What is false self-employment and how can organisations prevent fictitious and hidden employment relationships?

False self-employment is when someone is officially working as a self-employed individual (a sole trader), but should actually be classified as an employee. In this article, we’ll explore what false self-employment means, its implications for your organisation, and how to ensure a self-employed individual doesn’t inadvertently end up in a hidden employment relationship.

Key takeaways

1. False self-employment — also referred to as a 'disguised employment relationship' — occurs when someone works as a self-employed professional on paper, while in practice they should have been engaged as an employee.
2. In 2026, the Dutch Tax Authority will continue to enforce on a risk-based basis only, with a focus on genuine problem cases such as forced self-employment, underpayment, evident false self-employment, or labour migration constructions. You can therefore continue working with self-employed professionals, provided this complies with applicable laws and regulations and you have a clear policy in place. To support you with this, we have developed practical tools and templates.
3. When assessing whether false self-employment is present, the Tax Authority always looks at the full picture — the so-called 'holistic assessment'. This means that all nine criteria from the Deliveroo ruling must be applied in order to properly evaluate the employment relationship.
4. Several characteristics that are fundamental to how Temper works ensure that professionals working through the platform can genuinely operate as independent contractors. Examples include assignments being limited to a single shift, workers being able to negotiate their rate, the possibility of free replacement, and workers invoicing for their services. Find out more about what Temper does via our scorecard (in Dutch).

Understanding false self-employment, fictitious employment, or hidden employment

False self-employment, also known as 'disguised employment', is a situation in which someone is working as a freelancer, while in reality, this person should have been hired as an employee. This will often be the case, for example, if the freelancer fully participates in the client’s organisation for an extended period, is almost entirely dependent on that one client for income, or has little freedom in setting rates and working hours. There are specific criteria to determine whether false self-employment is involved. We will explain these criteria further in the article.

Consequences of false self-employment and hidden employment relationships

Why is false self-employment a concern? We can look at this from both a macro and micro perspective.

• Macro Perspective: From the viewpoint of the UK government, it’s problematic when individuals work as self-employed without contributing adequately to the social security system. A large number of self-employed workers can put pressure on public services and reduce overall contributions, impacting the collective safety net for everyone.
• Micro Perspective: For individuals, false self-employment can have significant consequences. If someone is working full-time as a self-employed individual when their role should actually be classified as an employment relationship, they miss out on essential benefits such as pension contributions and safety nets for unemployment or sickness.
  
  As an organisation, it’s your responsibility, alongside the self-employed individual, to accurately classify these employment relationships. If the Tax Authority determines that false self-employment exists, you could face correction obligations and fines. Read more about the Dutch Tax Authority's enforcement strategy in this article: End of the enforcement moratorium: Risk-based enforcement strategy.

False self-employment can arise at any level of the labour market and stems from misclassification of the working relationship between the individual and the client. To help you determine the correct employment relationship, we’ve gathered useful facts and criteria.

False self-employment and the DBA act

The Deregulation of Employment Relationships Act (DBA), introduced in 2016, was designed to combat false self-employment. However, the Act caused significant confusion in the market, prompting the Dutch Tax Authority to introduce an enforcement moratorium shortly after its introduction. In practice, this meant that the Tax Authority was unable to collect outstanding taxes or contributions in cases of false self-employment, unless there was evidence of malicious intent or a prior warning had already been issued.

Since 1 January 2025, the enforcement moratorium has been lifted. The Tax Authority can now impose payroll tax corrections directly, although it is important to note that this correction obligation does not apply retroactively beyond 1 January 2025. The 'instruction' instrument (aanwijzing) — a formal warning to reorganise the working arrangement — has been abolished. Read more about enforcement under the DBA Act in our blog article.

What doe enforcement look like in 2026?

Enforcement is risk-based and follows a soft landing approach. The Tax Authority will not begin an inspection with a formal audit, but with an exploratory company visit. The focus is on guidance and awareness rather than immediate sanctions. Default fines will not be imposed for classification errors; punitive fines are only possible in cases of deliberate misuse or bad faith. The number of staff responsible for enforcement remains unchanged. Self-employed professionals will not be fined personally in cases of false self-employment — the aim is not to force independent contractors into employment, but to prevent false self-employment.

In addition, the new cabinet has put forward plans for a Self-Employed Act (Zelfstandigenwet), which is intended to replace the current assessment framework. However, this legislation has not yet been adopted and must still pass through both chambers of Parliament. Until then, the DBA Act and its associated case law — including the holistic assessment based on the nine Deliveroo criteria — remain the decisive framework. Read more about the risk-based enforcement strategy here.

What does this mean for your organisation?

Working with self-employed professionals remains fully possible in 2026, provided employment relationships are correctly classified. It is advisable to:

1. Document how the hiring of self-employed professionals works within your organisation and specify the relevant employment relationships. We are happy to support you with a practical template and scorecard (in Dutch).
2. Assess these employment relationships against existing case law (the Deliveroo ruling) and the DBA Act. Here too, we can provide you with concrete tools and guidance.

By following these steps, you can reduce uncertainty and approach any potential Tax Authority inspections with confidence.

A holistic approach to assessing false self-employment

When determining whether false self-employment exists, a holistic approach is applied. This means that all the aforementioned points are considered together to create a complete picture of the employment relationship, evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine the correct classification.

This nuance is crucial, as one point may suggest an employee relationship while another points to a contractual relationship. Thus, all circumstances are taken into account to assess whether work is genuinely being performed outside an employment relationship.

Do you want to learn more about these criteria and how to assess whether your employment relationship has been correctly classified? Then read further in our blog: How to determine the right employment relationship, or check out our scorecard for more background information to help determine whether there is an employment relationship or not.

The impact of the Deliveroo ruling on enforcement

This case concerned the question of whether Deliveroo drivers should be considered self-employed or employees. In the ruling by the Supreme Court, the conclusion was that the drivers did not function as self-employed, but were employed as workers.

The Supreme Court's ruling refers to the previously mentioned 9 criteria that help determine the status of the employment relationship. These nine points must be considered as a whole. The Supreme Court emphasised that, based on all relevant circumstances, it must be determined whether there is an employment contract. One of the factors is how the work is integrated into the organisation of the client, but this is not the only criterion in assessing the existence of an authority relationship.

These criteria are therefore very useful for you as a client. You can use them to determine which type of employment relationship applies.

What does Temper do to prevent false self-employment?

Temper is a platform that enables self-employed individuals to find gigs easily, allowing them to supplement their income. This fundamentally changes the approach compared to traditional employment relationships.

For instance, it’s not the client who initiates contact; rather, the worker takes the initiative to apply for specific tasks. They also have the opportunity to negotiate the job’s terms, including the hourly rate.

Additionally, Temper incorporates several core principles to ensure workers using the platform can genuinely operate as self-employed individuals:

• Self-employed individuals on Temper can be replaced through the platform or independently. They can negotiate their hourly rates, and everyone working through Temper has a VAT number.
• Temper has implemented limits to prevent self-employed individuals from working too long for the same client. If they work 660 hours for a client in one year, the option to take on further tasks for that client is closed. This mitigates the risk of a situation where it may be more beneficial for both parties to enter into an employment relationship.

Our scorecard (in Dutch) provides more insights into what Temper does to prevent false self-employment, allowing you to work confidently with self-employed individuals through the platform.

If you’d like to learn more about false self-employment or working with freelance professionals, get in touch with Temper. We’re here to help you build a reliable, flexible support structure around your core business. Book a free demo, and we’d be happy to tell you more.