Legal presumption at a low hourly rate: what does it mean for clients?

This week, the government debated the new bill introducing a legal presumption of employment for hourly rates below €38–39. The proposal appears likely to secure a parliamentary majority. What does the bill entail, and what does this mean for clients and self-employed workers?

• Self-employed workers with an hourly rate below €38–39 will have the benefit of the doubt if they go to court to invoke the legal presumption. 
• The legal presumption for low hourly rates is a helping hand for workers, says Minister Aartsen of Work and Participation. 
• The aim is to protect workers in a vulnerable position and to offer them support.
• It does not mean that the legal presumption applies automatically as soon as someone works below a certain rate threshold. "With an hourly rate of €20, you will still be able to work as a self-employed person," says Aartsen. 
• Nor does the hourly rate alone determine whether or not an employment contract exists. Judges will continue to apply the same assessment they do today: the holistic test and the case law from the Deliveroo and Uber rulings. 
• Under the current plans, implementation is envisaged from 1 January 2027.

During the parliamentary debate, Aartsen was clear about the intention behind the legal presumption:

"This bill establishes a legal presumption for workers in relation to their employer or client. The classification of the employment relationship is governed by a different provision of the law, and we are not amending that.

Whether or not you fall below that €38 threshold — it says nothing about whether you are a self-employed person or not. It is not a hard line, not a minimum rate, not a maximum rate. Even if you are below €38, you can still perfectly well be self-employed, provided you meet the criteria of pay, work and authority, and the case law of Deliveroo and Uber.

What we are doing here is simply acknowledging that vulnerable positions do tend to exist below that hourly rate. There are certain indications that the likelihood decreases below that threshold — but each individual case must be assessed separately. You cannot make that determination based on an hourly rate alone."

What is the legal presumption in the case of a low hourly rate?

The legal presumption forms part of the plans surrounding the new Self-Employed Act. It originates from the earlier VBAR bill, which has since lapsed.

In concrete terms, the proposal means: if a self-employed worker below the proposed rate threshold goes to court and argues that, in practice, an employment contract exists, that person will have the benefit of the doubt.

This does not constitute automatic employment.

The legal presumption does not mean that anyone below that threshold is, by definition, an employee. It simply means that, in legal proceedings, the starting point shifts from the worker to the client. The client is then given the opportunity to demonstrate that the relationship is, in fact, one of genuine self-employment.

Thierry Aartsen puts it as follows:

"Precisely if you want to recognise genuine self-employed workers and provide clarity, you also need to address the downside and acknowledge the negative aspects. That is ultimately the government policy we intend to pursue: a sustainable and broadly supported policy for the self-employed. That is why we will focus on two fronts: recognition, security and clarity at the outset for genuine self-employed workers, and on the other hand, ensuring that the darker side is addressed effectively."

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What does the legal presumption not entail in the case of a low hourly rate?

This is a frequent source of confusion. The legal presumption is:

• not a minimum rate for self-employed workers
• not an automatic reclassification as an employee
• not a replacement for the substantive assessment of the employment relationship
• not a ban on working with self-employed workers below a certain threshold

Equally important: exceeding that rate threshold does not automatically mean self-employment. It is therefore neither a strict lower limit nor a free pass above it. In all cases, the actual working relationship remains decisive and the court will always look at the full picture.

Legal presumption in practice: protection of vulnerable groups

For many clients, the practical relevance depends heavily on the type of self-employed workers they engage.

Do you work with self-employed people who have consciously chosen entrepreneurship, work for multiple clients, make their own commercial decisions and have freedom in how they carry out their work? If so, it is less likely that they will invoke this legal presumption.

The thinking behind the proposal is that vulnerable groups need better protection — situations where someone is formally self-employed but, in practice, has little freedom of choice and is effectively in a dependent working relationship. In such cases, the legal presumption is intended to make it easier to claim the protections associated with an employment contract, such as continued pay during illness or protection against dismissal. The focus is therefore primarily on protecting those in forced self-employment.

What does the process of going to court look like?

A worker must invoke the legal presumption themselves, and legal proceedings are always required. 

