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Cost pressure in 2026: according to Ronald Batenburg, this is the inescapable reality for companies
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Companies in the Netherlands and Europe face a perfect storm of rising costs in 2026. From flexible workforces to logistics and fleet management: new legislation, collective bargaining agreement changes, and market developments are driving costs ever higher.
Temporary workers: pension costs explode
As of January 1, 2026, the playing field for temporary agency workers will have completely changed due to legislative and collective labour agreement amendments. The new legislation, combined with the Labour Provision Admission Act (WTTA) effective from 2027, has been drafted to bring more certainty, equality, and fairness to the flexible labour market by reducing the gap with permanent employment, deterring unscrupulous agencies, and combating the structural undervaluation of temporary agency workers.
The goal is to provide temporary agency workers with the same total value in employment conditions as their permanent colleagues, with more stability and less competition on terms of employment. Temporary employment agencies must pay the full pension contribution of 15.9 percent from day one.
The consequence of this is already immediately visible to entrepreneurs who use flexible labour: rates have risen significantly, regardless of position, contract type, or sector premium. Employers are seeing their flexible workforce become significantly more expensive due to higher social insurance costs, WGA/ZW premiums, and Zvw levies. For companies with a heavy reliance on temporary agency workers, this means a direct hit on costs and margins. A trend that will persist as long as the labour shortage lasts.
