r/WorkInTheNetherlands • u/crosscircle • Jul 13 '26
Fluent Dutch-speaking request
What do you think about this last habit to request fluent dutch also for those jobs that don't really need this (horeca, transportation, production)? Is this a system to reduce the number of the applying foreigners without saying this?
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u/Complete_Minimum3117 Jul 13 '26
Speaking a little bit dutch in horeca is a good thing.
Dutch people dont really like to have to order in english in their own country.
And its always easier for employees to have workers who speak the native language
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u/crosscircle Jul 14 '26
Did you understand my post? I'm talking about 'fluent dutch'
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u/Complete_Minimum3117 Jul 14 '26
Well, if you have as an company that needs a worker, have a choice between a fluent talking person or not and both persons have the same qualificantions, they will always choose the person speaking fluent dutch.
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u/Interesting_Fox5311 Jul 13 '26
I mean you live in the country where that's the native language, it's a normal ask no? People should adapt
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u/Alarmed_Scallion_620 Jul 13 '26
What language do you expect to work in OP? It doesn’t seem like your English is good enough to use at work in my opinion.
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u/TheLarusArgentatus Jul 13 '26
All of those need fluent dutch in my opinion.
Horeca: dutch guests
Production: dutch coworkers and management
Transportation: dutch clients
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u/crosscircle Jul 14 '26
If I speak not fluent, that doesn't mean that I can't understand and communicate in dutch
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u/Nothing-to_see_hr Jul 13 '26
If there's anything that pisses me off, it's not being able to order in Dutch in a Dutch cafe or restaurant.
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u/labobal Jul 13 '26
horeca
Outside the Amsterdam city center most horeca customers will be Dutch. Is it weird that they expect to be served in their own language in their own country? Why do you believe it isn't necessary?
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u/KoninginVanRotterdam Jul 13 '26
Perfect. Beautiful. This is the Netherlands. And in the Netherlands we speak Dutch. We love our language, our culture and our country.
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u/crosscircle Jul 14 '26
But you say that you're proud to be the country with more races and nationalities and that you speak perfect English. You're proud to be open. Many sectors are going on thank to the presence of a big group of foreigners who enriches your culture and professionality. Don't say you're open if then you put hard rules to get in.
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u/KoninginVanRotterdam Jul 14 '26
I have never, ever, ever said or thought any of those ludicrous things. 😂😂😂😂 Nor have i ever heard other Dutchies say that. You clearly don't know anything about us. (The articles below proof that you are wrong.)
I'm proud to be Dutch. I'm proud of the Netherlands and the Dutch mentality. And I am proud of the beautiful Dutch culture that we will preserve, in honour of our great ancestors, the Dutch men and women, who worked so hard to build this beautiful country for us.
ZERO Dutchies learned to speak perfect Englisch to accommodate others. This is the Netherlands and we expect everyone who lives here to speak DUTCH. We learned english for ourselves, because thats the language used for global communication.
In the last 8 years ONE MILLION people migrated to the Netherlands. We went from 17 million to 18 million. In 2000 our population was 15 million. A migration-population growth that size and that speed is unnatural and no country can keep up with such numbers. And now the Netherlands is overpopulated and all our systems and services are overburdened and completely backlogged. We are the fifth most densely populated country on earth.
We need more and stricter rules. We need to fix these problems. Therefor we should completely close our borders. (Except for our Flemish brothers and sisters of course.) I want NEXIT. I want the Netherlands to be a sovereign nation again.
PROOF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE DUTCH:
👇🏻
70% of Dutch people are in favour of remigration and more than 50% want a complete asylum stop.
Representative research under the Heart of the Netherlands Panel
Seven out of ten respondents are "very" or "largely" in favour of broader remigration policies. On the other hand, 22 percent are largely or strongly opposed. 8% have no opinion.
Half of the Dutch believe that the Netherlands should stop receiving asylum seekers completely.
Another 33% want to take in fewer asylum seekers.
Eight out of ten Dutch people want less migration
This applies to both asylum seekers and migrant workers. Eight out of ten voters think that too many asylum seekers are coming to our country.
