Work permits

Every now and then the discussion pops up: who has to pay for work permits? In a related article, attorney Cor Merx notes that, as employers want to hire someone, said employers will have to pay. It makes sense, and the law says as much.

The employer pays for the work permits.

But. But.

Nowhere in the law does it say that employers are not free to recoup these expenses from their employees. That is how things work in practice: the employer indeed pays for the work permits, but in the end the employees are charged for it.

One may wonder whether this is reasonable or not, but most employers make this a conditions before they hire someone. And employees are free to accept or to refuse such a condition. Of course, the consequence of a refusal is that the employer will hire somebody else.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to have this discussion once more, because times change, people change, and opinions change as well.

However, as long as the law does not explicitly prohibit employers from demanding payment for work permits from their employees, most of them will continue with the current practice.