Pilot web module Labour Relationship Assessment (WBA) launched

News from Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment
Pilot web module Labour Relationship Assessment (WBA) launched

The pilot of the Web Module Labour Relationship Assessment (WBA) (Webmodule Beoordeling Arbeidsrelatie (WBA)  went online today. By completing the questionnaire, clients can find out whether they are allowed to hire a self-employed person for a job or whether an employment contract is required.

This pilot web module is anonymous and no rights can be derived from it at this stage. The Cabinet wants to evaluate the pilot later this year to find out whether the module is useful as a tool and to improve it where necessary.

Last year, the Committee for the Regulation of Work (Borstlap Committee) and the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) pointed to structural problems in the labor market. For example, it is important that it is clear when work can be done by a self-employed person and when it can be done by an employee. This distinction is important because the various contracts differ greatly in terms of labour law protection, social security rights and tax treatment.

The Cabinet is therefore working on a web module that will provide more clarity as to whether work can be done inside or outside an employment relationship and whether payroll taxes have to be paid.

This module is now starting six months as a pilot and can be found on the website van het Ondernemersplein.. In the pilot phase, the web module is intended as an information tool. Participation is voluntary and the web module can be completed anonymously.

In the summer of 2021 an evaluation will be made as to whether the web module is useful as an instrument and a decision will be made on the possible definitive use of the web module. The aim is that the web module will provide certainty where possible, provided that it is filled in truthfully. The possibilities for enforcement, risks of abuse and the consequences for the implementing bodies are also considered.

The Cabinet also wants to use this period to hold a broad public discussion about the way in which we now work, which jobs should and should not be done by a self-employed person, and about possible bottlenecks in the regulations. This discussion was supposed to take place last year but has come to a standstill due to the corona crisis and will be resumed in January 2021.

At the end of the pilot web module, the Cabinet will decide at what point enforcement will be started (in phases), at the earliest on 1 October 2021. The market will of course be informed of such a decision in good time. In the meantime, the Tax and Customs Administration and the SZW Inspectorate will not sit still.

The Tax and Customs Administration supervises the employment relationship in the context of payroll taxes, provides information and offers a helping hand to clarify when an employment relationship is not an employment relationship according to the current law. Contact and consultation with clients can already lead to adjustment of the working method and thus to improvement. In the event of failure to follow instructions or if there is malicious intent, the Tax and Customs Administration enforces.

Source The central government. For the Netherlands