Equal Pay (formerly "Inlenersbeloning"): Knowledge Document for the Organisation

Introduction

This document covers equal pay ("gelijkwaardige beloning"): the right of agency workers and seconded professionals to employment conditions that are equivalent to those of the client's own permanent staff. It builds on the SNA knowledge document, where the assessment of CAO compliance was already briefly touched upon, and it connects to the Wtta covered in the Bovib knowledge document, which will make equal pay a legal requirement for every staffing provider from 2027. This topic has no direct relation to the Wet DBA knowledge document: that one is about self-employed professionals, this one is about employees with an employment contract at a staffing or secondment agency.

This topic is, moreover, in the middle of a major change: as of 1 January 2026, the well-known "inlenersbeloning" (hirer's remuneration) has been replaced by the broader concept of equal pay. This document first explains the old system — still relevant to understand where we came from — and then covers exactly what changed as of 2026.

After going through this document you will be able to:

• explain what the (former) inlenersbeloning was and where it legally came from;
• describe what changed on 1 January 2026 with the introduction of equal pay;
• explain the difference between essential and non-essential employment conditions;
• explain who must supply which information, and what the client's role is in this;
• describe the relevance for HeadFirst Group and our clients.

1. What was the inlenersbeloning, and where did it come from?

The inlenersbeloning had its legal basis in the pay-ratio rule of Article 8 of the WAADI (the Dutch law on the allocation of workers by intermediaries). The purpose of this rule: equal pay for equal work, so that agency workers would not be structurally cheaper than permanent staff — the risk otherwise being that companies would engage flexible workers purely to cut labour costs, rather than for the flexibility itself.

This statutory principle was translated in the ABU and NBBU collective labour agreements (CAOs) into a concrete, exhaustive list of pay components. This list grew over the years:

• Until 2021: 6 components.
• 2022: 3 components added.
• From 2023: 10 components in total, namely:

1. Equal pay and job group;
2. Reduction of working hours (ADV/ATV);
3. All allowances for irregular working hours (such as overtime) and for demanding working conditions;
4. Initial pay rise;
5. Expense allowance;
6. Periodic increments;
7. Compensation for travel hours and/or travel time related to the work;
8. One-off payments;
9. Working-from-home allowances;
10. Fixed year-end bonuses.

The inlenersbeloning had to be applied by the secondment agency or staffing agency (not by the client itself), and was also essential for the agency to know — namely to be able to calculate the correct hourly rate. The client had a duty to provide information in this regard (Article 12a WAADI): they had to supply the relevant pay data of their own staff, so that the correct pay scale could be applied.

Recognising suppliers that (had to) apply the inlenersbeloning: this applied to suppliers using flexible labour and applying the ABU or NBBU CAO. These could be recognised by certifications and quality marks such as the ABU/NBBU quality mark, an NEN certificate, an ISO certificate, or the SNA certification mark (see the earlier SNA knowledge document).

2. The transition to equal pay on 1 January 2026

Why this change?

The move to a broader system did not come out of nowhere, but followed from an accumulation of signals and rulings:

• As early as 2021, the SER (Social and Economic Council) advised, in its medium-term outlook, that flexible workers should be given more security and equivalence.
• In 2022 came the TimePartner ruling of the European Court of Justice, which confirmed that deviations in pay systems between agency workers and permanent staff have legal limits.
• In 2024, an agency worker was upheld in the Dosign ruling: his claim that, despite doing the same work, he ended up receiving less than his permanent colleagues, was recognised by the court.
• This line is being carried further in the bill "More Security for Flexible Workers," which is meant to enshrine this protection in law (not just in the CAO). Its intended effective date still varies by source (both 1 July 2026 and 1 January 2027 are mentioned) — so this is not yet fully settled.

What has concretely changed?

With the new ABU/NBBU CAO that took effect on 1 January 2026, the inlenersbeloning (with its exhaustive list of 10 components) has been replaced by equal pay, also called equivalent employment conditions. The principle:

The entire package of employment conditions of the agency worker must be at least equal in value to that of a permanent employee in an equal or equivalent role at the client.

This is a fundamentally different approach from before. The old inlenersbeloning gave a right to equal treatment for 10 specifically named elements. The new equal pay looks at everything: the client's CAO conditions, arrangements in a staff handbook, and additional schemes such as a mobility or sustainability scheme. The individual conditions do not need to be identical one-to-one — what matters is the total value of the package. Think of a set of scales that must be in balance, even if the individual "weights" on the scale differ in shape.

