News item | 06-03-2026 | 4:00 PM
The government is scrapping some of the (new) self-employed legislation that was already in the House of Representatives. This concerns the clarification part of the bill Clarification of assessment of employment relationships and legal presumption (Vbar). That part of the legislation caused too much unrest. Minister Aartsen of Work and Participation is thus setting out a self-employed course of more peace and clarity. This also clears the way for the Self-Employed Act. We will continue to work hard on this in the near future. The government does want to give self-employed persons a stronger legal position as quickly as possible with the previously proposed hourly rate of up to 38 euros.
Minister Aartsen: “The cabinet is taking the first step in a new direction. It is important to provide clarity to self-employed people and clients. And thus ensure peace among self-employed people and clients, so that we prevent assignments from being lost unnecessarily. There was a lack of support for part of the Vbar bill that was before the House. 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 Self-Employed Act.”
In the Netherlands, almost 1.2 million people work as self-employed. Since January 1, 2025, bogus self-employment has been fully enforced again. That remains the case. If a self-employed person is employed and it turns out that there is an employment contract, the client must still pay payroll taxes. In addition, there are also risks for employment and pension law.
Delete clarification part Vbar
The government is scrapping the part of the Vbar bill that was intended to clarify when someone actually works as a self-employed person or is actually an employee. The government wants to replace it with the Self-Employed Persons Act as soon as possible.
Introduction of the Self-Employed Act is an agreement from the Coalition Agreement of the new cabinet. This should give self-employed persons a clearer position and recognition in the law. The government will be working hard on the Self-Employed Act in the near future.
Better legal protection for low-paid self-employed persons
The government wants to speed up the part of the Vbar bill that makes it easier for low-paid self-employed persons to claim their legal status. This concerns self-employed people who earn up to 38 euros per hour (reference date January 1, 2026). If self-employed persons rely on the legal presumption, clients must demonstrate that there is no employment contract. If they cannot do this, then there is false self-employment and a self-employed person is also entitled to the protection that comes with someone who is employed.
