Should I hire a freelancer or take someone on as an employee?
Short answer
A freelancer (zzp'er) is flexible and you pay no employer costs, but only if it is genuinely an assignment. If someone works under your authority, personally and for pay, it is employment. Since 2025, the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) has been actively enforcing this again, with possible additional assessments for you as the client.
Updated on · Reviewed by the tax advisers at Boekhoudvriend
Whether someone is a freelancer or an employee does not depend on the contract but on how the work is done in practice. The client and the contractor must assess this together.
What points to employment
- You decide how, where and when the work is done
- The person must do the work themselves and cannot send a substitute
- The work is part of your regular business operations
- Someone works for you for a long time and almost exclusively
- There is no real business risk
Tools
The government's Employment Relationship Assessment web module (Webmodule Beoordeling Arbeidsrelatie) gives an indication. A model agreement also helps, as long as you work according to it in practice.
Sources
This answer is general information, not personal advice. Your own situation may work out differently, so feel free to ask our team.