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Sara
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The Dutch government has relaxed the rules on how many trainee workers you can deploy on a childcare group. In plain terms: you are now allowed to count more people who are still completing their training as regular staff, without falling short of the legal requirements.
The change is part of the Regeling Wet kinderopvang, the ministerial regulation under the Dutch Childcare Act. It takes effect on 1 July 2026 and runs until 1 July 2028. At the end of 2027 the minister will decide whether the rule becomes permanent or ends.
The rule applies to:
It does not apply to childminders (gastouders) or childminder agencies (gastouderbureaus). The rules for interns (stagiairs) do not change either, the maximum for interns stays at one third of staff.
Until 2022, a maximum of one third of the staff on a group could be a trainee childcare worker. A trainee childcare worker is someone following a recognised vocational training programme, such as a BBL (work-based learning) trajectory, while working at your organisation at the same time.
Because of persistent staff shortages in the sector, this maximum was temporarily raised to half in 2022. That temporary change is now being formalised as a structural rule until 1 July 2028.
Practical example: if two staff members are required on a group, one of them may be a trainee worker.
You cannot simply place a trainee on a group without preparation. There are three required steps.
Step 1: you draw up a supervision plan (begeleidingsplan) for the trainee worker.
Step 2: the trainee worker, the workplace supervisor (praktijkbegeleider) and the training supervisor (opleidingsbegeleider) all agree to and sign the plan.
Step 3: only then can the trainee count toward the required staff-to-child ratio (beroepskracht-kindratio, BKR).
Without an approved supervision plan, the trainee does not count. That means you will fall short during a GGD inspection if the paperwork is not in order.
Payroll and salary scales. Trainee workers generally earn less than fully qualified staff members. Check that the salary scales in your payroll records match the trainee's level and any applicable collective labour agreement (cao).
Attendance registers. You are legally required to record when each staff member, including trainee workers, was present on the group. Keep this register for at least six weeks. The GGD regional health authority may request it at any time during an inspection.
Personnel files. The supervision plan is a legal document. Store it in the employee's file alongside the employment contract and other records.
Subsidies and wage cost benefits. If you work with BBL trajectories, you may qualify for the Subsidy Scheme for practice-based learning (praktijkleer subsidie) through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) or for a wage cost benefit (loonkostenvoordeel, LKV) through the Dutch Tax Authority. We are happy to check what applies to your situation.
Nothing needs to be applied for. The change takes effect automatically on 1 July 2026. It is worth having your supervision plans and staffing schedule ready before that date so you can make use of the new rules from day one.
Questions about payroll, personnel files or subsidies for your childcare organisation? Contact Sarabel and we will help you sort it out.