As of Jan. 1, 2026, the Inland Revenue is tightening enforcement and the so-called “soft landing” will come to an end. As a result, as of Jan. 1, organizations may face unannounced inspections by the Tax and Customs Administration, as well as fines and surcharges.
Apart from this, it was already true that there are labor law risks in case an assignment relationship does qualify as an employment contract after all. For example, the worker can claim wages and emoluments, pay during vacation and illness, and is protected against dismissal by labor law, for example. In addition, pension funds can come forward to enforce retroactive pension contributions.
That these risks are real is illustrated by a recent court ruling by the Central Netherlands District Court of September 19, 2025(ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2025:5440) in which an accountant, despite having a limited liability company (BV) structure and assignment agreement, was still classified as an employee.
The accountant worked full-time at the client’s location, had fixed working hours, performed core activities within the organization and was fully integrated into the team. There was virtually no mention of his own clientele or commercial activities outside of this assignment. The court ruled that this was an employment contract. The chosen form of contract and the BV structure were not decisive. What was decisive was the overall picture: the organizational control and the degree of embedding outweighed the paperwork.
Because the organization had terminated the contract with the accountant without permission from the court or the UWV, the organization had to pay not only the transitional compensation, but also compensation of €31,103.25 gross for failure to observe the statutory notice period and fair compensation of €35,000.
VBAR: clarification not relaxation
At the same time, the Labor Relationship Assessment Clarification Act (VBAR) is on the agenda to provide more clarity on false self-employment. However, there is no relaxation. On the contrary: the law codifies existing case law and emphasizes the element of authority. The (amended) VBAR bill is currently still pending before the House of Representatives. The intended effective date is July 1, 2026.
What can you do as an employer?
For those who have not yet taken serious action to address false self-employment in their organization and identify the risks, our urgent advice is to do so to avoid surprises. After all, inspections by the Inland Revenue take place unannounced and, as indicated, there are already risks under labor law.
Roadmap:
- Map who is self-employed within the organization
- Collect and inventory related contracts and agreements
- Check how it works in practice and assess whether the collaboration has sufficient independent characteristics
- Engage with the worker and adjust the agreement and method if necessary
- Periodically evaluate the practice
