Drafting a freelancera checklist for hiring for the client

Bogus self-employment occurs when someone works as a self-employed professional on paper, while the collaboration is in fact an employment relationship. The Tax and Customs Administration can then reclassify the relationship as an employment contract, with retroactive effect. The consequence primarily affects you: as the client, you are responsible for the payroll taxes and social security contributions that you should have remitted.

It is important that the burden of proof lies with you. You must be able to demonstrate that there was no employment relationship. And in doing so, the Tax Authorities look not only at what is stated in the contract, but primarily at how you work together in practice. A good self-employed hiring check therefore assesses the actual relationship, not just the paperwork.

The core question is whether a relationship of subordination exists. In the Deliveroo judgment, the Supreme Court provided a series of viewpoints that are weighed in conjunction: the nature and duration of the work, the manner in which the work and working hours are determined, the integration within the organization, whether or not personal work is mandatory, the method of remuneration, and whether the worker behaves as an entrepreneur and acts as such in economic transactions.

No single viewpoint is decisive in itself; it is about the overall picture. Someone with multiple clients, personal investments, and genuine entrepreneurial risk is in a safer position than someone who performs the same work as your permanent staff for a long period, full-time, and under supervision. Our legal experts review these viewpoints with you and translate them into your specific situation.

If the Tax and Customs Administration establishes bogus self-employment, an additional assessment of payroll taxes follows. Since active enforcement was resumed, this additional assessment can be imposed retroactively to the moment enforcement began. The amounts can add up significantly, especially in the case of long-term or multiple hiring relationships.

In addition to tax reassessments, employment law implications may apply: a self-employed professional classified as an employee may be entitled to matters such as continued payment of wages, pension, or collective labor agreement rights. Furthermore, the Tax and Customs Administration may impose a fine in cases of deliberate or structural bogus self-employment. Because the rules and enforcement in this area are evolving, it is advisable to have your hiring assessed in a current manner rather than relying on a previous assessment.

A written contract for services is the contractual basis for secure hiring. In it, you stipulate, among other things, that it concerns an obligation to achieve a specific result, how the self-employed professional organizes their work independently, that substitution is permitted, and how remuneration and risk are distributed. In this way, you substantiate the independence on paper as well.

However, a contract is not enough on its own. The Tax and Customs Administration assesses whether the actual execution corresponds with the contract. If, in practice, you manage the self-employed professional as an employee, even the most well-designed agreement will be of no help. That is why we look at both: the document and the way you work with it.

An employment relationship can gradually shift. What starts as a clearly defined task can, over time, resemble a permanent position within your organization. Therefore, a one-off assessment at the start is not sufficient, especially in the case of long-term hiring. Periodically check whether the actual situation still corresponds to the agreements.

Also pay attention to the hourly rate and signs of integration, such as a fixed desk, a company email address, or participation in internal meetings on the same footing as staff. Our legal experts help you set up a working method that allows you to keep hiring structurally manageable, rather than having to fix it on a case-by-case basis after the fact.

We prepare a customized freelance hiring check for a fixed price starting at 99 euros, with clear information regarding costs upfront. You will first receive a draft document or assessment and only pay afterwards. The final price depends on the complexity: the number of hiring relationships, the sector, and whether you also wish to have the underlying contracts reviewed.

During the free intake, we discuss how you currently work with freelancers and where the risks lie, so that the check aligns with your actual situation and you know exactly which hires require attention.