What is
What is false self-employment? Advice on the DBA Act
The term ‘false self-employment’ has been in the news more and more in recent years. But what exactly is pseudo self-employment? And what are the consequences if you are self-employed or self-employed in disguised employment? Saskia Kapper, CCO at Hero, explains what false self-employment is and how to prevent it.
Sham self-employment: the definition
Sham self-employment occurs when a self-employed person is contractually self-employed but works as an employee in practice. There is then an assignment contract, but the cooperation is more like an employment contract.
Saskia Kapper explains: “At the moment, there is a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity about when someone is sham self-employed and working under disguised employment. It is therefore important to check this carefully. An example of disguised employment is, for instance, when self-employed people in the catering industry work fixed days, under management and supervision and carry out core activities, such as bar work or waitressing.”
How to recognise false self-employment?
There are a number of characteristics that may indicate false self-employment.
The features:
- The self-employed person works mainly or exclusively for one client.
- The self-employed person is obliged to accept assignments from the client.
- The freelancer works according to fixed working hours and at a fixed location (at the client's premises).
- The freelancer receives a fixed amount per hour or per month, instead of a price per job.
- The self-employed person has no assets of his own and uses those of the client.
- The self-employed person runs no entrepreneurial risk and has no real freedom to work independently.
The consequences of false self-employment
Sham self-employment carries risks for both the self-employed person and the client.
Consequences of disguised employment for the self-employed:
- Reverse IB return.
- Reject deductions.
- Employee contributions tax.
- You may face an additional tax assessment from the Inland Revenue because you wrongly failed to pay payroll taxes.
Consequences of disguised employment for the client:
- You may face an additional tax assessment from the tax authorities because you wrongly failed to pay employer contributions.
- You can employ the professional all at once as an employee, with the employee then entitled to total package of employment benefits, holiday pay, transitional allowance and severance protection.
DBA Act and enforcement of false self-employment
The Dutch DBA Act (Deregulation Assessment of Employment Relationships) has been intended to combat false self-employment since 2016, but proved unclear in practice. From 1 January 2025, the tax authorities will carry out stricter checks. The emphasis here is not only on what is on paper, but especially on the actual cooperation between self-employed workers and clients.
How to prevent false self-employment?
Both self-employed workers and clients can take action to avoid false self-employment:
Actions:
- Work with a model agreement: Make sure the collaboration is clearly defined.
- Stay consistent: The practice should match what is in the contract.
- Check independence: Ensure that self-employed people meet the characteristics of genuine self-employed workers and work in accordance with established agreements.
Our solutions
Interim mediation
Hero mediates self-employed and seconded workers so that clients can find professionals who comply with the DBA Act without the risk of false self-employment.
Self-employed remuneration
With self-employment pay, you will be paid by Hero as a self-employed person. You remain self-employed, but Hero will take care of the payment of taxes and contributions.
Project secondment
With project secondment, professionals join Hero’s payroll, making them 100% DBA-proof with all the assurances of employment.
Hero helps!
Hero ensures that self-employed professionals and clients work effortlessly according to the DBA Act. From DBA checks and legal advice to contract management, secondment and MSP solutions – we offer a suitable approach. Want to know more? Leave your details and we’ll get back to you!
Read more about DBA Act 2025
Read more of our articles and stay tuned.
Saskia Hairdresser
This article was created in collaboration with Saskia Kapper. As CCO, Saskia has been with Hero for 15 years. In addition, Saskia is also chairman of Bovib, the trade association for intermediaries and brokers, where she shares her knowledge on the quality and enforceability of new laws and regulations.
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