1. For organisations, this does not mean that a self-employed person with a low hourly rate is automatically an employee. It gives the self-employed person, should they take the matter to court, a stronger basis for claiming employee status and the rights that come with it.
2. The client is then given the opportunity to rebut that presumption with evidence demonstrating entrepreneurship — such as freedom in the performance of the work, the ability to refuse assignments, the possibility of being replaced, entrepreneurial activity in the market, and the degree of integration into the organisation.
3. If that evidence raises sufficient doubt about the presumption, the burden of proving the existence of an employment contract shifts back to the worker. The ultimate burden of proof therefore remains with the worker.

The legal presumption is still a proposal; until then, the current assessment framework applies

The legal presumption is not yet law. It forms part of a proposal that still needs to be further developed and approved. Until then, nothing changes in the current assessment framework. Employment relationships continue to be assessed on the basis of the holistic test and the nine criteria from the Deliveroo ruling. You can read how this works in practice in our article on determining the correct employment relationship with self-employed workers. The legal presumption merely adds a reversal of the burden of proof for specific cases before the court.

What does the legal presumption mean for you as a client?

For clients, it is important not to focus solely on whether someone falls above or below a threshold. What really matters is whether the collaboration demonstrates the characteristics of genuine self-employment in practice.

This means, among other things, following the principles set out in the Deliveroo ruling:

• the work is short-term and specialised in nature, not long-term and routine;
• the self-employed person determines for themselves how and when the work is carried out;
• the self-employed person is not structurally embedded in the organisation and works for multiple clients;
• the self-employed person has the freedom to arrange a replacement without requiring permission;
• rates and terms are agreed through negotiation, not imposed via a fixed contract;
• the self-employed person is paid on the basis of an invoice, not via a payslip;
• the remuneration is demonstrably above the collective labour agreement standard;
• the self-employed person bears commercial risk and is only paid for services actually delivered;
• the self-employed person is registered with the Chamber of Commerce, holds a VAT number, and works for multiple clients.

It is precisely this substantiation that makes the difference should questions later arise about the classification of the working arrangement.

For platforms such as Temper, where workers consciously choose entrepreneurship, it is less likely that they will invoke this provision. The proposal is primarily aimed at situations where someone is formally self-employed but, in practice, is seeking protections more akin to those of an employment relationship.

"You can continue to earn supplementary income through platforms, even below €38 per hour," Aartsen says. "The key is that you comply with the law on working as a self-employed person. If your arrangement meets the Uber and Deliveroo criteria, there is no issue."

The legal presumption is therefore most relevant for clients who, for example, systematically work with low rates, maintain long-term and deeply embedded working relationships, offer little room for negotiation, draw little distinction between engaging self-employed workers and employing regular staff, or work in situations where the worker is effectively dependent on a single client. In such cases, it is wise to take a particularly critical look at how the working arrangement is structured — not only from a legal perspective, but also from an operational one.

What does the legal presumption mean for self-employed workers?

For self-employed people who have consciously chosen entrepreneurship, nothing really changes. If you actively choose flexibility, autonomy and multiple clients, you are unlikely to go to court to enforce an employment contract — and clients can simply continue to engage you.

If, on the other hand, you have ended up working as a self-employed person against your will, the legal presumption at a low hourly rate gives you a stronger starting position should you wish to challenge this through the courts.

Conclusion: the legal presumption rules nothing out, so look beyond the rate alone

Above all, the legal presumption makes clear that clients should not take a simplistic view of the issue. A low rate does not automatically imply an employment relationship — but neither is it something that can be dismissed as mere bureaucracy.

The real question remains whether the collaboration, viewed as a whole, is consistent with self-employment. If you structure this properly and can demonstrate it, you are in a strong position.

How Temper can help

Temper closely monitors developments surrounding the Self-Employed Act and other legislation affecting self-employed workers, and translates these into practical guidance for clients. We have developed documentation and templates aligned with the current guidelines of the Dutch Tax Authority, so that you can already demonstrate compliance today, regardless of how the legislation evolves.

Take a look at the templates and documentation, or get in touch if you have any questions about your situation.

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