Archive
Initiative Self-Employment Act (Zelfstandigenwet): Now Open for Internet Consultation
Summary For several decades, the Netherlands has struggled to enact clear legislation regarding self-employed persons. The Declaration of Employment Relationship (VAR), introduced in 2005, was intended to provide freelancers with advance clarity regarding their tax status. In practice, however, this regime often resulted in pseudo self-employment. Its successor, the Deregulation of Assessment of Employment Relationships Act (Wet DBA) of 2016, failed to resolve these issues and instead generated…
Read more >No Liability for Client in Alleged Harmful Working Conditions for Freelancer
On May 6, 2025, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2025:1204) issued a decision regarding whether a client can be held liable for psychological harm allegedly suffered by a freelancer (zzp’er) due to harmful working conditions. What was the case about? A freelancer, engaged via a broker, performed specialized network tasks in the IT department of the Dutch Social Insurance Bank (SVB). The freelancer claimed to have developed psychological…
Read more >First Major Legislative Proposal of the Labour Market Reform Package: Greater Security for Flexible Workers
On Monday, 19 May 2025, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment submitted the first significant legislative proposal under the labour market reform package to the House of Representatives: the Proposal on Greater Security for Flexible Workers (36749). This proposal forms part of a broader effort to reform the Dutch labour market by reinforcing the legal position of employees while improving the operational flexibility available to employers. If…
Read more >Lighting a joint during Teams-meeting leads to lawful dismissal with immediate effect
A Managing Director employed by Pentagon International B.V. lit a joint at the end of a Teams meeting without realizing that his camera was still on. The Managing Director’s supervisor called him shortly after the Teams meeting to confront him about the incident. The Managing Director admitted that it was indeed a joint. The following day, the Managing Director was interviewed and subsequently dismissed with immediate effect. This…
Read more >Pay Transparency: An Update
On 7 June 2023, the European Pay Transparency Directive came into effect. Member states of the European Union are required to implement the directive into their national legislation by no later than 7 June 2026. In this context, the Dutch legislator has drafted a proposed law (the “Implementation Act on Pay Transparency for Men and Women”). The public consultation for this proposal began on 26 March 2025, and…
Read more >Supreme Court: the reversal rule in employment law has its limits
On 28 March 2025, the Supreme Court issued a decision concerning the application of the reversal of the burden of proof in employment law. Background The employee began working at Samsung Electronics Air Conditioner Europe B.V. (Samsung) on 15 September 2017 as Head of Product Management. In 2018, she was reprimanded for her confrontational communication style. Effective 1 February 2019, her reporting line changed from the CEO (A)…
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