The postal and courier industry is experiencing golden times, boosted by the corona pandemic. The holiday season, in particular, certainly did not hurt the industry. Black Friday, St. Nicholas and Christmas caused a doubling of work. It is good news for these companies, but also brings challenges. Somewhere the maximum achievable capacity will be reached and then, if you want to keep growing, there is no other option but to expand. Vehicles may still be available, but these vehicles also need to be driven. And that is where the problem lies in times of labor shortages.

Many companies in the courier industry perform licensed professional freight transport. This type of transport is subject to the so-called requirement of employment and therefore it is not possible to use just any person as a driver. It is only allowed when an employment contract has been concluded with the driver in question. There are two exceptions to this. Firstly, it is possible to temporarily borrow drivers from another professional haulage contractor or a temporary employment agency with a KIWA certificate, provided the requirements and conditions are met. The other possibility is for the courier company to use sub-carriers, such as self-employed drivers or charters. Here it is important that the sub-carrier has his own vehicle(s) and NIWO license(s). It is expressly forbidden to use self-employed drivers within the professional transport of goods. Nevertheless, this still happens quite often in daily practice.

Suitable personnel are also being sought across national borders. And not only within Europe, but also beyond. And that is precisely where the risk of illegal employment of foreigners lies. Not only for the courier company itself, but for everyone in the chain. It all goes to show that in this overstrained market there is a chronic shortage of personnel, and it happens that in the process insufficient attention is paid to the relevant laws and regulations. Inspection agencies have caught on to that, too.

Just recently, the Dutch Labor Inspectorate investigated a large package organization and four contractors in the same chain for working hours, underpayment and the illegal employment of drivers and foreigners. After an extensive investigation, several fines were imposed totaling 828,000 euros. This is far from the end of the matter. With emerging initiatives such as the Transport and Logistics program, the Dutch Labor Inspectorate will continue to work to address abuses in the postal and courier industry in the coming years.

I expect the growth in parcel delivery to continue this year, partly due to newly emerging initiatives. Such as flash delivery companies like Flink, Gorillas and Getir. Couriers will thus also have to pull out all the stops this year to find enough drivers. This makes it imperative to keep a close eye on the legal side of this market.

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