The new ABU collective labour agreement will come into effect on 1 January 2026. It contains several new provisions regarding the remuneration and other terms of employment of agency workers. This has important consequences for temporary employment agencies that (are required to) apply the collective labour agreement for agency workers (ABU CLA), but also for companies hiring agencyworkers. The terms of employment of most agency workers will therefore have to be adjusted as of 1 January 2026 as a result of these new provisions.
Key changes under Article 21 of the ABU CLA
1. Essential terms and conditions
The new Article 21(2) of the ABU CLA states that the total of the so-called essential terms and conditions of employment of the agency worker must be at least equivalent to the total of the essential terms and conditions of employment of the employee directly employed by the hirerhaving an equal (or equivalent) position.
This concerns the terms of employment relating to:
- Wages and other allowances
- Working hours (including overtime)
- Rest periods and breaks
- Night work
- Holiday duration
- Public holiday arrangements
“Equivalent” does not mean “equal”, but it does mean that, when all is said and done, the agency worker must receive the same as the hirer's own employees.
2. Non-essential terms and conditions
In addition to essential terms and conditions of employment, there are also the non-essential terms and conditions of employment. These are all terms and conditions other than the essential ones. Article 21(3) of the ABU CLA states that, with regard to the total non-essential terms and conditions of employment, the agency worker is at least entitled to equivalent remuneration compared to the hirer's own employees who perform a similar (or equivalent) job to that of the agency worker.
3. Two compliance tests
Finally, the total of all essential and non-essential terms and conditions of employment of the agency worker must be at least equivalent to those of the hirer's own employees. In addition, an essential term and condition of employment may not be exchanged for a non-essential term and condition of employment. Only the reverse is permitted. There are therefore two tests:
- The total package of essential terms and conditions of employment must be at least equivalent, and
- The total package of essential and non-essential terms and conditions of employment must be at least equivalent.
The ABU and NBBU have developed the information platform Wijzerbelonen.nl for clients and temporary employment agencies. This platform contains all the information you need about (determining) equivalent terms of employment.
Anticipating change of Waadi-Act
This amendment of the ABU CLA anticipates the proposed amendment to Article 8 of the Dutch Act on the Hiring of Employees (Waadi), which sets out rules for the remuneration of agency workers. The proposed amendment is currently still being debated in the House of Representatives. The amendment may still be changed, but the chance that this will actually happenor not adopted at all is small because the amendment is the result of case law from the European Court of Justice based on the Temporary Agency Work Directive. That case law requires an amendment to Article 8 of the Waadi.
Liability for non-compliance
Not only can temporary employment agencies be held liable by agency workers for the wages owed, also the hirer is jointly and severally liable to the temporary worker for this on the basis of Article 7:616a of the Dutch Civil Code. It is therefore all the more important that hirers are also well aware of this change as of 1 January 2026 and provide the necessary information to temporary employment agencies that are required to apply the ABU CLA
