The Chinese restaurant in the Hague, Fat Kee, has allegedly been serving other purposes outside its main one; therefore, it has been closed by the Labour Inspectorate for a month.
Apart from offering food and drink services, the restaurant has allegedly been falsifying its employees’ work permits, Schengen.News reports.
According to the Labour Inspectorate, the Chinese restaurant has been subject to similar claims and received fines of nearly €16,000.
The Inspectorate said that in recent years, it repeatedly found employees at the restaurant “performing other work than their work permits allowed.”
It noted that in the recent inspection, it found an employee who didn’t obtain the proper work permit allowing the employee to work at the restaurant. In this case, the Inspectorate said that the company’s administration was again not following the required regulations.
The restaurant will be shut down for one month after being in the spotlight for several violations of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act. According to a report from NL Times, the Chinese restaurant Fat Kee has been offering services for about 20 years.
Chinese Nationals Required to Apply for a Work Permit to Work in Netherlands
Chinese nationals who want to legally stay and work in the Netherlands are required to apply for a work permit first.
There are several work permit types which Chinese nationals are required to apply for before heading to the Netherlands. Chinese nationals who want to work in restaurants in the Netherlands are required to apply for a regular work permit known as Tewerkstellingsvergunning (TWV), Seasonal Work Permit, or Highly Skilled Migrant permit, among others, depending on their job.
Since the Netherlands is also dealing with labour shortages noted in several industries, it is aiming to attract workers from other countries to deal with the situation.
The statistics from the Netherlands’ Insurance Agency UWV revealed that in the first half of 2024, the UWV received a total of 18,800 work permit applications, while throughout 2023, there were 20,900 work permit applications, indicating a significant increase registered for a period from January until June 2024.
Source: https://schengen.news/netherlands-shuts-popular-restaurant-over-work-permit-falsification-allegations/
