A Lithuanian transport company suspected of running a sham branch in the Netherlands could lose its Dutch transport licences after inspectors found illegally employed non-EU drivers at a targeted roadside check in Moerdijk.
The Dutch Labour Inspectorate said 25 trucks were stopped during the integrated traffic inspection last week. Eight drivers were found to be working illegally, five of them for the same haulier, described as a Lithuanian company with a branch in the Netherlands.
The inspectorate said the haulier had been singled out for checks after earlier intelligence indicated that it regularly used drivers from outside the EU and that its Dutch branch might be a sham establishment.
The drivers came from countries including Uzbekistan and India. They were allegedly put to work without the required Dutch work permit, the tewerkstellingsvergunning, in breach of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act, the authority said.
Inspectors also found drivers illegally working for other companies. In one case, an Angolan driver was working through what inspectors described as an improper posting arrangement. The posting had not been reported, which the inspectorate said breached rules under the Mobility Directive on the posting of truck drivers.
Empty office found at Dutch branch
When inspectors visited the registered address of the Dutch branch, they found an empty office. The Labour Inspectorate said this confirmed earlier signals that the branch could be a schijnvestiging, or sham establishment.
The investigation then moved abroad. The day after the Moerdijk check, officers from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate and a national police expertise unit travelled to the company’s main office in Lithuania, alongside Lithuanian inspection services. That visit produced further evidence of illegal work involving a much larger number of drivers, the Dutch authority said.
The National and International Road Transport Organisation (NIWO) has now opened proceedings to withdraw all transport licences held by the company’s Dutch branch.
The case is not the first Dutch enforcement action involving Lithuanian-linked road transport operations. In April, Trans.info reported that the Dutch Council of State had allowed trade union FNV to challenge the level of a €10,500 fine imposed on a Lithuanian transport company for seven cab-rest infringements. In 2020, Trans.info also reported that a Dutch haulier with a Lithuanian company was fined €89,000 by the Dutch Labour Inspectorate after refusing to provide wage records for drivers working mainly in the Netherlands.
Minimum wage checks continue
The case is not limited to illegal employment. Inspectors found several indications that Dutch minimum wage and holiday allowance rules may also have been breached. Investigations into the drivers’ employment relationships and whether they were paid correctly under Dutch labour law are continuing.
The Dutch Labour Inspectorate has not published the company’s name.
