Personal injury as an agency worker: agency and host company
Human legal and translation review is still pending.
Agency workers work at one business while employed by the staffing agency. After injury, responsibilities can be unclear. Workplace safety, wages and sickness support, and your injury claim must be carefully distinguished and directed to the right place.
In this guide
- Distinguish the two organisations and their roles
- Risk information before starting
- Understandable instructions and actual guidance
- Preserve reporting and evidence at both organisations
- Keep sickness reporting, income and recovery organised
- Assess temporary contracts and variable hours
- Prepare targeted liability correspondence
- Progress, handover and possible agreement
Distinguish the two organisations and their roles
Arboportaal explains that both staffing agency and host business bear health and safety responsibilities. Under Dutch working conditions law, the workplace business has the greatest responsibility for the site. Your employment relationship is with the agency. This does not allow choosing one party without investigation and excluding the other. Describe both roles.
Record legal names, contacts and placement period. Who assigned daily tasks, supplied equipment and arranged training? A floor supervisor cannot answer every wage or contract question, and an agency planner may not know the accident circumstances. Ask who answers each subject and what information passes between the organisations.
Risk information before starting
The host must, according to Arboportaal, send the relevant RI&E risk assessment section to the agency before placement. The agency has a role in informing the worker. Ask what was supplied and what instruction you received. Keep documents and record whether actual work matched the original assignment.
Later changes of tasks or machines may matter. Record who directed the change and any extra explanation or supervision. A general starter form does not prove every new task was covered. Equally, one absent signature does not decide the whole claim. Examine content, implementation and safety needs together.
Understandable instructions and actual guidance
State the language of instructions and whether you understood sufficiently. Signing Dutch wording does not automatically prove understanding by a foreign-language worker. Ask about demonstration, translation and checks. Describe specific misunderstandings honestly, without denying instruction that did take place. A complete account assists assessment.
Practical guidance matters too: available contacts, supervision and equipment. Record names or roles and ordinary practice. Colleagues may describe independent observations. Do not ask them to sign incomprehensible statements. Our translated information concerns Dutch law and does not guarantee multilingual professional services; ask providers directly beforehand.
Preserve reporting and evidence at both organisations
Report through the usual channels and obtain written confirmation from agency and host. Keep time, location, task, machine and witnesses. Request the incident report and relevant safety papers. Internal registration can be incomplete or serve another purpose than your civil claim. Request copies or targeted information and clearly identify factual additions.
Preserve records lawfully available to you and note material retained by the businesses. Do not take a whole company database to search for proof. A representative can request specific missing information. Track any inspectorate investigation separately. It may provide facts but does not automatically replace a liability notice or your deadline monitoring.
Keep sickness reporting, income and recovery organised
Follow the correct sickness procedure and ask who organises support. Arboportaal refers to agency and UWV roles depending on circumstances. Rights also depend on contract and applicable rules. Check required recipients and documents if unsure. Informing only the host supervisor does not automatically reach every necessary organisation.
Discuss medical questions with qualified professionals, rather than giving planners or managers your full health file unnecessarily. Preserve adapted-work, hours and contact arrangements. Liability disputes do not remove practical recovery needs. Ask separately about support, income and claim progress so referrals between business and agency do not leave every subject unanswered.
Assess temporary contracts and variable hours
Agency hours and placements can vary. Gather contracts, payslips, rotas, placement confirmations and concrete continuation promises. A single week’s average may misrepresent normal earnings. Examine a representative period and likely changes without the accident. A scheduled end date matters but does not automatically exclude every future income loss.
Identify other placements or jobs forming normal income. Keep evaluations and demonstrable arrangements without presenting a loose expectation as a guaranteed permanent contract. Experts can assess reasonable scenarios. Also record expenses and household help. Temporary continued wages do not resolve all losses; conversely, not every income difference is caused by injury.
Prepare targeted liability correspondence
Have the appropriate party or parties and grounds assessed. Describe relationship, task and circumstances using available evidence. Ask both organisations to clarify roles and insurers. Their agreement to resolve matters internally should not obscure who handles your request or monitors deadlines.
Request substantive reasons for refusal. Is the issue work connection, duty of care, conduct or symptom causation? Each requires different additions. A claim is not a competition to name the most businesses; each party needs a careful factual and legal connection. Discuss legal and investigation costs beforehand too.
Progress, handover and possible agreement
Maintain one list of contacts, references and answers. Confirm ownership of open points and expected responses. Changing planners, host companies and placement endings can scatter information. Keep records yourself and explicitly transfer deadline monitoring with legal representation. Ending a placement does not automatically end the injury question.
Check losses, advances, future work assumptions and final release in any offer. Employment termination wording can affect the claim; have both examined together. Understand rights and parties included. If recovery or work remains uncertain, ask how risk is treated. Our tools organise information rather than automatically approving an offer legally.
Frequently asked questions
Is the agency my only contact?
Not for every issue. Agency and host have different responsibilities. Record both and assess who must act legally on safety, sickness support and compensation.
What if I did not understand the instruction language?
Describe explanations received, unclear points, demonstrations and supervision. Comprehensibility can matter. Have circumstances assessed and do not sign a statement you cannot understand.
Do I lose the claim when the placement ends?
Not automatically. Preserve rotas, assignment details, contacts and working records promptly. Check liability and deadlines separately and ask how future income loss can be supported.
Must I wait for agency and host to agree internally?
Have your own position, recipients and deadlines monitored meanwhile. Identify who actually handles your claim. Their discussions do not automatically replace the steps needed to preserve your rights.
Who reports a reportable accident involving an agency worker?
The Dutch Labour Authority identifies the employer hiring the worker as responsible for reporting. Ask the hiring company who reported it and keep confirmation. Inform the agency too. A report to the inspectorate does not automatically decide which party must compensate your loss.
Sources for this article
This information concerns Dutch law. Consult the source for current guidance and seek advice about your own situation if you are unsure.
Agency workers — Dutch working conditions portalEmployer liability — Dutch working conditions portalWorkplace accident and occupational disease — Dutch judiciaryWorkplace accident — Dutch Legal Aid DeskMelding bij ingehuurd personeel — Nederlandse ArbeidsinspectieGeneral information. This does not replace individual legal advice.
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