Employer of Record Case Study: How We Rebuilt a Croatian Workforce in the Netherlands, Legally

A Dutch manufacturer asked us in early 2026 whether we could employ their Croatian workers at their factory in the Netherlands, and what their current arrangement was actually worth.

For years the workers came through a Croatian provider that handled employment, payroll and transport. From the Dutch side it looked clean. An invoice arrived, workers arrived, the line ran. That is why these arrangements survive as long as they do.

Then their HR manager started asking questions. Nothing was registered. No declared salary in the Croatian pension and health systems, so no contributions ever paid. No A1 certificates. No posting notification in the Netherlands. Ten workers, not one insured day between them.

That was not only the provider's problem. The Dutch client has to verify the posting notification within five working days, and under the Dutch Labour Market Fraud Act an underpaid worker can hold every client in the chain liable for wages. Invoices are not a defence.

They shut it down the same day, expensive and correct. With a factory to run and nobody to run it, they then met every EOR on their list, and chose us because we answered their questions on Croatian law in the meeting rather than coming back next week.

What followed: HZMO records pulled worker by worker, contracts under the Zakon o radu with the mandatory posting particulars, tested against the Dutch hard core terms, every worker registered before the first hour of work, A1 files submitted, the Dutch portal notified before anyone travelled. First rotation left on schedule, and ten people finally have a service record.

If you use a Croatian partner for posted workers, ask a worker for their HZMO record, not the provider. It settles the question in ninety seconds.