Update on VBAR Act and false self-employment in the Netherlands

Amended draft legislation: Entrepreneurship remains a full-fledged criterion

The debate around false self-employment (schijnzelfstandigheid) is gaining momentum again in the Netherlands. Since January 1, 2025, the Dutch Tax Authorities (Belastingdienst) has resumed active enforcement in this area. This means companies engaging freelancers or self-employed workers (so-called zzp’ers, meaning zelfstandigen zonder personeel) must now seriously consider their potential liability for retroactive tax assessments and penalties. On March 27, 2025, Minister Van Hijum (Social Affairs and Employment) announced changes to the legislative proposal on the Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (Dutch: Verduidelijking beoordeling arbeidsrelaties en rechtsvermoeden, or “VBAR”). A key takeaway: “entrepreneurship” will remain a fully weighted criterion in assessing employment relationships.

Preliminary questions in the Uber case

On February 21, 2025, the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) issued a long-awaited decision in the so-called Uber case. The Court clarified the role of external entrepreneurship in determining whether someone is genuinely self-employed or actually working under an employment contract. The Court ruled that there is no hierarchy among the nine criteria used in this assessment—external entrepreneurship is to be considered equally alongside the others.  In practice, this means that how actively a worker positions themselves as an entrepreneur in the market must be weighed in conjunction with other factors. Each case requires an integrated evaluation of all relevant circumstances.

Criteria from the Deliveroo case remain relevant

In its 2023 ruling on the Deliveroo case, the Dutch Supreme Court laid out nine key factors for assessing whether an employment relationship exists. These include personal service, subordination, integration into the client’s organization, and bearing entrepreneurial risk. This broad-based, integrated approach remains the standard. The major change is that external entrepreneurship is no longer just a tiebreaker when other indicators are inconclusive—it is now an equal part of the overall assessment. As a result, similar working arrangements may be classified differently depending on the individual characteristics of the freelancer.

Revised VBAR legislation

The VBAR draft legislation is being amended to align with the recent Supreme Court ruling. The key criteria for assessing whether a worker is genuinely self-employed or should be treated as an employee include:

1. The nature and duration of the work; 
2. The degree of direction and control over working hours and methods; 
3. Integration of the worker into the client’s organization; 
4. The obligation to perform the work personally; 
5. How the contractual agreement came about; 
6. The way compensation is determined and paid; 
7. Whether the worker bears commercial risk; 
8. Tax and legal treatment of the relationship; 
9. The extent of external entrepreneurship (extern ondernemerschap). 

This last criterion refers to visible entrepreneurial behavior, such as maintaining a professional website, working for multiple clients, investing in one’s own business, and fulfilling tax obligations as a business entity. The revised VBAR proposal is expected to be submitted to the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) before the summer.

No impact on current enforcement measures: Seek timely legal advice

The legislative changes do not affect current enforcement practices. Since January 1, 2025, the Dutch Tax Authorities have resumed active audits and enforcement regarding false self-employment. Organizations working with self-employed contractors would be wise to reassess those relationships in light of current legal standards.  A case-by-case analysis using the nine criteria can provide clarity and reduce compliance risks. Want to understand how your organization’s freelance arrangements measure up under Dutch law? Get in touch with a legal advisor before the tax authority draws its own conclusions.