Self-employed workers (Directive 2010/41/EU and some relevant provisions of the Recast Directive)

• Author: Marlies Vegter
• Pages: 61-66

61

8 Self-employed workers (Directive 2010/41/EU and some relevant

provisions of the Recast Directive)

8.1 General (legal) context

8.1.1 Surveys and reports on the specific difficulties of self-empl oyed workers

There have been surveys and reports on the difficulties self-empl oyed workers face, but

also reports which make it clear that most self-employed people are in fact quite satisfied

with their situation.

Much information can be found on the website of the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS).177

In a report of March 2019 the CBS mentioned that self-employed with no employees (in

the Netherlands referred to as zzp’er) have the highest risk of poverty, compared to self -

employed persons with employees and employees. In 2017, 8.6 % of the zzp ’ers ran the

risk of poverty compared to 1.9 % of employees.178

Approximately 60 % of self-employed persons cease trading as a company within five

years, the CBS reported in 2018. 46 % of the men were still working as a zzp’er after five

years and 38 % of the women.179 Of those who stop working as zzp’ers most return to a

job working as an employee. Financial insecurity appears to b e an important reason for

this. In a review carried out by an organisation for self-employed in 2019, 43 % o f the

zzp’ers reported that they worry about their lack of pension; 35.7 % mentioned that they

were anxious whether they would get new assignments; and 24 % worried about falling

ill.180 In the Netherlands there ar e no regulations for protection of self-employed people

against the risks of sic kness, invalidity and unemploymen t, so the self-employed have to

take out insurance themselves or remain uninsured. They are entitled to the gen eral old-

age pension, but this is relatively low (70 % of the minimum wage for singles and 50 %

of the minimum wage for people who live together). Self-employed people are not entitled

to an occupational pension, unless they arrange for a pension themselves.

There is an arrangement for pregnancy leave for self-employed women, thanks to the

CEDAW Convention and EU legislation, but there is no regulation for the situation in which

a self-employed woman falls ill due to pregnancy-related reasons, either before or after

pregnancy leave.

Self-employed women also report that they experience difficulties in reconciling work an d

family, especially if they have to work irregular h ours (e.g. in health care). 181 On the

positive side, it is mentioned that their work in a self-employed capacity gives them more

freedom to work at the hours they choose. The trap is that too little time remains for

themselves, e.g. because they t end to work in the evenings in order to c ompensate for

the time that was spent on care tasks during the day .182

177 This CBS website refers to various reports on self-employed people: https://www.cbs.nl/nl-

nl/zoeken?query=keyword%3a%22zelfstandigen%22.

178 CBS (2019), ‘Van werkenden loopt zzp’er meeste risico op armoede’ (From the working population the self-

employed with no employees are the most at risk of poverty), 5 March 2019. Available at:

https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2019/10/van-werkenden-loopt-zzp-er-meeste-risico-op-armoede.

179 CBS (2018), ‘4 op de 10 zzp’ers vijf jaar na start nog zzp’er’ (4 out of 10 self-employed with no employees

five years after their start still self-employed), 27 November 2018. Available at: https://www.cbs.nl/nl-

nl/nieuws/2018/48/4-op-de-10-zzp-ers-vijf-jaar-na-start-nog-zzp-er.

180 ZZP Barometer (2019), Merendeel zzp’ers onzeker over financiën (majority of self-employed with no

employees uncertain about finances), 21 May 2019. Available at:

https://zzpbarometer.nl/2019/05/21/onderzoek-merendeel-zzpers-onzeker-financien/#.XQ3xB-gzY2w.

181 See also: Annink, A. and den Dunk, L. (2014), ‘De positie van vrouwelijke zzp’ers in Nederland’ (‘The

position of female self-employed with no employees in the Netherlands’), Atria, 2014, pp. 22-23.

https://www.atria.nl/epublications/IAV_B00110957.pdf.

182 Annink, A. and den Dunk, L. (2014), ‘De positie van vrouwelijke zzp’ers in Nederland’, Atria, 2014, § 4.5.