Wij leggen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vast.

Because vastleggen is a separable verb in Dutch.

• The full verb is vastleggen
• In a main clause, it splits into:
  • leggen in the normal verb position
  • vast at the end

So:

• Wij leggen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vast.

Compare that with an infinitive:

• Wij willen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vastleggen.

In that sentence, vastleggen stays together because it is an infinitive.

Here, vastleggen means something like:

• to record
• to set down
• to establish formally
• to specify

It is often used in formal or administrative contexts, especially when something is being officially agreed, documented, or fixed.

So this is not the literal meaning of leggen (to lay/put) plus vast (firm/fixed) in a physical sense. Together, vastleggen has its own idiomatic meaning.

This follows normal Dutch main-clause word order.

In a basic Dutch main clause:

• the finite verb usually comes in second position
• the separable prefix goes to the end

So the structure is:

• Wij = subject
• leggen = finite verb
• de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats = object
• vast = separated prefix

That is why you get:

• Wij leggen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vast.

Both wij and we mean we.

The difference is mostly one of style and emphasis:

• we is more common in everyday speech
• wij can sound a bit more formal, careful, or emphatic

In business or administrative writing, wij is very normal. So in this sentence, wij fits the formal tone well.

You could also say:

• We leggen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vast.

That would still be correct.

Because both nouns share the same article: de.

Dutch often uses one article for two coordinated nouns when:

• both nouns have the same article
• both are part of the same object phrase

So:

• de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats

means:

• the start date and the workplace

You do not need to repeat de, although you could in some contexts for emphasis or clarity:

• de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats

is the normal version.

Ingangsdatum is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Dutch.

It is made up of:

• ingang = entry, commencement, coming into effect
• datum = date

Together, ingangsdatum means:

• starting date
• effective date
• commencement date

Dutch usually writes compound nouns as one word, unlike English, which often uses separate words.

So English start date becomes Dutch ingangsdatum.

Arbeidsplaats means workplace or place of work.

It sounds somewhat formal or administrative, especially in HR, legal, or contract-related language.

In everyday Dutch, people might more often say:

• werkplek = workplace/workstation
• werk = work/job, depending on context

A learner should know that arbeidsplaats is perfectly correct, but it belongs more to formal or official language than casual conversation.

No, not in this context.

Leggen by itself usually means:

• to lay
• to put
• to place

Examples:

• Ik leg het boek op tafel. = I put the book on the table.
• De kip legt een ei. = The hen lays an egg.

To express record/set down formally/fix, you need vastleggen, not just leggen.

So:

• Wij leggen de ingangsdatum vast. = correct
• Wij leggen de ingangsdatum. = not correct for this meaning

Yes. leggen is present tense.

• wij leggen = we lay / we set / we record

In English, the best translation here is often simple present, but depending on context it may sound more natural as:

• We set the start date and the workplace.
• We record the start date and the workplace.
• We agree and specify the start date and the workplace.

If you wanted the past tense, you could say:

• Wij legden de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vast. = We recorded/set the start date and the workplace.

Then vastleggen usually stays together at the end as an infinitive.

Examples:

• Wij willen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vastleggen.
  = We want to record the start date and the workplace.

• Wij kunnen de ingangsdatum en de arbeidsplaats vastleggen.
  = We can record the start date and the workplace.

This is a very important pattern with separable verbs:

• main clause with finite verb: split
  
  • Wij leggen ... vast
• infinitive: together
  
  • vastleggen

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and administrative.

Clues include:

• wij instead of the more conversational we
• ingangsdatum
• arbeidsplaats
• vastleggen

This kind of wording is very typical in:

• contracts
• HR documents
• official letters
• company procedures

In more everyday speech, a Dutch speaker might choose simpler wording, but this sentence is natural in formal written Dutch.