VBAR
The VBAR bill (Clarification of Assessment of Employment Relations and Legal Presumption) was submitted to the Council of State in June 2024 by Minister Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment. It is likely that the new the will come into force on the 1st of January 2025. The new bill will become the standard used to determine whether employment collaborations are actual self employment or just disguised employment.
Why VBAR?
In recent years, there has been a major increase in the number of self-employed people in the Netherlands. However, according to the government, in some of these cases there is no real self-employment. These self-employed persons work, voluntarily or not under a similar relationship of authority as employees, while employers do not comply with the obligations that apply to their staff, such as accruing pension, paying payroll tax and contributing to Employee insurance. In order to better trace this group of so-called false self-employed workers and to prevent self-employed persons from having the obligations but not the rights of employees, the VBAR has been created.
What are the criteria for self-employment?
In some cases there were previously no clear criteria to determine whether someone is self-employed or employed, the VBAR has (more) clearly defined definitions for this. Check carefully whether your work as a self-employed person meets the criteria set by the VBAR for self-employed persons.
- Relationship of authority: Is there hierarchical instructions and supervision by the client?
- Embedding in the organization: Are the activities an integrated part of the regular business activities?
- Entrepreneurship: Does the contractor bear entrepreneurial risks, such as investments and profits?
The above criteria were already in place, but were less clearly defined and therefore easier to circumvent. You may like to read this article to help you determine whether you are considered a self employed entrepreneur.
- What is new is the criterion for the required minimum hourly rate for self-employed persons: if your hourly rate as self-employed person is € 33 or less, you can claim an employment contract - with all the associated obligations from the employer. The employer must honour this request, provided that he can prove that there is not already an employment contract.
The expectation is that establishing clear criteria such as these will prevent disguised employment by providing a fair and objective standard for establishing whether self employed people have genuine independence.
Consequences for employers and self-employed persons
Are you an employer and do you work with freelancers? Its important to check whether the agreements you have with them are in accordance with the VBAR.
In the case of new employment relationships, you must determine, according to the criteria of the VBAR, whether an appointment on a self-employed basis is legally valid. In other words you will be responsible for determining what the rights and obligations of yourself and the employee are, in accordance with the new law. Failure to do so could lead to legal issues.
As a self-employed person, your collaboration(s) must also meet the requirements of the VBAR. If this is not the case or if your are in doubt, talk to your client. He may need to hire you or reshape the collaboration.
Find out more
If you want to learn more about the VBAR and the consequences for you as a self-employed person, you can visit the website of The Central Government. Trade union FNV also has additional information about disguised employment here (in Dutch) Lupacompany has also published articles on the Criteria for independence and rising self employment in the Netherlands. Are you unsure about your position as a self-employed person? We are always happy to discuss your situation with you. Please feel free to contact us!