Self-employed or not? 10 features of a freelance assignment

In this article, we’ve listed the 10 characteristics of freelancing, with practical examples from KVK adviser Freddie Kesteloo. This will help you take a careful look at your assignments and way of working. If you do this, you can avoid false self-employment.

1. You decide how and when you work

A key feature of self-employment is that you decide for yourself how you carry out your work and when you do so. “If you must be present for a minimum number of hours, you may start to wonder whether it is a self-employed assignment. Especially if you must also coordinate your holidays, because otherwise too many team members would be absent,” explains Kesteloo.

As a self-employed person (often called a zzp’er in Dutch), you are not part of a team. Of course, you can make arrangements, but you must be free to plan your own working hours and holidays. “It may be that this means you cannot take on a particular assignment,” adds Kesteloo. “But that choice is yours, and that is the difference compared to being an employee.”

2. The assignment is temporary or for a limited number of hours

Self-employed assignments are usually temporary or for just a few hours a week. Examples: you are a fitter installing a heat pump. Or you write a weekly column for a newspaper. But that does not mean an assignment can never take longer, says Kesteloo. “In some sectors, long-term jobs are quite normal. It is about what makes sense in your situation. For example, an IT project can take a long time. But taking a year to fix a leaking tap does not make sense.”

3. You are not a permanent part of the organisation

Do you work alongside employees within the organisation? If so, that is like being an employee.
Examples:

• You step in when someone is off sick or when things get busy.
• You work as part of a team.

“You often see this in sectors such as the catering industry, healthcare, and education. In these cases, self-employment and salaried employment overlap. Sometimes self-employed people even take part in team-building activities and attend mandatory training courses organised by the client. That resembles salaried employment.”

4. You have specialist knowledge

Self-employed professionals are often hired when the client lacks certain knowledge or experience. “If, for example, you are hired to implement a new system, you are bringing something that is not already there. That is a more independent role,” explains Kesteloo.

The more unique your expertise, the stronger your position as a self-employed person.

5. You can arrange for a replacement

This situation is also not always the same. “Laying a brick wall? Another bricklayer can do that too. But are you a well-known musician? Then you cannot just send someone else to perform in your place.”

Key questions regarding this characteristic are:

• Who arranges the replacement?
• Does the replacement come from your network or the client’s?
• Does the client have to approve the replacement?

Does the client decide and arrange everything? If so, the situation is more like salaried employment than self-employment. As a self-employed person, you decide for yourself whether and by whom you will be replaced.

6. You issue invoices and are not paid if you are off sick

As a self-employed professional without staff, you send an invoice and are only paid for work you have carried out. An employee receives a salary, even when they are off sick or on holiday.

Kesteloo: “Being paid even while not working due to illness is a very clear sign of employment. Sometimes you even see clients continuing to pay for holiday leave. That, too, is not part of a self-employed assignment.”

7. Your rate is clearly higher than an employee’s wage

As a zzp’er, you are responsible for your own pension, insurance, holiday pay, and taxes. That is why your hourly rate should be significantly higher than an employee’s wage. “You carry entrepreneurial risk, and that must be rewarded.” Whether you negotiate your rate also plays a part. Having a say in your own rate is part of being a self-employed professional.

8. You carry entrepreneurial risk and make investments

You are responsible for your own equipment. And if things go wrong, that is your problem.
Examples:

• You buy your own tools or equipment.
• You are liable if something goes wrong.
• You have professional liability insurance.

“Sometimes you see self-employed people driving a client’s van and working in their work clothes. That has little to do with self-employment.” Investments vary by profession. A self-employed coach, for example, pays for their own training and marketing. A self-employed consultant buys their own laptop and provides their own software.

9. You behave like an entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is also reflected in how you present yourself. “Do you have your own website or social media presence?” asks Kesteloo. “Are you registered with KVK? Do you engage in marketing and actively seek out clients yourself? If so, you are behaving like an entrepreneur.”

10. You must deliver a clear result

Are you part of a team or do you deliver something independently? Delivering a clear result is a stronger indication of self-employment than simply working for a client.

“Take, for example, a painter who agrees to paint a house from top to bottom. The result is a house that is neatly painted, not a specific number of hours worked. But if you are working a shift as a nurse on a ward, that is a different story.”

Not a checklist

You do not have to meet all 10 criteria. They are not strict conditions you can simply tick off. The Netherlands Tax Administration checks for false self-employment. In doing so, the question is how you work in practice. Kesteloo: “It is all about the bigger picture.” Do you want to work as a self-employed professional? Then keep these criteria in mind when accepting an assignment and avoid false self-employment.