A court in the Netherlands ruled that current regulation on asylum seeker work restrictions, which limit work to a maximum of 24 weeks during the year, is in conflict with the EU’s Reception Conditions Directive.

According to the Dutch Judiciary, the Court has ruled that the UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency) may no longer refuse an employer a work permit for an asylum seeker if an asylum seeker will work more than 24 weeks per year.

The case comes after an asylum seeker with a work permit worked for an employer for 24 weeks. Both the asylum seeker and his employer wanted to continue working together after the employment contract had ended. The UWV rejected the application for a new work permit because the employee would then work more than the maximum permitted 24 weeks in a period of 52 weeks. 

After waiting 28 weeks, the employee went back to work for the employer with a work permit granted by the UWV. The UWV also rejected a new work permit after these 24 weeks. The employer and the employee said these Dutch regulations are in conflict with the European reception directive and brought the case to the court.

According to the Directive, asylum seekers are given access to the labour market no later than nine months after they submit an application for asylum. Member states may determine in national laws and regulations the conditions under which they can access the labour market. Member states must also ensure that asylum seekers have effective access to the labour market. 

The court interprets 'actual access' as 'effective access'. This means that the conditions set by the member states must not lead to this effective access being unnecessarily restricted.

According to the UWV, a further expansion of the possibilities for work could indicate that permanent residence in the Netherlands is possible. The UWV adds that the return of asylum seekers to their country is also made more difficult if they ‘establish a long-term employment relationship’ during their asylum procedure. According to them, this would be contrary to the aim of the legislator to pursue a restrictive admission policy.

Furthermore, the UWV argued that by maintaining 24 weeks as the maximum, no entitlement to unemployment benefit can arise. 

According to the court, an asylum seeker in the Netherlands is entitled to unemployment benefits in the event of unemployment if they worked at least 26 calendar weeks in a period of 36 weeks immediately prior to unemployment. This right ends as soon as the asylum seeker is no longer lawfully resident in the Netherlands. As a result, according to the court, there is no sign that permanent residence in the Netherlands is possible. 

“The court rules that the 24-week requirement unnecessarily restricts effective access to the labour market and is therefore contrary to the Reception Conditions Directive,” the court stated. “That is why the court has ruled that this 24-week requirement is non-binding. The UWV should therefore not have rejected the employer's applications for a work permit for the employee on this ground.”