The Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate (SZW) fined companies in transport and logistics over 2.5 million euros last year. The companies violated rules on driving and rest periods, underpayment, illegal employment and labour exploitation.
The regulator's annual report shows this. In the Transport and Logistics programme, the Inspectorate SZW mainly focused on international road transport and parcel and courier services, as risk analyses showed that unfair work is most likely to occur in these industries.
PO Box companies and undeclared work
Courier companies, for example, often involve undeclared work, which in some cases involves benefit fraud. In international road transport, PO Box companies are a focus of attention. These companies are based abroad and on paper the drivers are directed from abroad. In fact, however, the control lies with the Dutch employer and the driver must receive the Dutch minimum wage.
2.5 million euros in fines
The Inspectorate SZW investigated 45 cases in 2018. 18 cases involved a violation. In half of those cases, fines of 2.5 million euros were imposed. The remaining cases involved bankruptcy or insufficient burden of proof.
