Care organisations Zorggroep Drenthe, Zorggroep Flevoland and HBO college Avans in Breda have been fined a total of €700,000 for recruiting staff from Indonesia under false pretences.
The nurses were promised a traineeship and a 16-hour work contract but instead were put to work full-time at one of the two groups’ care facilities. “There was no supervised traineeship,” the inspectorate said.
Inspectors also found that the care groups did not have the right work permits in place and labelled the scheme a “bogus construction”.
Apart from the fine, the care groups were told that if they attempted to repeat the scam, all work at the facilities would be stopped.
The two care groups and Avans were planning to recruit some 1200 Indonesian students a year from 2021, despite warnings from the IND immigration service and several ministries that the scheme did not comply with the rules.
In 2024, a group of 15 students took the case to court, saying they had been exploited.
Avans settled out of court, paying the students a total of €100,000 in compensation. The IND had earlier withdrawn the international recognition from the HBO college, which means it can no longer sponsor residence for foreign students.
