Thomas Catersels

As an employer, you can choose to bear the financial risks associated with sickness and incapacity for work of current and former employees yourself. This is known as self-insurance. This option can be financially attractive and gives you greater control over the reintegration of current and former employees. At the same time, self-insurance entails responsibilities and risks. What exactly does self-insurance for Sickness Benefits (Ziektewet) and WGA benefits involve? What are the advantages, and what pitfalls should employers be aware of? In this blog, we explain how self-insurance works and what you need to consider.

The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (the “Enterprise Chamber”) delivered its ruling on 28 April 2026 in a case brought by the Temporary Works Council (the “TOR”) of the Identification and Screening of Asylum Seekers Service (Dienst Identificatie en Screening Asielzoekers, “DISA”) (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:1105). The Enterprise Chamber ruled that the TOR had no right to be consulted on the decision to treat the reorganisations at DISA and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) as separate processes, without transferring personnel between them. According to the Enterprise Chamber, the decision concerned the allocation of public-law responsibilities between government services and therefore fell within the scope of the political primacy principle set out in Article 46d of the Dutch Works Councils Act (Wet op de ondernemingsraden, or WOR). Notably, however, the Enterprise Chamber described the decision-making process as “highly careless”. This finding did not lead to a different legal conclusion.

The government aims to provide greater certainty and clarity for self-employed professionals and their clients. To that end, on 1 October 2026, it submitted the draft Self-Employment Act (Zelfstandigenwet) for public consultation. The proposed Act seeks to answer a fundamental question: when can businesses engage self-employed professionals, and when can individuals work as self-employed professionals, with certainty that the relationship does not constitute employment? By establishing clear rules in advance, the government aims to create a safe harbour for those who meet and comply with these requirements. What exactly does the proposed Self-Employment Act entail, and what does it mean for businesses engaging self-employed professionals?