False self-employment: does your work count as employment?

False self-employment: does your work count as employment?

A freelance contract, invoice or Chamber of Commerce registration does not by itself determine whether you are self-employed. The actual arrangements and how they are carried out must be assessed together. Relevant factors include direction, personal work, pay, risk and entrepreneurship. If you doubt your status, collect practical evidence first. The tax assessment and possible employment rights are connected but do not automatically follow the same procedure.

The contractual label is not decisive; actual practice also matters.

There is no simple general rule that one client always means employment.

The new hourly-rate presumption does not take effect until 31 December 2026.

What is meant by false self-employment?

The term describes someone being treated as self-employed while the working relationship should legally be classified as employment. This may affect payroll taxes and employee rights. Rewriting the contract alone does not settle the question. Compare the agreed terms with daily practice: who schedules work, gives instructions and bears risk, and how is payment arranged? A statement that both parties “do not want an employment contract” does not determine classification if the actual rights and obligations point elsewhere.

Assess the circumstances together

The Tax Administration identifies a broad framework concerning work, pay and the possibility of authority. Examples include the nature and duration of work, integration into the organisation, personal performance and commercial risks. Support each factor with specific evidence. “I work independently” says less than identifying who sets rates, handles complaints and can arrange a substitute. One favourable factor is not an exemption. The overall working relationship matters, which means similar assignments can nevertheless produce different outcomes.

Entrepreneurship outside the assignment can matter

In 2025, the Supreme Court clarified that the relevant circumstances have no fixed hierarchy. Entrepreneurship outside the specific relationship may also count. Consider how you obtain assignments and your actual position as an entrepreneur. This makes individual assessment important. Having several clients is relevant but not a magic formula; having one is likewise not automatically decisive. Collect quotations, your own investments and specific risk arrangements rather than using only a client list as evidence.

What evidence helps answer the employment-law question?

Keep the agreement, invoices, schedules, instructions, performance discussions and messages about rates or substitutes. Describe who decides when and how you work and whether you can genuinely decline assignments. Record differences between paper and practice without altering documents afterwards. If you do the same work as employees, compare actual freedom and responsibilities too. This factor may matter but does not decide the case alone. A short factual summary makes assessment by a lawyer or trade union more efficient.

Tax enforcement resumed in 2025

The enforcement moratorium ended on 1 January 2025. In cases of incorrect classification, the Tax Administration can impose corrections and additional assessments under the applicable rules. For 2026, it distinguishes potential culpability-based penalties (vergrijpboetes) from default penalties (verzuimboetes), which it is not yet imposing. “There are no penalties” is therefore too broad a conclusion. The precise consequences depend on the facts, period and type of correction. Have the tax positions of both client and worker assessed without assuming every additional assessment creates an identical private wage claim.

The new legal presumption is not yet in force

The law creating an employment-contract presumption based on an hourly rate was published in June 2026. The commencement decree specifies 31 December 2026. On 17 October 2026, this future instrument therefore cannot be treated as already applicable. The relevant rate is set and indexed under the statutory system; do not adopt an old draft amount as a permanent threshold. A legal presumption is also not a general ban on self-employed work below a particular amount or a guarantee of the outcome in every individual case.

Which entitlements and practical decisions arise?

If the relationship is legally employment, employee rights may apply subject to conditions, such as sick pay, annual leave and dismissal protection. The precise extent, retrospective period and possible offsets require a separate calculation. Meanwhile, tax deductions, invoicing, pension and insurance may be affected. Do not sign a waiver under pressure that appears to resolve everything at once. Discuss how the actual cooperation will be arranged in future and how earlier periods will be settled. A different contract heading without changed practice does not automatically prevent the same problem. The reverse conclusion also needs care: no employment relationship does not automatically mean entrepreneur status for income tax or VAT. Assess those tax questions separately; registration or a finding about one assignment does not establish entitlement to business deductions.

Example: fixed shifts alongside your own business

You invoice for fixed shifts, work under daily instructions and have little ability to arrange a substitute. You also have your own clients and invest in equipment. Record both sides. An adviser must assess these circumstances together; merely having a website and Chamber of Commerce number does not answer the question about fixed shifts. This example shows why a check should not be a scorecard with one decisive question. A useful outcome identifies uncertainty, necessary information and the consequences of possible reclassification.

Describe daily direction, substitutes, payment and risk.

Keep both the contract and evidence of actual working practice.

Have employment-law entitlements and tax consequences assessed separately.

For future periods, check commencement and the applicable hourly-rate threshold.

Does Chamber of Commerce registration automatically make me self-employed?

No. Legal assessment considers rights, obligations and actual implementation together.

Am I always an employee if I have one client?

No. The number of clients is relevant, but is not a decision rule replacing all other facts.

Does the hourly-rate presumption already apply in October 2026?

No. The published commencement decree specifies 31 December 2026. For later periods, also check the rate applicable then.

Can the Tax Information Line approve my contract?

The Tax Administration states that a working relationship cannot be assessed on all its facts by telephone. Tools and any advance consultation require full information about actual practice.

Sources and editorial notes
Sources current as of: October 17, 2026
1. Tax Administration: when a relationship is employment
Publisher: Belastingdienst
https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/nl/arbeidsrelaties/content/wanneer-is-sprake-van-loondienst
2. Tax Administration: employment relationship enforcement
Publisher: Belastingdienst
https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/nl/arbeidsrelaties/content/handhaving
3. Supreme Court: entrepreneurship and employment classification, 2025
Publisher: Hoge Raad der Nederlanden
https://www.hogeraad.nl/actueel/nieuwsoverzicht/2025/februari/hoge-raad-beoordeling-sprake-arbeidsovereenkomst-geldt-rangorde-tussen/
4. Official Gazette: hourly-rate presumption commencing on 31 December 2026
Publisher: Officiële bekendmakingen
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-2026-207.html
The source publications are in Dutch. All language editions cover Dutch law.