Unrest at another gov't agency will further delay overdue child support payments

A mother sleeps with her baby - Credit: - License: DepositPhotos Politics Friday, 9 October 2026 - 20:20

People waiting for overdue child support must wait longer for help because of problems at the Landelijk Bureau Inning Onderhoudsbijdragen (LBIO). There is unrest among staff, complaints about the workplace atmosphere and working conditions, a heavy workload, and outdated systems, State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen of Legal Protection wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer.

Sick leave at the LBIO is high, the D66 official reports. That drives the workload still higher and causes still more employees to drop out, Van Bruggen writes, calling it a vicious circle.

About 80 people work at the LBIO. Their job is to get payment of overdue child support moving. Management, the works council, and the Netherlands Labour Authority have received complaints about the poor workplace atmosphere. The director also fell ill at the start of this year.

After the director went on sick leave, the ministry took a firmer hand, but that has not yet produced major improvements. “All efforts by the LBIO and the ministry are aimed at restoring services to the desired level within the foreseeable future,” Van Bruggen said.

The ministry has appointed an interim director tasked with improving the workplace culture and clearing the backlogs. Extra staff have been assigned to work down those arrears.

The aim is to ensure that people who depend on the LBIO to receive their child support “are adequately helped again within the foreseeable future.” The letter does not say how long that period is.

Reporting by ANP