Working in The Netherlands
When you want to work in the Netherlands there are some obligations you have to comply.
ID-proof
When you come to the Netherlands to work, it is mandatory to have a valid and not damaged ID-card or passport. Make sure the ID-card or passport is valid during your whole stay in the Netherlands.
Civilian Service Number (BSN)
When you start working for the first time in the Netherlands you are obliged to request a Civilian Service Number (in Dutch: BSN). The BSN number is a personal number for the contact between civilians and the government. Everybody who starts working in the Netherlands, has to give his BSN-number to the employer. The employer needs this number in order to pay the salary. If you visit a doctor or go to the hospital, then you also need to show your BSN number.
A BSN number can be requested at the following cities: Alkmaar, Almelo, Amsterdam, Breda, Den Haag, Doetinchem, Eindhoven, Groningen, Goes, Heerlen, Leeuwarden, Leiden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Venlo, Zwolle.
To request a BSN number you have to personally report yourself at the municipality. Make sure that you have a valid ID-card or passport, otherwise the municipality can not give you a BSN-number.
A BSN-request is free of charge.
For more information visit: https://www.government.nl/topics/identification-documents/contents/the-citizen-service-number
Health insurance
In the Netherlands it is obligatory to have a Dutch health insurance for all people who live and/or work here. Make sure that you arrange a health insurance for the time that you work here. Not having health insurance risks receiving a fine.
Health insurance is affordable. LTO Seizoenarbeid is a Dutch agricultural organization that mediates health insurances for different insurance companies and also can arrange a care supplement for you. Ask your (future) employer to ask LTO Arbeidskracht for information www.seizoenarbeid.nl.
Accommodation
In the agricultural sector is a lof of seasonal work and therefore varying need for labour during the year. Because of that, employers are often depended on temporarily foreign employees. These seasonal workers are often accommodated at the farm. Average accommodation costs are between € 35,- and € 75,- per week. In these accommodation most often make use of shared bathrooms, kitchens and multiple persons sleeping in one room.
Bank account
In the Netherlands it is mandatory for the employer to pay your salary on a personal bank account number. This bank account number has to be in your name. So it is not allowed to let your salary be payed out on the bank account number of, for example, your sister or cousin. The salary payment is only allowed on a joint bank account in case it is an AND/OR-account and it is named on all the concerned employees (husband/wife or partners).
The Dutch government has made it mandatory that it is checked whether the salary is actually payed out to the employee.
When you only have a foreign bank account number, this is no problem, because the employer can also use this bank account number to pay your salary. More information you can find on: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2014/07/04/aanpak-schijnconstructies-minimumloon-niet-meer-contant-uitbetalen
Other information
More information about working in the Netherlands can be find in the brochure ‘New in the Netherlands’.https://www.government.nl/documents/publications/2014/03/07/new-in-the-netherlands-2014
The brochure gives information to find your way in the Dutch society. What kind of things do you have to arrange? And which rights do you have? This consists all information about living, working, taxes, register in the Community Basic Administration Personal information (Dutch: GBA) and the health care in the Netherlands.