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

• Author: Marlies Vegter
• Pages: 61-66

61

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

provisions of the Recast Directive)

8.1General (legal) context

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

There have been surveys and reports on the difficulties self-employed 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.179Of those who stop working as zzp’ersmost return to a

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

this. In a review carried out by an organisation for self-employed in 2019, 43 % of 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 are no regulations for protection of self-employed people

against the risks of sickness, invalidity and unemployment, so the self-employed have to

take out insurance themselves or remain uninsured. They are entitled to the general 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 and

family, especially if they have to work irregular hours (e.g. in health care).181On 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 tend to work in the evenings in order to compensate 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.

179CBS (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.

181See 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.

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