Addressing false self-employment 

What does this mean for artists now that enforcement is actually underway? 

The 2025 transition year of the DBA (Deregulation Assessment of Employment Relations) Act, the legal basis for enforcement, is over. Although the so-called soft landing of the control will continue for a while after the debate in the Lower House in 2026, the enforcement of false self-employment really starts this year. 

More than 90% of visual artists are self-employed and produce free work or commissioned work. That this is not salaried work is obvious to everyone. So what does a visual artist have to do with false self-employment? Little at first glance, but in practice many artists also take on commissions for other work. And that's where things can fray. Because for everyone who works as a freelancer for a company or institution, there is the question of whether they are actually employed. That question is sometimes not so easy to answer. For example, the line between giving a series of guest lectures and having a small appointment at an art school is pretty thin. 

Employment

As your principal, companies and institutions must make an assessment of whether the work they offer should actually be performed as an employee, or whether it can be outsourced to a self-employed person. At the heart of enforcement by the tax authorities is the question: should the client pay tax and social security contributions or not? Two aspects are important for that assessment: first, the nature and form of the assignment; second, the entrepreneurship of the self-employed person. Both aspects count: even if we st the employment relationship on a job, if the entrepreneurship is highly developed, that can and should still be the deciding factor. What carries the most weight depends on the overall picture. Not an easy assessment. 

At the heart of enforcement by the IRS is the question: must the client pay tax and social security contributions or not?

It helps to ask the following questions: what is the client's reason for hiring a freelancer? Is that clear and easily explainable? Budget or habit is not a good reason, artistic content is, of course, if objectively determinable. Tip: as a freelancer, also act as a business entrepreneur and discuss an assignment description that is as clear as possible: what, when, how and why? 

What is the duration of the assignment? Is it short, or more or less ongoing? An annual series of classes weighs differently than a one-time assignment of a few days. The longer the assignment runs, the more important to distinguish a job from an assignment. Can you explain it briefly and simply? 

Are you managed by a director or do you work independently?

Is the work you are going to do distinctive from regular work of your client? Is it specialized work? If you work for a design firm with five designers on staff and the sixth designer works as a freelancer, this is not obvious. If the sixth designer is an artist and is commissioned to depict completed projects for an anniversary book then it is self-employed work. The assignment is distinctive from the work of the other five designers. 

Do you have a position as a manager of a workshop, where you also create works as an artist? Then it matters how autonomously you fulfill the management function and what tasks you perform. Are you managed by a director or do you work independently? Do you fulfill more the role of janitor? Or do you give advice to users based on artistic and technical insight? 

In the case of assignments for a museum where you perform assembly and disassembly work on a regular basis, it will quickly be a job. In the case of hanging unusual monumental works, in the case of without exhibition-oriented installation work or the manufacture of exhibition furniture, it is more likely to be a job. 

Entrepreneurship

In addition to the employment relationship, your entrepreneurship and professional profile come into play as a second aspect. How much profit do you make? What is the relationship between income from your artistry and from other work? How many clients do you work for? What kind of work do you do for your biggest client? Are you self-employed for income tax purposes and also for sales tax purposes? If it is quite a mix financially, are they all income from being an artist? If you have few commissions and income from your art practice and more income from one or more side jobs, then entrepreneurship is an important consideration. And last but not least: your rate is also an indication. A rate that is too low, specifically a rate under 37 euros per hour excluding VAT, is an indication of false self-employment. This amount is not yet a law, but it is an existing plan that is on the table during the cabinet formation and on which there is broad agreement: a low rate we do not st on entrepreneurship. Nor, for that matter, on fair practice. 

Too low a rate, specifically a rate below 37 euros per hour excluding VAT, is an indication of false self-employment

So how best to enter into a working relationship in each different situation, whether on a self-employed or salaried basis, depends on many factors. And you yourself can influence those aspects and talk about them with your clients. Sometimes they have cold feet out of caution, or are not well informed. By being well prepared, you can allay their fears, or you can draw up the terms of the assignment together in such a way that both of you can justify that there is no question of false self-employment, but an assignment. And sometimes you come to the conclusion that a job should be a job. A job in addition to your independent professional practice can also offer benefits, by the way. 

More information

Members of the Arts Union can call or email with specific questions about assignments.