Companies face five-figure claims from “fake freelance” workers

Dozens of companies have been ordered to pay compensation to freelancers who successfully claimed in court that they were working as permanent staff.

A survey of 47 cases brought by so-called “fake freelancers” found that the courts ruled in their favour in 24 cases, leading to payments of up to €50,000, Nieuwsuur reported.

The workers claimed compensation for back-dated wages, holiday pay, travel costs and sick leave that they could not claim while they were classed as self-employed. They were also entitled to employers’ pension contributions and payouts for unfair dismissal.

Limburg Lions, a handball club in Sittard, declared bankruptcy after it was told it would have to pay former player João Ramos €50,000 when a court ruled he should be paid as an employee.

The issue of freelancers working as permanent staff has been in the spotlight since the tax service said it would be cracking down on companies that abused the rules to avoid paying tax, insurance and pension contributions.

But employment lawyers told Nieuwsuur that employers should also be aware of the risk of being taken to court by freelance workers because they had a contract with the company.

In 2023 the Supreme Court ruled that Deliveroo couriers should be classed as employees, but the implications of the judgment are still hotly disputed by companies such as Über, who say their drivers declare themselves to be independent operators.

Food delivery firms such as Über Eats stopped employing freelance workers last year in response to the Deliveroo judgment and switched to hiring staff via recruitment agencies.

The pension providers’ association Pensioenfederatie said it was already having to pay out €1.3 billion a year as a result of court rulings on employment status. Under Dutch law employers are liable for up to five years of pension contributions, but any further amount has to be paid by the pension funds themselves.