In a judgment dated 26 February 2026, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that an employee who had been seconded from India to a Dutch subsidiary for many years had, in the end, entered into an employment contract with that Dutch company. The ruling demonstrates that, under certain facts and circumstances, a long-term secondment arrangement can evolve into an employment relationship with the company to which the employee was originally seconded.
The facts
The employee was employed by an Indian company, Tata Ltd. Since 2015, he had been working for Tata NL, the Dutch subsidiary of the same group. The secondment was originally intended to be temporary, but it was extended several times. As a result, the employee ultimately worked in the Netherlands for more than ten years.
After the expiry of the last secondment agreement on 27 January 2023, the employee continued to perform his work in the Netherlands for Tata NL. He continued to receive assignments and instructions from Tata NL and reported exclusively to Tata NL. The employee’s final assignment ended on 30 June 2025. On 5 September 2025, Tata Limited informed the employee that the secondment agreement was ending and that he was required to return to India.
The employee argued that an employment contract with Tata NL had come into existence and, among other things, sought continued payment of his salary through the courts.
Judgment of the Subdistrict Court
The Subdistrict Court held that, throughout the secondment period, Tata NL was, in any event, the employee’s economic employer on the basis of the secondment agreement between Tata NL and Tata Limited. However, the court then considered whether Tata NL had, in the meantime, also become the employee’s legal employer in practice. According to the Subdistrict Court, this question had to be assessed in light of all the facts and circumstances of the case.
Based on those facts and circumstances, the Subdistrict Court concluded that the secondment agreement between the employee and Tata Limited had already come to an end on 27 January 2023. After that date, however, the employee continued to work for Tata NL, received his assignments from Tata NL, was fully integrated into Tata NL’s organisation, worked alongside Tata NL colleagues, and was paid by Tata NL. The court held that, from that date onwards at the latest, Tata NL had also become the employee’s legal employer in practice. After all, following 27 January 2023, the employee had continued to perform work for Tata NL, for remuneration and over a period of time, under the authority and direction of Tata NL.
The Subdistrict Court therefore concluded that an employment contract had existed between the employee and Tata NL since 27 January 2023. The termination notice issued by Tata Limited on 5 September 2025 in relation to the non-renewed secondment agreement could not be regarded as a termination of the employment contract that had by then come into existence between Tata NL and the employee. As a result, that employment contract remained fully in force, and the employee’s salary had to continue to be paid at the level that Tata NL had been paying since the end of the secondment agreement.
Conclusion
This judgment demonstrates that, under certain facts and circumstances, a long-term secondment arrangement can evolve into an employment contract with the host company. This may occur where a seconded employee continues, over an extended period, to perform work for the host company under its authority and direction, in return for remuneration, and in doing so becomes fully integrated into the host company’s organisation in practice.
Does this situation sound familiar to you? Or do you have other questions about secondment arrangements, (international) employment law, or a potential dismissal dispute?
If so, please feel free to contact the lawyers at Ko & Co Advocaten for a no-obligation consultation.
Hian Li Ko | Ko & Co Advocaten
