can drive in the Netherlands.

If you have lost your driving licence or it has been stolen, you will need to apply to the municipality where you live for a new driving licence. You can make an appointment with the relevant department of your municipality.

What you need to do depends on your nationality and registration. If you are registered as a resident in the Netherlands, then you must apply for a new driving licence in the Netherlands.

You will need a DigiD to do lots of things in the Netherlands, as a DigiD is your unique personal number for accessing public services online. These services range from central and local government services, health services and education services. You use your DigiD to log in to central and local government websites or the website of your hospital, so that you can do things such as file a tax return, apply for housing benefit, make hospital appointments or apply for an exemption from municipal taxes. If you do not have a DigiD, please request one via this website of the Dutch government. You will need a Citizen Service Number (BSN) for this.

Your DigiD is your personal access to public services, so do not share this number with other people. If you have an accountant to arrange your financial matters, you can request a special code from the Tax and Customs Administration to allow your accountant to access your data, while at the same time, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration can see that this person is not you.