3. Essential versus non-essential employment conditions

To determine how differences in the package may be compensated, the new CAO distinguishes between two categories:

• Essential employment conditions: this is everything except pension. Think of pay, allowances, holiday pay, leave, and working hours.
• Non-essential employment conditions: in the current interpretation, this is pension only.

The rules for exchanging these conditions are precisely defined:

• A shortfall in essential conditions may only be compensated with other essential conditions. For example, if an agency worker receives 8% holiday allowance while permanent staff receive 10%, that 2% difference must be compensated within the essential conditions — for example, via pay. Compensating a lower year-end bonus with a free Christmas hamper is therefore not allowed; this must be resolved in money.
• A shortfall in the non-essential condition (pension) may be compensated with an advantage in essential conditions. If the agency worker's pension scheme (StiPP) is less good than the client's? Then this difference can be compensated with, for example, a pay supplement.
• Conversely: a better pension for the agency worker may not be "cancelled out" against a disadvantage in essential conditions.

4. Who must supply what?

Just as with the old inlenersbeloning, the client remains responsible for supplying the correct information — and that responsibility actually becomes greater under the new rules, because it now concerns the complete package of employment conditions, rather than 10 defined components.

To support this in practice, ABU and NBBU have developed the Standard Enquiry for Equal Pay (SUGB) — an extensive questionnaire (around 30 pages) that the client must complete regarding all relevant employment conditions. Based on this enquiry, the staffing agency can put together the correct, equivalent package for the agency worker.

Practical consequence: the more complete and accurate the information supplied by the client, the better the agency can assemble the package, and the smaller the risk of a later dispute or claim.

5. A special category: payroll

For payroll employees, Article 8a WAADI has for some time already provided a further-reaching level of protection than for regular agency workers: they are entitled to the full package of employment conditions of employees directly employed by the client, including an adequate pension scheme. With the transition to equal pay for regular agency workers, the difference between these two categories (agency worker and payroll employee) in terms of pay therefore becomes smaller than before, although they legally remain two distinct arrangements.

6. Transition arrangement and liability

Six-month transition period

Because the new CAO agreements took effect on 1 January 2026 without general transitional law, one specific exception has been included: if an individual agency worker would be worse off under the new rules compared to the old inlenersbeloning, a transition period of 6 months applies. During that period, that agency worker is entitled to at least 25 holiday days and 8.33% holiday allowance.

Chain liability towards the client

An important point to remember: under Article 7:616a of the Dutch Civil Code, an agency worker who receives too low or non-equivalent pay may turn not only to the staffing agency that employs them, but also directly to the client (the hirer). This makes it extra important for clients to make clear agreements with the staffing agency, and to be transparent about roles and the associated employment conditions.

7. Application at HeadFirst Group

• Detavast arrangements: for requests involving a "detavast" arrangement (secondment with a view to permanent employment), equal pay (formerly: inlenersbeloning) must be applied.
• Regular temporary assignments: here the supplier is required to apply this. Note: this in principle only applies to suppliers that apply the ABU or NBBU CAO.
• Recognising the right suppliers: suppliers that apply the ABU/NBBU CAO can be recognised by certifications and quality marks such as the ABU/NBBU quality mark, an NEN certificate, an ISO certificate, or the SNA certification mark — often listed on their website or in their email signature.
• Relation to the Wtta: the previously discussed Wtta (the Dutch law on admission for the provision of workers, expected around 2027) will make equal pay mandatory for every staffing provider in the Netherlands. This topic is therefore not a standalone CAO change, but part of a broader statutory framework that is coming.

8. Why this matters to us

• Greater administrative responsibility for clients: clients now need to supply a much more complete picture of their employment conditions (via the SUGB) than previously with the 10 components of the inlenersbeloning. We can guide them through this.
• Higher cost prices expected: because the entire package must be equivalent, the expectation is that engaging flexible labour will become more expensive. This is relevant to the conversations we have with clients about rates.
• Liability risk for clients: because an agency worker can turn directly to the client in case of underpayment, correct application of equal pay is also a risk topic for our clients, and therefore for our advisory role.
• Connection with other knowledge documents: this topic connects to the SNA knowledge document (CAO compliance is part of an SNA inspection) and the Bovib/Wtta knowledge document (equal pay becomes part of the statutory Wtta framework). It does not connect to the Wet DBA knowledge document — that concerns a different target group (self-employed professionals) and a different legal framework.

9. Glossary

Further information

This document is not legal advice. For the most current state of affairs regarding the ABU/NBBU CAO and the Standard Enquiry for Equal Pay: consult the website of ABU, NBBU, or wijzerbelonen.nl. If in doubt about a specific situation or a claim by an agency worker: contact Legal.