Start People, the USG People brand, announced the launch of an initiative to help temporary employees in the Netherlands buy their own home, according to the Dutch staffing industry news site Flexnieuws.

As people in flexible employment relationships usually struggle to tick all the right boxes with mortgage lenders, Start People has introduced a solution for temporary employees to ensure they are eligible to buy their own home.

The trend towards flexible working is irreversible and an increasing proportion of the workforce has a flexible employment relationship. As much as 17% of all workers aged 25 or older worked as a temporary employee in 2015 in the Netherlands, either on a fixed-term contract, through a temporary agency or as a self-employed contractor. This figure is expected to rise further in the coming years. A large proportion of this sizable group of people often fail to secure a mortgage.

"Non-standard employment relationships are very common in the Netherlands. It is therefore strange that this group finds it so hard to qualify for a mortgage, "said Jan-Willem Gelderblom, managing director of Start People.

 "Temporary employees who have worked for years and have a decent income cannot always buy their own home, while someone with a permanent contract but a lower salary will have no issues. At Start People we pride ourselves to be good employers and we want to help our workers", Gelderblom added.

Start People has entered into a partnership with mortgage broker the Hypotheekshop and labour market analysts the Intelligence Group. Together, they have developed the Labour Market Scan. Flexworkers wishing to qualify for a mortgage can take a test to determine their chances in the labour market over the next five years. The Scan considers education, location of residence, age, work experience, current job, but also the risk of unemployment and the prospects for the next five years.

The test provides a score for the opportunities in the labour market for a particular worker. With a score of 70% or higher, the temporary employee qualifies for a mortgage. An adviser to the Hypotheekshop then assists with the search for a suitable mortgage.

"With the Labour Market Scan we are able to make a good estimate of a person's earning potential," says Lodewijk van der Heijden, Director at CMIS Franchise, the parent company of the Hypotheekshop. "We don’t just focus on the workers current income, but also personal circumstances."