From Oct. 6 through Nov. 10, it was possible to respond to the draft bill "Clarifying Assessment of Labor Relations and Legal Presumption. A total of 1,111 public responses to this proposal were received through an Internet consultation. Many self-employed workers responded to the plans of outgoing Minister Van Gennip (Social Affairs and Employment), but self-employed organizations, trade associations and employer organizations also submitted a response.

As a market-leading organization, we believe it is important to contribute to the political-social debate on the labor market and the self-employed dossier. In our response, we are critical of the current plans. We believe that the plans as proposed will not provide the clarity that clients, intermediaries and self-employed workers are looking for.

In addition, the following views are reflected in our response:

• The embedding criterion is not going to provide the desired clarity and therefore should not be included in legislation.
• Insufficient account is taken of the diversity of the self-employed population in the Netherlands. We therefore call for more room for sectoral agreements.
• There needs to be more balance between employee status and entrepreneurship when assessing the employment relationship. For this reason, give more attention to the entrepreneurial criteria.
• The current proposal lacks transitional law. We call for greater peace of mind and certainty for clients and contractors by establishing a transitional rule.
• We are positive about the legal presumption of employment below the rate of €32.24 per hour. This will improve the position of working people at the base of the labor market.

Curious about our full input? Check out our response here.