Unions want cabinet to scrap freelancer law
CNV says the proposed Zelfstandigenwet would strip a group of workers of employment law protection from the outset.
CNV calls on the cabinet to withdraw its proposed Zelfstandigenwet, the self-employed persons act. Together with FNV and VCP, it has published a response to the internet consultation on the proposal.
CNV says the new law is unnecessary and threatens to disrupt the progress made in curbing bogus self-employment (schijnzelfstandigheid). It argues the need for the law has not been shown clearly enough, and that it is undesirable to exclude a group from employment law from the outset.
CNV also fears the two tests could see employees classed as self-employed when in practice they are bogus self-employed. Setting the main criteria in the law and the detail in secondary legislation, it says, creates a back door in employment law, because the secondary rules decide who is protected.
Enforcement of the new rules would be a considerable challenge, CNV says, especially if no extra staff are added.
CNV sees the Tax Administration's end of the enforcement moratorium as an important step towards clarity, and says many sectors are taking good steps to comply with the rules. CNV, FNV and VCP argue for staying on the chosen path, with extra information campaigns to help clients and freelancers understand the rules. "No new law is needed for that," they say.
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Zelfstandigenwet
The Zelfstandigenwet (Self-Employed Persons Act) is a Dutch government bill, a wetsvoorstel, on the legal position of self-employed workers (zelfstandigen). It sets out how self-employed people are treated in relation to employment law, which is why it is debated alongside rules on false self-employment (schijnzelfstandigheid) and the distinction between freelancers and employees.
CNV (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond)
CNV is the Christian National Trade Union Federation in the Netherlands, a union federation that represents employees' interests. It takes part in consultations on labour and social security legislation and in negotiations on collective labour agreements (cao's) with employers.
handhavingsmoratorium
A handhavingsmoratorium (enforcement moratorium) is a temporary pause in enforcing a rule, during which authorities do not impose penalties for breaches. In the Netherlands, the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) applied one to the rules on false self-employment (schijnzelfstandigheid) under the Wet DBA, and this pause has since come to an end, so the rules are enforced again.