Liability insurance for a recruitment consultant
A recruitment consultant puts people to work on someone else's shop floor. So your policy turns on one question: do you only place people, or do you supply workers yourself?
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In brief
Your own physical risk is limited but not nil: you visit hirers, walk across building sites and through warehouses, and accidentally damage a computer, a facade panel or a machine there. Such property damage falls under the AVB through Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. On a workplace where personal protective equipment is compulsory you are vulnerable yourself as well; liability insurance never pays for your own injury, though, as it is there for the losses of others.
The centre of gravity lies elsewhere. As soon as you do more than match people and actually supply workers who are on your payroll, you are formally the employer. The duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code then applies to you, and subsection 4 extends it to work carried out at a third party's premises. If an agency worker is injured at the hirer's premises, you are held liable and must show that you assessed the workplace and passed on the right instructions. The employers' liability section is then not an option but a necessity.
Three categories stay outside cover. A candidate placed wrongly, a reference not checked or a permit missed costs the client money and is therefore pure financial loss; for that, look at professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals. Fines for employing someone without valid papers or for a privacy breach are punishments and not insurable. And a data breach involving candidate files belongs with cyber insurance. You can read the general explanation on the hub page on the AVB.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that determine which sections you actually need.
Matching or supplying workers
The legal difference determines the whole policy. If you match people and the candidate signs a contract with the client himself, your risk remains mainly professional. If you put people on your own payroll, the duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code rests entirely with you. Set out exactly which of the two you do on your application, and report it if that changes.
The workplace check is your evidence
A written workplace assessment at the hirer, with the risks, the protective equipment and the instruction given, is your most important document in an injury claim. Without it, the burden of proof under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code cannot be discharged. Repeat the check on renewal or when duties change. When a claim comes in, insurers ask for the most recent version.
Fines and chain liability
A fine for employing someone without a valid residence permit, an additional assessment for hirer's liability for wage taxes, a penalty payment from a regulator: these are not compensation to a third party but sanctions. Liability insurers exclude fines and penalty payments. You limit this risk with verification and record keeping, not with a policy.
Candidate data and incorrect references
You process identity documents, CVs and sometimes medical indications. If that data leaks, the administrative fine is not insurable and the costs of putting matters right and notification can only be placed on a cyber policy. If you pass on an incorrect reference and a client suffers loss, that is again financial loss and not a matter for the AVB.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover or placement fees: the basis on which the premium is calculated
- Your own agency workers on the payroll: decisive for employers' liability
- Sectors in which you place staff: construction, engineering and logistics carry a heavier injury risk
- Number of placements per year: more placements means more exposure
- Working on site at hirers: visits to production environments count
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| During a tour at a hirer you knock a laptop off a desk | Yes | No |
| An agency worker on your payroll is injured on a machine at the hirer | Yes | No |
| A worker you placed knocks over a warehouse racking with a forklift | Yes | No |
| You place a forklift driver without a valid certificate and the hirer has to stop production | No | Yes |
| The hirer demands the placement fee back because the candidate leaves after two weeks | No | Provided that |
| You sprain your ankle on a building site during a workplace visit | No | No |
If you put people on your own payroll, the centre of gravity in this table shifts to the top half.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I have no staff. Why would I need employers' liability?
Because the duty of care does not hang on a contract of employment. Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code applies to everyone carrying out work in the course of your profession, even without an employment relationship. If you put someone to work at a client, you can be held liable for it. If you only match people, the risk is smaller, but record that in your contracts.
An agency worker was injured at the hirer's premises. Who is liable?
Both the formal employer and the hirer can be held liable. The hirer has actual control over the workplace, the supplier has the duty of care under Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code. In reality the claim often reaches both and the division is settled between insurers. Your workplace assessment determines how that division works out.
A client says we placed an unsuitable candidate.
A claim of that kind is about costs incurred and results not achieved and therefore about pure financial loss. The AVB is not intended for it. It covers injury and damaged property. Professional indemnity insurance covers this type of complaint, including the cost of defence. Limit your liability in your terms as well, to a replacement placement for instance.
We were fined over an employee without valid papers.
That fine is not insurable. Administrative fines and penalty payments are sanctions and not compensation to an injured party, which is why almost every liability policy excludes them. The same applies to fines from the Dutch data protection authority. Only strict identity verification and watertight records limit this risk.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
- Liability insurance for a recruitment agencyFormal employer status, hiring in, duty of care
- Liability insurance for a recruiterRecruitment and selection, office at home, candidate files
- Liability insurance for a recruitment agencyOwn staff, consultants on the road, secondment
- Liability insurance for a self-employed teacherTeaching on site, pupils, practical rooms
- Liability insurance for a call centreScreen work, duty of care, rented space
- Liability insurance for a self-employed online marketerAdvertising budgets, account access, tracking
- Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) through a.s.r.Staff, hired-in workers, occupational illness
- Liability insurance for a self-employed call centre agentLoaned equipment, engagement terms, home workplace