Date: Jan. 21, 2021
Modified November 14, 2023
Reading time: +/- 2 minutes
There are some developments surrounding the zzp'er and the premium differentiation WW. High time to bring you up to speed on these.
The legislation surrounding the self-employed is anything but static. In 2019, the cabinet introduced three more measures to replace the DBA Act, to give zzp'ers more certainty about the qualification of their employment contract:
This was already abandoned in the summer of 2020. Working out the measures proved difficult. There will be no minimum rate after all (bottom of the market) and there will also be no declaration of self-employment (top of the market).
The revamped client declaration is not (yet) off the table. The idea is that it will be issued to the client based on the outcome of the Webmodule Assessment Labor Relationship (WBA): an online questionnaire the client fills out that should provide some certainty about the qualification of the employment contract.
Last summer, the web module went through a test phase. The test phase showed that the web module provides clarity in a large number of cases. In 25 percent of the assignments, the client would receive a client declaration for the self-employed person to be hired. In 27 percent of the assignments, no clarity could be provided, for example, because a sector requires too much customization that the web module could not take into account. In 48 percent of the assignments, the web module gave the indication employment, which means that an employment contract is probably needed.
The web module pilot started on January 11, 2021. Every client can fill out the questionnaire anonymously to get clarity on whether they may hire a zzp'er as such or whether an employment contract is required. This way, clients can prepare themselves now for the actual introduction of the web module - to the extent that it will happen.
The web module can be accessed online at this link. The pilot phase will last six months. After it ends, the Cabinet will evaluate and decide on its possible final deployment.
In the meantime, the enforcement regime of the DBA Act still applies. It expired January 1, 2021, but has been extended. Enforcement is carried out by the Tax and Customs Administration.
One of the measures introduced by the Labor Market in Balance Act is the premium differentiation WW. Broadly speaking, the measure means that employers will pay a lower WW premium for employees with an indefinite employment contract and a fixed scope of work, than for employees with a fixed-term employment contract and/or an on-call contract.
If, at the end of a calendar year, an employee who works an average of less than 35 hours per week is found to have more than 30% more salaried hours than agreed upon, the low premium is revised to the high premium, according to the regulation. So that's being careful with (structural) overtime. An exception to this main rule was made in as early as 2020 due to the corona crisis. Because of the second wave, this exception now also applies to all of 2021, regardless of the sector. This change is also included in the Knowledge Document Premium Differentiation WW version December 2020.
Incidentally, another change of quite a different order is included in the most recent version of the Knowledge Document. With respect to an employment contract with an apprentice following the vocational training program (BBL), the low premium is always paid. That in itself is not new, but now a clarification has been included on how to deal with this exception.
We would also like to point out the (possible) consequences if you temporarily extend an employment contract for an indefinite period in hours, for example to cover a colleague's maternity leave. According to the Ministry, such an extension is a separate temporary employment contract, to which the high premium applies. However, under labor law, such an extension does not simply qualify as a new separate employment contract.
This can also have far-reaching consequences, such as having to apply the chain-of-commitment rule, the notice requirement and having to pay the transition fee after it expires.
We would therefore like to think with you in due course if you are considering a temporary adjustment of working hours in the context of the premium differentiation WW and possible (labor law) consequences!
Do you have any questions about that now, or about the other topics covered in this blog? We will be happy to assist you.
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