Netherlands Is Overhauling Its Freelancer Rules After Too Much Confusion
A new law will make it clearer when someone can work as a freelancer, after the current rules caused many companies to stop hiring self-employed workers entirely.
The Dutch government announced on Friday that it is scrapping a key part of the freelancer legislation currently before parliament and replacing it with a new law. The move is intended to reduce the uncertainty that has caused many companies to stop hiring freelancers altogether since stricter enforcement began last year.
Minister Thierry Aartsen of Work and Participation announced that the clarification section of the VBAR bill, the Wet Verduidelijking Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties en Rechtsvermoeden, is being withdrawn. That section was intended to clarify when someone is working as a genuine freelancer rather than as a disguised employee. "For part of the VBAR bill in parliament, there was insufficient support. That caused unrest in the market. That is why I am taking that part of the bill off the table. This clears the way for the Zelfstandigenwet," Aartsen said.
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The Dutch government announced on Friday that it is scrapping a key part of the freelancer legislation currently before parliament and replacing it with a new law. The move is intended to reduce the uncertainty that has caused many companies to stop hiring freelancers altogether since stricter enforcement began last year.
Minister Thierry Aartsen of Work and Participation announced that the clarification section of the VBAR bill, the Wet Verduidelijking Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties en Rechtsvermoeden, is being withdrawn. That section was intended to clarify when someone is working as a genuine freelancer rather than as a disguised employee. "For part of the VBAR bill in parliament, there was insufficient support. That caused unrest in the market. That is why I am taking that part of the bill off the table. This clears the way for the Zelfstandigenwet," Aartsen said.
Why this matters
The problem the legislation is trying to solve is known in Dutch as schijnzelfstandigheid, or bogus self-employment. This refers to situations where someone works as a freelancer in name but is effectively employed, with the employer avoiding payroll taxes and the worker missing out on employment protections.
Almost 1.2 million people in the Netherlands work as freelancers. Since 1 January 2025, enforcement on bogus self-employment has resumed in full. That will continue. If a company works with a freelancer and it later turns out there is effectively an employment contract, the client must still pay wage taxes, and there are also risks under employment and pension law.
The resumption of enforcement created immediate problems. Many companies, uncertain about what would now be considered compliant, simply stopped engaging freelancers entirely rather than risk a tax penalty. That caused a significant loss of work across sectors including construction, healthcare, and IT.
What is being kept from the VBAR
The government is not scrapping the VBAR entirely. The cabinet wants to move quickly on the part of the VBAR that gives low-paid freelancers a stronger legal position. This applies to freelancers earning up to 38 euros per hour. If a freelancer invokes the legal presumption of employment, the client must demonstrate there is no employment contract. If they cannot, the arrangement is considered bogus self-employment and the freelancer is entitled to employee protections.
What the Zelfstandigenwet will do differently
The Zelfstandigenwet, which was developed as a cross-party initiative by VVD, D66, CDA and SGP, takes a different approach to determining whether someone is genuinely self-employed. The law introduces a self-employment test, a work relationship test and a sector-specific test to limit bogus self-employment. It also introduces an independent assessment committee that can give advance rulings on whether a specific working arrangement qualifies as genuine freelance work.
The key difference from the VBAR approach is that the Zelfstandigenwet starts from the premise of entrepreneurship rather than employment. Rather than asking whether someone looks like an employee, it asks whether they are operating as a genuine business.
The cabinet explicitly acknowledges that freelance work is a structural part of the modern labour market and wants to give freelancers more clarity and space.
Timeline and complications
The Zelfstandigenwet has not yet been formally submitted to parliament and still needs an advisory opinion from the Council of State before proceeding through both chambers. Because introducing the full law in 2026 is unlikely, the cabinet wants to implement it in phases. Some elements, such as the self-employment test, may come into force earlier than others.
There is also a financial deadline adding pressure. The Netherlands has commitments to the European Commission as part of its Recovery and Resilience Plan, under which tackling bogus self-employment is a condition for receiving around 600 million euros in EU recovery funding. The deadline for meeting those conditions is 31 August 2026.
As a minority cabinet, the Jetten government will also need support from opposition parties to pass the Zelfstandigenwet through parliament. Which parties will back it and on what terms remains to be seen.
