If the government offered you a minimum of 16 Euros an hour to be self employed, would you accept it?
Well, this is exactly what the Dutch government have got planned. What they want to do is have a minimum rate of 16 Euro an hour for every Dutch freelancer, contractor, gig worker, and self employed business person by the year 2021.
Why? Quite simply, because they don’t want Dutch people struggling to make ends meet. That is why.
If you remember, we have a small but loyal following in the country of Holland. The UC is on the map among the Dutch and many visit here on weekly basis to learn about self employment and working for themselves.
I’m willing to bet that any loyal Dutch Umbrella Companies fan is making a lot more than 16 Euros an hour. How could you read the UC blog and not automatically make at least double or even triple that amount? You can’t.
But instead of making it law for every Dutch self employed to read the UC blog…they are going to carry on with this 16 Euros an hour thing.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Government, Minimum Income Branch, had this to say…
“Those who work full-time must be able to live on that income. But that does not currently apply to a part of the self-employed: 8.6% of self-employed households had an income below the subsistence level in 2017 compared to 1.6% of employees.”
Fair enough if you ask us, so I guess they are going ahead with their plans and it will be interesting to see if other European governments follow suit.
For example, in Malta (where we also have a loyal following) they may also decide to have a minimum income for the self employed. If they do, then you will be the first to hear about it right here, on the UC blog.
Back to Holland, and once these new laws come into force then employers will come under closer scrutiny.
The big brother of the Dutch government will be looking closely over their shoulder, and if they hire any contractor or freelancer for less than 16 Euro an hour then they will be given a choice.
“Either hire them as full time staff or get a fine,” the Dutch government would say.
So Dutch employers will have to clean up their act or they will get taken to the cleaners. They definitely don’t want their dirty laundry to be aired in public.
So the Dutch self employed are gearing up for a profitable time, and I’m sure that everybody is going to benefit in the long run.
