Outgoing Minister Van Gennip (SZW) earlier this week launched the Basic Disability Insurance for Self-Employed Workers Act (BAZ) into Internet consultation. The BAZ originated from a proposal by the Labor Foundation and is part of a broader labor market reform package. Lengthy negotiations took place on the desirability, feasibility and criteria of this disability insurance for the self-employed. Van Gennip has now decided to take the next step in the process by putting the bill into Internet consultation so that stakeholders, market participants and self-employed organizations can provide their feedback.

The AOV is based on three principles: affordability, comprehensibility and enforceability. The law is designed as follows:

• The new insurance will be mandatory for all self-employed people who enjoy "profits from business" for income tax purposes.
• Self-employed people who have been sick for a year (called the waiting period) may be eligible for disability benefits.
• Self-employed people receive this benefit if they are no longer able to earn the minimum wage due to illness. This is different from workers' compensation insurance, which looks not only at what a person is still able to do, but also at what a person previously earned.
• The benefit amounts to 70% of earnings before disability, up to a maximum of the minimum wage. This benefit continues until the state pension age.
• Self-employed people pay about 6.5% of their business profits in premiums, with a maximum of about €195 per month, based on the 2024 minimum wage. The premium is tax deductible.
• Self-employed persons who find this safety net insufficient, prefer private insurance or already have disability insurance can opt out. The private insurance must meet a number of minimum conditions: the disability benefit may not be lower than that of the public insurance, the premium must be at least equal to that of the public insurance, and the insurance must continue until the state pension age. There will be transitional law for existing insurance.

HeadFirst Group is pleased with the possibility in the current bill to take out private insurance for themselves. In previous conversations with stakeholders and in our external communications, we have emphasized that self-employed people value this opt-out. It is positive to see that Van Gennip and her policy staff have taken this into account.

Interested parties can comment on the bill here until July 23, 2024. After that, all reactions will be analyzed and, where necessary, incorporated into adjustments. The bill will then go to the Council of State and will then be debated in the House of Representatives.