Contracting for UK Company in The Netherlands

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

I've heard of the payroll/umbrella company method, but that was before Brexit.  Whatever, if that is still a way to do this, then I'd be interested in knowing who you are doing it through and whether they are willing to do the same for other Expats (so I can pass on the info).  I do know that they charged a significant amount of money for this service.

Limited Company - I don't think you can do it as they will not let you set up a Ltd Company with only one non-Dutch customer; at least that's what other Expats who have tried what you are doing have told us recently.  The best people to speak to are at the KvK; this link will take you straight to their website, there's a contact section in the top right corner of the webpage.

Please let us know how you get on.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thank you, that is helpful.

I will certainly get in touch with the KvK. Setting up a BV is actually what the accountant recommended as the best option for me but again maybe things have changed now since Brexit or maybe they were just wrong!

I'm finding it very hard to get a clear understanding of how the payroll thing works so i have contacted several companies now explaining my situation. Hopefully i will hear back soon and will certainly update you if I get any useful info about how it all works.

Thanks again

Hi again.

I first looked at the payroll option 20 years ago when I was considering doing it.  Your employer provides your UK contract and they transfer the specifics to a Dutch version and you become an employee of the Dutch company, although still managed by your UK employer.  They charged a % of the salary/bonus (I think it was 10%) for their trouble.  I think it worked then because the EU legislation provided for cross-border workers.

In the end, I never did it and moved back to the UK; the tax situation got very complicated with no single person at the Belastingdienst saying the same thing twice and the social taxes were crippling.

My employer does actually have an office in The Netherlands (it does totally different work to the UK office) so the obvious answer to my issue is for them to add me as an employee here through that office.

They rejected that idea outright last year though - hard to get a clear answer from senior managers sometimes but i gather they were worried about potential Brexit issues and i guess they didn't want to deal with the specifics of transferring me to a Dutch contract.

However, by what you're saying there it sounds as if the Payroll company thing would be just as much if not more hassle to setup plus more expensive for me and them. If i get enough info about how it all works then i can present a case to them that they should just employ me in our office here instead. I will certainly bring up elements of what you've said here along with any other stuff i can get from these companies so thanks again for the info it's all useful!