Working with the self-employed

Tax aspects

There is a clear difference in the tax treatment of self-employed workers and employees. This difference is not only important for the employees and self-employed entrepreneurs involved, but plays also a crucial role for employers.   

Self-employed workers benefit from various tax advantages that encourage them to further develop their entrepreneurship. Income from employment, on the other hand, is subject to payroll taxes, which are levied on the ‘broad’ definition of wages under the wage tax law. This means that virtually all benefits arising from an employment relationship are considered wages and are therefore taxable. The employer is responsible for withholding and remitting wage tax, employee insurance contributions, health insurance contributions, and (potential) pension contributions for the employee. 

Employers have the responsibility to carefully monitor the actual implementation of working relationships and to assess them against the applicable criteria. If a self-employed worker is subsequently classified as an employee by the tax authorities, the employer or employee must, retroactively—usually up to a maximum of five years—pay the outstanding wage taxes and social security contributions. Self-employed workers who have wrongly made use of entrepreneurial tax facilities in their income tax must repay these facilities. 

Employment law aspects

If a self-employed worker is legally regarded as an employee, this also has employment law consequences. The (former) self-employed worker can retroactively claim various employee rights, while the client is confronted with employer obligations. 

An employee is entitled, among other things, to continued salary payment during illness for the first 104 weeks. The employer is legally obliged to pay at least 70% of the salary during this period, with at least the minimum wage being paid in the first year. In addition, there is a prohibition on dismissal during illness, and the employer must actively work on the reintegration of the sick employee. 

It is also possible that a collective labour agreement must be applied retroactively for up to five years, whereby the (former) self-employed worker can claim the employment conditions stated therein, insofar as these are more favourable than those arising from the relationship with the self-employed worker. 

The employer may also be required to pay pension contributions retroactively to an industry pension fund if the company falls within the scope of such a fund. Another important consequence is the protection against dismissal, which an employee is entitled to from the start of the employment relationship. 

Data-driven analyses

Our Employment Tax practice helps organisations gain control over the issue of (false) self-employment by providing clear insight, identifying risks at an early stage, and creating future-proof work processes. Through the use of tool-driven analyses and well-defined tax and legal frameworks, we help engaging parties to demonstrably achieve — and maintain — compliance. Where desired, we coordinate this with the Tax Authorities. We work with you to effectively integrate these solutions into existing HR and Finance processes and remain actively involved in making timely adjustments in response to emerging developments. This creates the space for a flexible, sustainable, and successful collaboration between engaging parties and self-employed individuals. 

Current status and outlook for 2026 

The framework for working with self-employed individuals is in a state of flux — on a political, tax, and legal level. Since 1 January 2025, the tax authorities have resumed active enforcement after amoratorium of several years. In addition, from 2026, fines for omissions and neglect (vergrijpboetes) may once again be imposed in cases of intent or gross negligence. Fines for an offence (verzuimboetes) will remain suspended until 2027 for the time being, but we are seeing the Tax Authorities actively making corrections. 

At the same time, recent case law continues to shape the assessment of working relationships — the Deliveroo ruling and the Uber ruling have further defined the criteria for distinguishing between employees and self-employed individuals. 

The political landscape remains in motion. The current government has shifted course once again by replacing the clarification proposed in the VBAR (Wet verduidelijking beoordeling arbeidsrelaties en rechtsvermoeden) with the introduction of the 'Self-Employed Workers Act' (Zelfstandigenwet). 

In short: developments are following one another in rapid succession, while the precise details and definitive timeline remain uncertain. It is therefore crucial to closely monitor developments and timely assess the obligations and opportunities for your organisation. For the current state of affairs and a further explanation, we refer you to our Dutch webpage.