The WPM will become applicable to Dutch employers with 100 or more employees as of July 1, 2024. This is based on the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number of the company. However, certain people fall outside the reporting obligation.
Target group WPM.
The number of people you employ determines whether you are subject to reporting obligations. The reporting obligation applies to companies with 100 or more employees. However, there are certain structures where it is not clear whether your employees are considered as employees. Think of a temporary employment agency, for example. In this blog, we delve deeper into the matter, based on the Guide to Data Collection for Work-Related Personal Mobility (2023 version).
To determine the number of employees in your organization, you add up the employees of all branches with the same Chamber of Commerce number. You report for all these branches together, and not per address or region. You are not obliged to report on branches outside the Dutch national borders.
Definition of employee.
Within the framework of WPM, it is essential to have clarity on who is considered an employee. According to WPM criteria, an employee is defined as a person with whom an employment contract has been agreed for a minimum of 20 hours per month.
This also includes, for example:
- Seasonal workers with an employment contract per reference date: persons who perform seasonal work and have an employment contract (of at least 20 hours per month) on the reference date fall within the definition of employee for WPM reporting.
- Foreign employees in Dutch branches: employees who are not residents of the Netherlands but perform work in a Dutch branch are also considered employees under the WPM criteria.
- If you are a payroll organization, and there is a temporary employment, secondment, or payroll structure with an employment contract between you and your employees, they count as employees for your organization.
Exceptions to employee status.
There are certain exceptions to who is considered an employee for the reporting obligation. These exceptions are important to form a good picture of the mobility situation of your company. You do not need to report on the exempted employees, and therefore you do not need to collect information about them.
The exempted categories of employees are:
- Employees with less than 20 hours per month: Persons with employment contracts that guarantee less than 20 hours per month are not subject to the reporting obligation. This includes employees with on-call and part-time contracts.
- Volunteers and political representatives: Persons who perform work on a voluntary basis, even if they receive an expense allowance, are not considered employees. Political representatives such as aldermen or city council members also fall outside this definition.
- Employees through temporary employment agencies: Employees who work at your organization through a temporary employment agency, where a temporary employment clause is contractually established, are not included in the reporting obligation. In this case, the temporary employment agency must ensure proper reporting for these individuals.
- Shareholders or partners without payroll registration: Shareholders or partners are not considered employees unless they are on your organization’s payroll.
Reference date.
The reference date for the number of employees in the organization is set at January 1 of each reporting year. Regardless of any growth during the year, the number of employees on this specific date determines the reporting obligation. Even if your organization reaches the threshold of 100 employees later in the year or falls below the reporting threshold, the number of employees as of the reference date is used. Please note: if you choose to start reporting as of July 1, 2024, this is also the reference date for your number of employees.
In cases where you are already obliged to prepare a report at the beginning of the reporting period, employees who become employed by your company during this period should be included in the report. It is not necessary to report ‘new’ employees as a separate group. This approach ensures a consistent and effective determination of the reporting obligation, regardless of the time of initial obligation and changes in the workforce during the reporting year.
There are other points of attention when preparing your report. You can read all about this in our blog Points of attention for the WPM report.
At Cooperate Green, we are happy to help you seamlessly align the reporting process with existing administrative processes. If necessary, we offer practical tips to adjust the administration or implement alternative methods for data collection.