Netherlands confirms €38/hour employment presumption for freelancers starts 31 December 2026

The Netherlands’ new legal presumption of employment for low-paid freelance work takes effect on 31 December 2026. The law behind bill 36783 was published in the Staatsblad on 29 June 2026 (Stb. 2026, 158), and a royal commencement decree published on 15 July (Stb. 2026, 207) fixed the entry-into-force date. There is no transition period: the rules apply immediately to all contracts running on that date.

Under the new regime, where a self-employed contractor (zzp’er) is paid below the threshold – set at €38 per hour at the 1 January 2026 reference date, to be adjusted by ministerial regulation – an employment relationship is legally presumed, and it falls to the client to prove genuine self-employment. Workers and their representatives can invoke the presumption; it is designed to shift the burden of proof in disputes over false self-employment.

Why this matters

If you freelance for Dutch clients at rates near or below €38 per hour, your contracts need reviewing before year-end – the presumption applies from 31 December 2026 to contracts already running, with no grace period. For clients, engagements below the threshold become legally risky by default. Freelancers charging comfortably above the threshold are outside the presumption, though the Netherlands’ wider enforcement push on false self-employment (the DBA enforcement resumption) still applies. Check the indexed threshold figure closer to the date, as it will be set by ministerial regulation.

Context

This closes a long legislative arc: the Eerste Kamer passed the bill on 16 June 2026, and publication ahead of the Dutch recovery-plan deadline of 31 August was expected. The Netherlands joins a broader European tightening around platform and freelance work, alongside Italy’s draft transposition of the EU Platform Work Directive and the directive’s EU-wide transposition deadline of 2 December 2026.