At its introduction in 2016, the DBA Act caused a lot of commotion among both employers and interim professionals. Although the enforcement of the act was postponed until the beginning of 2020, many employers complied with the guidelines of this legislation prior to this date. The government strives to replace the DBA act with new measures in January 2021. Until then, the DBA legislation will be enforced.
Under the DBA or Deregulation Act, the Tax and Customs Administration of the Netherlands assesses whether an employer-employee relationship or a ‘deemed employer-employee relationship’ exists between the client and the interim manager or between the intermediary and the interim manager. When working with a verified model agreement, however, interim professionals can work for a client without the risk of getting fined.
The Tax and Customs Administration does enforce the DBA Act in case of malicious intent. That is, in cases where organisations intentionally initiate or continue a situation of evidently bogus self-employment, while they could have known that that there was actually an employment relationship. In those cases, the Tax and Customs Administration will charge additional taxes.
Robert Walters can advise interim professionals and employers on how to comply with the guidelines of the DBA act. We pay extra attention to the description of the assignment, to make sure all parties have a clear understanding of the agreement.
These guidelines will help you comply to the DBA act, and minimizes the risk of fines and additional taxes.
1. Ask the client to provide you with clear instructions about the scope and desired results of an assignment. The way you reach this end result is up to you.
2. Only join work meetings that are relevant for the end result of your assignment.
3. Regularly evaluate your assignment with the client, but make sure this does not turn into a performance appraisal.
4. Make sure you determine your own working hours. You do not need permission to be absent for one or multiple days.
5. Make sure you can send someone to fill in for you in case of long-term absence. This person has to meet the conditions as described in the interim agreement.
6. Supply and bring the tools you need to fulfil your assignment yourself, and do not invoice your client for materials.
7. Only invoice your client for the hours you spend working on your assignment. Do not register hours you spend correcting mistakes.
8. If you cause damage during your work, pay for these damages yourself, or let your insurance cover them.
9. Pay for your participation in (in-house)courses or trainings. You are not obliged to participate in trainings organised by the client.
10. Do not accept gifts from your clients and do not attend parties, business outings or general personnel meetings.
If you would like to know more regarding working as or hiring an interim professional, please reach out to us via netherlands@robertwalters.com or tel. 020 644 4655.
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