Ban on housing wage deductions

Dutch employers and temporary employment agencies will be barred from deducting accommodation costs directly from the wages of migrant workers starting 1 July 2028. Social Affairs Minister Hans Vijlbrief outlined the government plan on 10 September 2026 in a formal letter to the Tweede Kamer. Under regulations currently in force, employers may deduct up to 25% of the gross minimum wage to provide housing for foreign staff. The system has drawn repeated criticism from government bodies and labour regulators for tying an employee's residency directly to their employment status, meaning workers routinely face immediate eviction and homelessness if they lose their jobs.

“We see too many abuses. Migrant workers are currently being exploited too much.”

Reversal of the 2025 election controversy

The legislative proposal restores a policy originally developed under the Schoof cabinet by former Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum of the NSC. In early 2025, Van Hijum proposed phasing out the deductions by lowering the allowable threshold by 5% each year until full elimination. Following the departure of the NSC from the governing coalition, his successor, caretaker minister Mariëlle Paul of the VVD, removed the ban on 30 October 2025, one day after the parliamentary elections. Paul told the Tweede Kamer in November 2025 that the postponement was necessary for interdepartmental coordination and denied withholding information during the campaign. Internal government files obtained through freedom of information requests in August 2026 revealed that the letter cancelling the reform was completed on 7 October 2025 and intentionally shelved until voting concluded.

Working conditions and sector demographics

The measure directly affects a workforce estimated between 600,000 and 900,000 migrant workers in the Netherlands, a population expanding by roughly 50,000 people annually. Workers primarily originate from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, and Georgia, filling essential low-wage positions across greenhouse horticulture, meat processing plants, and logistics distribution centres. An advisory commission headed by former SP politician Emile Roemer previously recommended ending wage deductions to curtail abusive practices in the recruitment sector. Many staffing agencies have used the 25% maximum deduction as a profit model while providing substandard accommodation, in some instances charging high fees for workers to rent shared mattresses for only a few hours per night.

Coordination with rental protections

Vijlbrief set the implementation date for 1 July 2028 to synchronize the deduction prohibition with new housing legislation being prepared by the Ministry of Housing. The upcoming rental legislation will establish statutory quality requirements for residences and define specialized rental contracts designed to protect migrant workers from exorbitant rental prices. Paul had previously argued that ending employer deductions without legal protections in place would leave foreign workers stranded on a tight domestic housing market. Vijlbrief acknowledged the risk that workers could face abusive private landlords, stating that enacting the wage deduction ban alongside comprehensive tenant protections will provide legal security while ensuring foreign employees receive their full wages.