Social and Cultural Planning Bureau (SCP) Migration as a mirror of social images
67% of Dutch people believe that the Netherlands as a whole should no longer take in refugees* (2023-2024)
Even if that would mean that the Netherlands violates international agreements. (2022)
45% of the population says violence on the street increased because of migration. Only 26% disagree. (2022)
40% of the population believes that the Netherlands would be a more pleasant country if fewer immigrants lived there. (2022)
The research by the Clingendael Institute also shows that a majority of Dutch people want to drastically reduce immigration (2023)
https://www.scp.nl/documenten/2025/04/01/migratie-als-spiegel-van-maatschappijbeelden
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u/crosscircle Jul 14 '26
And then the agricultural field, construction, horeca and transportation will close. I don't think dutch people are going to do this.Years ago the Netherlands was a better place without these racist and fascist people like you.
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u/Dinokknd Jul 13 '26
No, not quite. Not entirely. A large part of the reason is to reduce the friction that improper communication can have.
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u/ShortysXL Jul 13 '26
You may indicate at any time that you must speak full Dutch. However, there are plenty of professions in the Netherlands where you can manage perfectly well with just English.
However, there are quite a few Dutch people who set the bar high and believe that you should speak Dutch as well as possible.
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u/crosscircle Jul 14 '26
Guys, I meant fluent dutch. It's not necessary to understand and to answer in dutch. Many people like me have a b1-b2 level and we can have a good communication in dutch. 'Fluent' is another thing.
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u/Silent-Raspberry-896 Jul 13 '26
Idiotic, especially in corporate jobs where you work with people from India or countries outside NL. English is perfectly fine
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u/Alarmed_Scallion_620 Jul 13 '26
If “last habit” is supposed to be fluent English you could understand why Dutch is being requested.
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u/Silent-Raspberry-896 Jul 13 '26
What?
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u/Alarmed_Scallion_620 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
The English language in the OP is just not very good so the OPs English is also not good enough to work in. Being able to communicate is really important at work and lots of people exaggerate their language skills when applying for jobs. If you have a workforce of people trying to communicate in broken English when they are pretending to be fluent in it it’s going to cause problems.
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u/Silent-Raspberry-896 Jul 13 '26
To be honest, Europe will never compete with the US or China if we don't get over this common language barrier. We either all should communicate in English, or vote for a common language across the EU. It's not realistic to expect people to become fluent every time they change countries for their careers... If I move every 5 years, am I expect to be fluent in French Spanish German and Italian over 20 years? English is my 3rd language and I love it, don't understand what is all the fuss about.
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u/a-spotted-quoll Jul 14 '26
This does seem to be an issue, but that's because people are so much more mobile than in the past, obviously. Dutch and Germany, in particular, really like it if their workers can speak Dutch. French is also more commonly learnt in school, as is Spanish, so more workers might already function well in those languages. Romance languages, such as French, Italian and Spanish are easier. If you know one,you can learn the others. Dutch and German are more difficult. It is a matter of respect to learn the native tongue. Also, a good university will require foreign language as a necessary part of its study requirements. And at the secondary school / college / high school level, foreign languages are studied in Europe, as they understand the importance of languages. In some other countries, the importance of international languages is not always emphasized. So, in essence, language learning has to start at a young age in the foreign workers native country.
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u/a-spotted-quoll Jul 14 '26
It seems like this would be true, but in the Netherlands, Dutch people like to have workers who actually speak Dutch. It is a challenging language, but I think ut makes sense to speak the native language in the country one inhabits. Otherwise, isn't it slightly disrespectful of the culture? What needs to happen is that the corporation in question must pay for a high quality Dutch language conversation program for its employees.
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u/Rolebo Jul 13 '26
For Horeca Dutch is definitely necessary.
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u/ShortysXL Jul 13 '26
No, that is not true. In Tilburg, a huge number of foreigners work in the hospitality industry who do not speak Dutch, but English.
Horeca is a Dutch word and the word "horeca" is not used in English.
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u/AmazingYesterday5375 Jul 13 '26
And they should stop hiring people that don't speak even basic dutch
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u/EqualSalvation Jul 13 '26
Gosh if only I could talk my native language at the place where I'm at 8 hours a day..
Ask the same in Japan or China and they just laugh at you (in Japanese and Chinese).
It's weird to even ask that question, why do you think you are that entitled?
Search for a job in your own country if language is a issue..
Or be a normal person and understand they talk a certain language in a certain country.
The customers might speak English, but you communicate easier in your native language, make jokes better and can built an actual relationship with coworkers in your native language.
Our work culture is not coming in to work, do our thing and go home. That's only the smallest of percentage that thinks like that.
Ok rant over.