Tightened conditions in a row

New SNA standard: tightening of hiring and subcontracting

As of the revised SNA standard as of 13-2-2023, there is also a tightening in the area of hiring (and on-lending) personnel and outsourcing work. In this article, we list the tightened requirements.

Borrowers and subcontractors

If you borrow or on-lend personnel, you may face hirer's liability. Hirer's liability is liability for payroll taxes and VAT not paid by the hirer. If you borrow personnel, the tax authorities may hold you liable for this. The brochure of the tax authorities includes how a hirer or hirer can avoid liability on the basis of the disculpation scheme.

The hirer or hirer must meet the following conditions:

• The company meets the NEN 4400-1 or the NEN 4400-2 standard and is included in the register of the Stichting Normering Arbeid (SNA);
• The invoice shows the number or reference of the agreement to which the invoice applies;
• The invoice states the period or periods of time to which the invoice applies;
• The invoice states the description or characteristic of the work to which the invoice applies.

In addition, the hirer must meet the following conditions:

• The hirer pays 25% of the invoice amount (including VAT) into the hirer's g-account (when VAT is reverse-charged, it is 20% of the invoice amount).
• Upon payment, the hirer provided the invoice number and any other identifying information on the invoice.
• The hirer's records provide immediate insight into the details of the hiring, man-hour records and payments.
• The hirer can prove the identity of the hired worker.
• The hirer can prove, if applicable, that the hired worker has a valid residence or work permit.

Outsourcing work

If you, as a contractor (for example, in the construction, shipbuilding, metal construction or apparel industry) outsource part of the work to another party, you may face chain liability. The chain liability scheme is a measure against potential abuse by contractors and subcontractors in the payment of payroll taxes. The scheme makes each link in the chain liable for all subsequent links. A brochure from the tax authorities is also available on liability for payroll taxes when outsourcing work.

Good administration will moderate the anonymity rate. It does if you can provide records that allow the tax authorities to attribute the employee's wages to his work and that allow you to prove the identity of the employee used by your subcontractor. You can prove the identity of the employee deployed by your subcontractor with the following information about that employee:

• Name, address and residence information.
• Date of birth
• Citizen service number
• Specification of the hours worked
• Nationality
• Type of identity document, its number and period of validity
• Presence of A1 certificate, residence permit, work permit or notification (if applicable)
• Name, address and residence of the subcontractor and the subcontractor's registration number with the Chamber of Commerce

To qualify for exemption from chain liability, the company must meet the following conditions:

• Your records must show the details of the invoice immediately.
• The subcontractor's invoice must meet the requirements of Section 35a of the Turnover Tax Act 1968.
• In addition, that invoice must contain the following information:
  • The number or reference, if any, of the contract for which the subcontractor or garment contractor performed the invoiced service(s).
  • The time period(s) during which that performance or performances were performed.
  • The designation or characteristic of the work to which the payment relates.

You must keep man-hour records (record of hours worked) that establish your liability for the work in question.

Establishing identity

For the provision of labor and contracting of work, the identity of persons must be established in certain situations.

Provision of labor:

The hiring and on-lending of labor is permitted under the following conditions.

If laborers who are nationals of a member state of the European Union, or the European Economic Area, or Switzerland are used, the company must prove that the identity of these persons has been established. This includes at least the following:

• name;
• the type of identity document;
• the number of the identity document;
• the period of validity of the identity document.

Contracting of work:

The hiring of personnel and/or outsourcing of work (other than self-employed workers) is permitted under the following conditions.

If workers are nationals of a member state of the European Union, or the European Economic Area, or Switzerland, are deployed, the company must demonstrate that the identity of these persons has been established. This includes at least the following:

• name;
• the type of identity document;
• the number of the identity document;
• the period of validity of the identity document.

Data protection

For the sake of completeness, please note that under the General Data Protection Regulation, you may not request a copy of the identity document for this purpose. It is sufficient to copy the relevant data from the original identity document. You cannot use a driver's license to establish identity because it does not contain the employee's nationality. On the basis of other legislation (e.g. the Foreign Nationals (Employment) Act or the Payroll Tax Act 1964) it may be obligatory to request and keep a copy of the proof of identity. For example, for foreigners with a 'residence permit employment free allowed'.