02-05-2024 | By Iep van der Meer
PostNL has received a fine of no less than 24.4 million euros from the Public Prosecution Service in Belgium. According to the prosecutor, parts of the company unlawfully employed third-party personnel for several years.
The employees in question were ‘independent’ or worked for subcontractors, but according to the prosecutor they were fully controlled by PostNL, as if they were employees. Important in the attorney’s argument are the agreements that PostNL Cargo and PostNL Pakketten concluded with 220 subcontractors. Belgian law sets strict conditions for this service agreement. For example, this must be drawn up in writing and the details of the instructions that a staff lending company may give must be detailed. The prosecutor refers to a ruling by the Court of Cassation: if the conditions are not met, the agreement is not legitimate.
Because the agreements were insufficient, unlawful action was taken under Article 31 of the Belgian Temporary Employment Act. PostNL was not only leading in managing the subcontractors, the company also had a lot of influence in recruitment and selection. PostNL Netherlands was also involved.
All this leads to a penalty of no less than 24.4 million euros. For the record, PostNL as a whole made a profit of 56 million euros last year. If the fine is awarded, approximately half of the company’s profit will evaporate. Naturally, PostNL does not agree with the requirement. To be continued.
