The easy guide to employee background checks in the Netherlands

When thinking about hiring employees in the Netherlands, don’t skip the background check step in the screening process. Verifying the potential employee’s credentials through an employment background check is helpful to see if they’re a good fit for your company and vital to eliminating risks of fraud or liability to your company.

But what type of background check is allowed in the Netherlands? Staying compliant with employment verification, worker classification, and everything that comes with hiring abroad can be challenging for a global company. As an employer, you’ll need to keep track of local laws and regulations to see what type of personal data you can access before hiring. For example, in the Netherlands, the potential employee must have signed a consent form before you conduct a background check.

Read on to find out how to stay legally compliant when requesting employee background checks in the Netherlands and what mistakes to skip to avoid sanctions.

Table of Contents

Are you legally required to run background checks on Dutch employees?

No, running background checks in the Netherlands isn't legally required. 

Most Dutch employers do a background screening to verify employment history. Still, background checks are closely monitored by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ensure the candidate's personal data privacy.

Employers must adhere to Article 88 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Article 88 says employers can only access data directly relevant to the open role. Running a background check also requires a signed consent form from the candidate. The employer must adhere to local laws, protect the candidate's personal data, and gather only the necessary information to make the correct hiring decision.

Is it legal to run background checks on Dutch contractors?

Yes, it’s legal to run background checks on contractors as long as you get written, signed consent from the prospective contractor. 

What types of background checks do businesses commonly run on Dutch employees and contractors?

The Netherlands has a particular framework and limitations surrounding the background screening process. During the hiring process, employers must have a legitimate reason for the employment screening related to the role. There are a few types of background checks you can do in the Netherlands. 

Here’s each type of check in more detail:

What types of background checks are illegal in the Netherlands?

When should you conduct Dutch employee background checks?

Pre-employment screenings occur before the Dutch applicant is hired and given an employment contract. Before sending an offer letter, the employer should conduct all necessary background checks and confirm that the candidate is the right one for the vacant position.

Before conducting any background check, the employer must ask the job candidate to complete and sign a consent form with the background screening details.

The easiest way to run a background check on a Dutch employee or contractor

There are several different companies that can run background checks on employees in the Netherlands, including Rippling, Skuad, and HireRight. The easiest by far is Rippling because background checks are directly integrated into the onboarding flow. Just enter basic hiring info like salary and start date, and Rippling will send the offer letter and new hire paperwork—and automatically run a legally compliant background check and e-verify the results. See Rippling today.

Run background checks automatically in just 90 seconds—for every new hire

See Rippling