The concept of Free Worker and Client is explained on the following pages.
This explanation is not without obligation. The relationship between a Free Worker (in Dutch: Vrije Werker) and the client is purely legal.
The Free Worker explained
In every organization, from self-employed persons to multinationals, work has to be carried out outside the daily routine.
Such work requires extra effort from regular employees, if there are any.
But often this cannot be asked of them for various reasons or it is not attractive, for example because of salary costs.
In that case, there is a need for additional workers from outside the organization to carry out such an extra activity.
In the Netherlands, we can legally perform paid work in a few different ways:
- As an employee with an employment contract with an employer for a fixed or indefinite period,
- As a temporary worker at a client, but employed by a temporary employment agency,
- As an entrepreneur with his own company with employees,
- As a self-employed person, entrepreneur but without employees,
- As a self-employed person in a liberal profession, with or without staff,
- as a holiday assistant or intern on a special temporary contract
but it is also possible as: Free Worker.
Using a Free Worker is still relatively unknown, but offers great flexibility that is especially useful for projects of short or unknown duration or that have to be carried out fragmented over time.
A Free Worker is someone who, just like a self-employed person or self-employed person, accepts offered work where he*) decides for himself whether and when he will carry out the work.
A Free Worker only exists if there is no relationship of authority between the free worker and the person who offers the work (the work provider), as a result of which there is no employment relationship or an employment contract.
The difference with a self-employed person is that a self-employed worker is not registered as a self-employed person with the Chamber of Commerce, does not have a, so called, VAR** declaration and is not liable or subject to sales tax (VAT).
The work provider pays the Free Worker exclusively for the work performed and does not pay for additional matters, such as holidays, illness or pension, but also does not deduct anything from the compensation. However, he or the pool company (Broker***) where the Free Worker is registered, must report to the tax authorities at the end of the year how much the Free Worker has been paid. The Free Worker may have to pay income tax himself.
In order to maintain the situation in which there may be a Free Worker, both parties must keep a close eye on the circumstances and carefully comply with the legal conditions under which there is a Free Worker, otherwise a fictitious situation could very quickly arise. Employment.
All aspects of the Free Worker phenomenon are discussed in detail via the links below to the various topics.
* for 'he' you should read 'he/she' throughout the site. ** VAR: this is a leagal and official stating *** Broker:
