How do you avoid being stuck with the zzp rate?
Do you work with freelancers? Then you run the risk of the Tax Office or the courts saying afterwards: this is not a contract of assignment, but employment. And then? How are the wages determined? How do you avoid being stuck with the zzp'er's (high) hourly rate?
How does the civil court look at wages?
Based on current rulings, there are roughly two ways civil courts do this:
- The agreed rate will be wages
Some judges rule that the rate you agreed with the self-employed person also counts as gross pay. With high rates, this can be a hefty cost. - Usual or fair wage
Other judges to follow Section 7:618 of the Civil Code and determine wages based on a customary or fair salary. This involves looking at collective agreements and market wages. The high zzp rate is then not automatically adopted.
Note that this jurisprudence is still in flux. Judges do not always rule the same now, and new rulings may still change the direction.
How to avoid surprises?
A zzp rate is often higher because the self-employed person takes care of holidays, pension and sick pay himself. Is the relationship retrospectively seen as employment? Then the court will look at a fair salary including those benefits.
Tip: Lay down in advance in the contract what happens in case of requalification. Agree that wages will be determined on the basis of a collective labour agreement or on the basis of a market salary. This way, you avoid being stuck with the zzp rate.